1960 Ford Ranchero

Pickup truck

6 - Cyl.

Automatic

Clear

Gasoline

I have only owned this car since October. I bought it with the intention of slowly restoring it, and then made the decision to move out of state. The state is Minnesota, and this would be a lousy snow-car, so it has to go. I'm NOT selling it because it's a piece of junk. It has issues, but is well worth working with. I'm not a car expert, but I will give the most accurate information I can, based on my ownership plus info from the previous owner who is a mechanic. He kept the car in good shape, and did some helpful stuff to it. After reading this, if you have any questions, please ask. If I don't know the answer, I will try and find it. This is my first time selling a car on Ebay, and I want everyone to be happy. So, here are a lot of positives for this 1960 Ford Falcon Ranchero— It was restored about 15 years ago, converted from a manual to an automatic. The current engine and tranny are from a Mustang—a 200 straight 6 with a c4 3 speed auto trans. The motor and tranny were built about 15,000 miles ago. It starts on the first try just about every time, and sounds strong. The carburetor is a one barrel Ford carb and was rebuilt about 7 months ago. The rear brakes are new and the front ones were adjusted when I bought it. The rear brakes are new enough that I still pump them once when stopping because I haven't even hit 500 miles on them yet, so they haven't been worn into a perfect fit. Head lights, dome light, turn signals, parking lights and windshield wipers work fine. The back-up lights don't work, but since all the other lights work, I think it might just be the bulbs—I haven't checked yet. I purchased old/new stock lenses for them, but haven't gotten the right screws to put them on yet. One of the lights is exposed to the weather, and the other has the incorrect lens. I will try and get new bulbs and check that out ASAP. There is very little rust on the body—a couple of spots on the roof, but nothing major anywhere else. There is quite a bit of rust in the bed of the truck, but mostly on the removable floor panels. The upholstery is faded but there are no tears or stains, and the seat is very comfortable. It has a new oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge installed. The horn on the steering wheel does not work, but a button for the horn has been installed. It could be rerouted to the wheel if you were restoring. I replaced the lenses on the tail/brake/turn signal lights with high-quality reproductions. The battery is new. I just had it reregistered. The tags do not expire until August 2011, and it has a clean title. Okay, except for that one parking ticket, but I will be paying that this week. When I purchased the car I drove it a couple of hundred miles home without issue. I have driven it almost daily ever since with no serious problems. The mechanic who owned it before me used it as his daily driver as well—for over 2 years. These are things that I consider issues to be addressed— The first is a big one for me because of how absent-minded I can be. The gas gauge doesn't work, so you have to watch your mileage. I have purchased a new sending unit which should fix the problem. The gas tank needs to be dropped and the part installed. The quote I have from a classic car mechanic to do this is $120 which seems very reasonable. The tires and rims on the car are too wide. The back left tire sometimes rubs the fender in a sharp turn. The mechanic who owned it before never changed them after buying it from the person before him. He did however buy the stock rims and hubcaps, so it just needs a new set of tires and the right rims put on. It will also need the wheels aligned, as it pulls slightly to the right. The rear shocks are ready to be replaced. The heater core started leaking a couple days after I purchased the car. I took it in and had the hoses rerouted. This stopped the leak, but means the heater doesn't work. The hoses were not cut or removed, so you need to buy a new core (about $65 for the part) install it and put the hoses back the way they belong. It needs a tune-up. Right now it is hiccupping a little. However it does NOT burn or leak oil, nor does it smoke. There appear to be no exhaust problems. The doors and windows need new weather-stripping, so they rattle when you are idling and when driving, although a little less when moving. I can refer you to a website that sells the set, with easy-to-install instructions. The set is a little less than $60 and is guaranteed to fit. As I mentioned, the back-up lights don't work—I'll try to take care of that. It is not a super-powerful engine, so you are not going to win any drag races with it. The street speed is absolutely fine; however the most I have hit on the freeway is 75 mph. The carb has the same issues most old carbs have. As you increase in speed it revs high, and then makes a little "jump" into the next level of speed or gear. I don't really know how else to describe that. It isn't really a problem, and if you driven other classic cars, you've probably experienced this before. The mechanic gave me several replacement chrome pieces to replace rusty ones around the back window and bed; however he didn't have one for the top of the tailgate, so you'll have to track one down, or have this one rechromed. The original radio is still in the dash, though it doesn't work. Somewhere along the line however, someone installed a great stereo, amp, and speakers. It is cut into the metal right behind the passenger seat, and the amp is mounted to the wall behind the same seat. The great thing about this is I toss an old T-shirt over the stereo as if it's a shirt I've left in the car—that's my security system. No one has ever touched it. The problem is, on the way driving the car home, the stereo started to cut out when I would hit a bump, and by the end of the trip it had stopped completely because power isn't reaching it. I am confidant that it is just a loose wire somewhere. I don't know how to fix stuff like that, but I can't imagine it would be difficult. The door locks do not have keys and you cannot lock the doors. However, I have purchased a brand new set of Falcon door locks with keys. They just need to be installed. Okay—that's it. If I think of anything else, or make any changes or repairs, I'll add that information. Let me know if you want to info on a GREAT classic car mechanic in LA, the site for the weather-stripping, and an excellent Falcon parts website. This is the perfect Ranchero to buy and bring back to A-1 shape without too much effort or cash. Thanks! On Nov-18-10 at 11:43:38 PST, seller added the following information: MORE INFO! A buyer contacted me and said that based on the grill, this is actually a 1961 Ranchero. He may have something there. When I got the car insured, I gave the VIN number to my insurance company, and told them it was a 1960. They came back and said the VIN number was coming up as a 1961. However, it DOES have 1960 on the title. That's all I really know about that, but in case you're looking at the ad and thinking I'm an idiot with the wrong year listed, that's what's happening. : )