I'm thinking of buying a 66 Ranchero. 289, auto, power steering, air cond. I know this body style only lasted one year, so I'd think parts are difficult to find. Are these so rare as not to be worth the effort? Any words of wisdom?

Thanks.

 

J, Nothing is never worth the effort if that is what you have your heart set on. We don't know what your level of experteese or comitment is, nor the condition of the car.

Give yourself at least 2-5 years to get it in pristeen condition.

John

 

Yeah, I guess I asked for that one...

To be a little clearer, what I'm asking is if the 66 model is more sought after, worth more when restored, has any special attraction because of it's place in Ranchero history. From what I've seen, they are ignored compared to the '67 and newer models.

I've spent some time surfing for places with parts, and it seems that there are plenty of parts available for 1967 and newer, but very little for the 1966 and older. If I need a front fender, are there any reproduction parts available, or do I have to conduct a nationwide search for a better original one than I have?

The one I'm looking at looks good in pictures, is said to run good, and have some surface rust. It has been (partly?) redone over the last few years. I'll get to see and touch it in a couple of days. Just looking for some words of wisdom before I write a check.

 

Well, I saw it. It was the rare Custom model with bucket seats and a console (a 66D model). It looked great from 10 feet away, but up close the really nice paint job looked like it had sand in it in patches all over the car. Rust popping back out. It was a fairly rusted up car that had been "saved" 4-5 years ago, and now all the problems were coming back. Really disappointing.

 

Now you know better what you'll have to work with, and what to offer.
John

 

I'm not asking for perfect advice. But the replies I'm getting are pretty limp.

"Nothing is never worth the effort if that is what you have your heart set on."
"Now you know better what you'll have to work with, and what to offer."

How about stuff like, "the 66 Ranchero is a not a sought-after vehicle... it is not worth the effort", or "that is an unbelievable find!"

There have been no technical replies to my posts... and I asked some pretty specific questions.

Oh well... there are some helpful sites on the internet... but from what I've seen this is not one of them.