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1962 Ford Ranchero

Owner:	60To63Ranchero
From:	Houston, TX, U.S.A. (Other registries in TX)
Year, Make, & Model:	1962 Ford Ranchero (Other Ford Rancheros)
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Nickname:	Melissa
Mileage:	400
Engine:	The original 170 c.i.d. six and three speed on the column was swapped out for a 200 c.i.d six and C4. The 200 has some pocket porting, Pacemaker headers, a Clay Smith hydraulic cam, and a DuraSpark distributor with an MSD-6A control box and an Accel coil. Planned upgrades include a DUI ignition and an Autolite 2100 carb. Update 05/16/2012: Drum brakes updated on all four corners, including new wheel cylinders, shoes and drums. Front wheel bearings replaced. Update 06/20/2012: Truck bed completely rolled with Dupli-Color truck bed coating. Cut-to-fit mat from Summit Racing installed. Update 07/01/2012: Autolite 2100 2-V carb installed using CI carb adapter and CI remote air intake kit. Had long-standing issues with the 2100 dripping gas from one of the venturi boosters - replaced power valve with lower-vacuum power valve, added phenolic resin spacer. Never did idle smoothly. Update 08/01/2012: Engine overheated significantly (240 degrees) in late afternoon on way to cruise-in. 100 degree outside temp and heavy Houston traffic contributed. Finally cut the core support to install a taller, wider, three-core V-8 radiator. Reinforced core support with mild steel afterwards. Update 09/01/2012: The 200, which had unknown mileage when I got it and has been overheated, has developed unacceptable blow-by. Decided to pull the 200 and build another engine for the Ranchero. Found a '74 250 from a Maverick on craigslist, disassembled and sent to machine shop. Update 09/28/2012: Decided to order an aluminum head from Classic Inlines for the 250. Order was placed, and on January 9, 2013 was notified that head has been cast and heat treated, waiting on machining before being shipped to Classic Inlines. On April 11, 2013 the aluminum head arrived via Fedex. First issue - the temperature sender port (just after of #6 cylinder) is a tiny 1/8 NPT opening, too small to accept a mechanical temperature gauge probe. I'll have to cobble up a combination of fittings to make room for the temperature probe. On April 15, 2013, I took the aluminum head to my machine shop so that they could measure the valve angle and combustion chamber depth for piston clearance. While waiting for the aluminum head, custom pistons, and short block assembly, decided to start the restoration of the interior. Purchased new floor pans from Dearborn Classics, tack welded and seam sealed. Replaced most of the wiring with an ATO fuse block and several terminal blocks (one for ground, one for switched and one for unswitched 12V). Sanded and painted dash, then installed Custom Autosound (retro-looking) stereo with three speakers, one center of dash and two kick panels. Added Rockford Fosgate 250W mono amplifier and 12" 4 Ohm dual voice coil subwoofer in sealed enclosure behind seat. Installed FatMat for sound insulation, then new carpet from stockinteriors.com. Carpet from a '60-65 automatic Falcon/Ranchero will fit, carpet from a 4-speed Falcon/Ranchero will not fit, because like an automatic, a 3-speed on the column does not have a transmission hump. Update - over the holidays, 2012 - Will attempt to go with a custom setup for the 250 - early 300 connecting rods, custom forged pistons with a relatively high pin position and a large dish to keep compression reasonable. Should put the pistons at near zero deck height for optimum quench effect, while keeping compression at 9.3:1 for 93 octane premium pump gas. If this doesn't work out for some reason, will fall back to the stock 250 rods and flat-top 250 pistons from Classic Inlines. Custom forged pistons were ordered from RaceTek (owned by Wayne Brooks, formerly of JE Pistons) on April 30, 2013.
Drivetrain:	C4 (recently rebuilt) with B&M "click shift" shifter on the floor Original 7 3/4" differential with 3.50 gears and four-lug wheels Four-lug wheels in front also Drum brakes all around
Notes:	When I bought the car, it had no gas tank because the fuel cell in the bed had been punctured. The engine was in unknown condition with unknown mileage. There was no spare tire. However, the car had an excellent paint job ("Silver Gray Poly"). I added a street rod type aluminum cylinder gas tank from Coyote Products, rebuilt the engine, and procured a spare tire.
Last Updated:	5/3/2013
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