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Ouch! That hurts. Had that happen to me years ago with a '57 Ranchero. I still haven't fully gotten over it.
You may have been blessed, because all Ranchero's are rust buckets! The rust is hidden from view, usually isn't discovered until something bad happens.
Below the Ranchero's bed floor is the station wagon floor pan that contains rear seat foot wells and the spare tire well.
Ford spot welded the Ranchero bed floor, then used paintable caulk to fill in the gaps.
The caulk chips off, water seeps in and it has no place to go as there are no drain holes.
A pal of mine was driving home from a swap meet in his '57 Ranchero. He heard a loud bang...the gas tank fell off!
Above the tank is the wagons rear tire well, it had completely rusted out.
I also owned a '57 Ranchero, bought it in 1975 for 100 bucks from a customer who had it towed into the dealer I was working at, the rear end was blown...it was a rusty mess.
A pal of mine who owned a body shop said if you give me your Ranchero, I'll do all the body and paint work on your '59 Galaxie convertible.
But I gave him the convertible so he could do the body and paint work on the Ranchero.
He painted it Willow Green & Colonial White, added the Fairlane 500 side mouldings. I sold it in 1979 to another collector, the last time I saw it (2004), actress Melissa Gilbert owned it.
You may have been blessed, because all Ranchero's are rust buckets! The rust is hidden from view, usually isn't discovered until something bad happens.
I feel a little better about it now after learning that.
Below the Ranchero's bed floor is the station wagon floor pan that contains rear seat foot wells and the spare tire well.
I'm familiar with that spare tire location from my '56 Country Squire SW that I used to drag race with in the low, low stock classes.
Ford spot welded the Ranchero bed floor, then used paintable caulk to fill in the gaps.
The caulk chips off, water seeps in and it has no place to go as there are no drain holes.
I'm looking at that right now with the underside of the hood on my dent. It looks like the shrunken caulk was actually holding water long enough to create many little pinholes.
That really sucks Dave. I hope you didn't put any money down on the truck. Or if you did, I hope that he refunds you your money. Hopefully though you'll find something better next time.
I tried to put money in it and he didn't want it which was odd. Either way now trying to find another one within a few hours of me for around 3k...FINALLY got a back up driver and this happens!
Well everyone, ain't it funny how things work out? Found this little guy hiding down in Kansas for $2700. Runs and drives pretty well (motor could use some help...timing and carb are waaaay off). Took a long bus trip down to Topeka, KS and drove it home. Interior looks exactly like my old truck, just a bit more worn. Here's so stats on it that I know right now:
-1977 F-150
-Trailer Special package (not sure what this all includes)
-460 V8
-C6 trans
-Not sure on rear end. Guessing ford 9"?
Known issues so far is that the cluster lights work when they want to (HVAC controls, shift indicator, etc work fine all the time...only cluster is weird), heater valves are sticky, and it will occasionally lose power backfire out on the highway but then keep driving like nothing ever happened. Power steering pump is a reman and squaks like a bird whenever you turn (yes it has fluid in it but I'll check that again in the light).
No rust underneath either! Only rear rust is in the fenders!
On the road up to Nebraska....that front up ahead was awful. Rain so heavy couldn't see off the end of the hood
That's pretty sad news the 78 ended up getting scrapped, that really sucks. I was looking forward to seeing it resurrected, but I had a bad feeling when there hadn't been any updates in awhile.
Hope the new truck works out well, looks like a pretty solid starting point. Good luck!
Congrats Dave. I knew you'd find another truck. And that one looks pretty good. Just be aware that the issue you're having with the dash lights are common. Ford used a crappy plastic for the backing plate of the gauge cluster. Over time it dries out and turns to dust. Causing the light sockets to lose their connection and the lights to stop working or work intermittently for awhile at least. Not to worry though. New cluster backs can be bought or you can get good used replacement ones from junkyards. As many of these had been replaced already with a better cluster back by the mid eighties. Not to mention the Econoline vans used the same cluster backs. So those make for good donors.
FWIW Dave, that issue with the power steering pump could also be a burnt out pump. You see these old pumps in these trucks required the use of type F trans fluid. Not power steering fluid. Most people would use power steering fluid in these pumps when ever a leak would develop or the original pump just got plain worn out and needed replaced. The result was premature failure of the existing pump. So just be aware if you need to replace the pump that you use the correct fluid.
So far I have found that the PS pump is a reman that's about a month old. Added fluid and it shut up right away. Guess having the right dipstick in it would have helped everyone see it was empty...
Yes the dash cluster backing is garbage. I have plans to purchase a new one in the near future.
Went through and corrected much of the PO's extra wiring tonight. Have to still replace all the fuses (theyre just old), but at least there's some progress! However the trailer brake wiring is no longer operating and I believe the inline fuse link is to blame because I accidentally let the power wire from the battery touch the parking brake pedal.
Removed two add in speakers the guy installed, cleaned up the dome light switches and headlight switch, and secured up the headliner! One thing at a time.
Thanks! It's is a lot better than my old one on so many levels. It really doesn't need that much work at all frankly. Mostly just elbow grease and blinker fluid it seems.
The real question is how many miles are on it. The odometer says 31,000. The cluster doesn't appear to have ever been removed, and the truck sat from 1997 to 2015. Both the body and bed have heavy oxidation in the paint, however, the bed has Bondo in it and sorta looks like it's been repainted (aftermarket PO trailer wiring going to bed is separated green).
Either way, besides needing some definite maintenance and a good detailing, should be a very solid start. Even has a gooseneck in the bed for towing!
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