I found a solid one, its a 1966, mostly restored but i checked and went as far as to remove the carpet and look over every square inch of that car and its solid, except for a few spots on the body. I was wondering if anyone could decode the tag for me:

body: 66A
color: R
Trim: 2D
Date: 09F
D.S.O: 72
Axle: 4
Trans: 1

Im not exactly sure if the engines a 170 or a 144
Any help is appreciated and thanks for all of your info!

 

The Id number is 6k27t251994, I think....has some paint over it and its kind of hard to make out untill i have time to scrape the paint off of it

Thanks in advance!

 

engine code T is a 200. plant code K is built in Kansas city
body code 66A:2 door standard rancheroo
color R: dark ivy green metallic
Trim 2D: i do not have a trim code 2D listed in my book
Date 09F: built June 9th
DSO 72: delivered to San Jose
Axle 4: 3.25:1 open rear
Trans 1: 3 speed manual

these numbers come from the 65 manual, but to the best of my knowledge, they stayed the same for 66 except for minor differences like trim and paint codes.

 

Thanks Tom, That helps out alot! Thats kind of interesting that it was delivered to San Jose, according to the registration from the original owner that i have it was originally regsitered in Baltimore, Maryland. But My records only go back to 1968, so it could have made a cross country journey.

 

well, while the car was ordered for the San Jose DSO, that don't mean it was not diverted in shipping to the baltimore area..
the car companies did not have as strict rules back then as to what could and could not be done.

 

Gotcha, Thanks a lot, i just pushed it into my shop, so the project begins!

 

But, starting with the 1966 model year, there was California exhaust emissions equipment. However, the San Jose DSO might have also covered southern Oregon and northern Nevada, in which case it might have been diverted.

Jim

 

true Jim, but a Baltimore car will usually have a Philadelphia DSO.

 

DSO 72 = San Jose (NorCal) Ford District Sales Zone Office, where the original selling dealer ORDERED the Ranchero from.

ORDERED.

This does not mean it was sent to San Jose.

It could have been sent to any dealer in northern California, Nevada, southern Oregon, Hawaii or Alaska.

It would not have been sent anywhere else if ordered from the San Jose district sales office.

San Jose CA was also the site of the west coast Ford passenger car and truck assembly plant, VIN code R.

I doubt a vehicle assembled in Kansas City would have been sent to San Jose!

There were other district sales offices in the west: Seattle (74), Salt Lake City (73), Denver (76), Phoenix (75), Los Angeles [SoCal] (71).

If the Ranchero had been sent to Baltimore, it would have been ordered from the Washington DC sales office (26). Assembled in Mahwah NJ, VIN code E.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2D: Parchment Crinkle Vinyl & Parchment Bar Pattern Vinyl (Parchment is a similar color to light beige or tan).

09F: Assembled June 9th, 1966.

 

after the edit feature ran out i noticed that delivered and ordered mixup Bill.

 

I have the original owners info card filled out by the original owner it was purchased on 12/8 from "universal motors" in Annapolis, MD by a Daphne Cramer. I still think that the car being ordered out of CA is interersting! Just got the car running good today (had some duraspark issues).

 

that is good news.
let me guess. when they wired the control box up, they never wired in the start circuit, so it would crank forever without starting, but then start when you let off of the key, rite??

 

Well...I was running it this morning and it started to miss, like i was rapidly shutting the key on and off, then it just shut off. No spark. I checked my wiring diagrams and all the connections under the hood and the dash. The connection on the coil was a little corroded so i cleaned that up and still nothing. I checked the reluctor ring and pickup in the distrubutor and it was clean and i did an ohms test on that and the coil and all checked out fine. After i looked at the module i realized the problem... someone at one time or another put a coolant recovery bottle right above the module and it leaked coolant onto it and the plastic potting on the back had shrunk and there was a crack in it and warm coolant wicked onto the circuit board shorting it out. The case was horribly corroded and i got a new oem one and it fired right up!! After that i was running it again celebrating my accomplishment when i opened and closed the door, IT DIED OUT and wouldn't restart. I found the red wire that powers up the module was loose and wasn't making a good connection and the white wire (the start wire) wasn't hooked to anything (and was taped so im assuming it was never hooked up. So after hooking it up to the wire going to the starter solenoid. It started up, but the starter kept cranking after the engine started!!!!! After disconnecting the white wire again, it started up and ran like a dream...go figure!

 

Heres some pics:

 

The taillamps are in-correct for a '66 Falcon Ranchero.

They're from a 1967 Fairlane Ranchero or Station Wagon.

1966's had round taillamps, the backup lenses were below and are a separate lens.

It's amazing that the original gas cap is still there, most have been replaced by something else.

The steering wheel is an aftermarket, different than what Mustangs/Fairlanes used, though it looks similar.