1963 Ford Falcon

Ranchero pickup

302 EFI

Automatic Overdrive

3R27S169650

Clear

Gasoline

This is your basic 1963 Ford Falcon Ranchero hotrod. This past summer, a ton of work was done--much of it included cutting out rusty sheetmetal, which was replaced with .20 gauge steel and tube reinforcement that runs the length of the rockers and crosses the cab at multiple points. The floor, in and behind the cab, is all new; the area behind the cab was modified to hold the battery, and if jumpstarting is needed, there is a trap door, so the whole lid does not need unbolting. There is also new front suspension, which includes upper and lower control arms, ball joints, and higher-rate coils (with custom locators up top)--it's all from the 1965 Mustang catalog, including the shocks. At all four corners are Koni reds (new shocks), which are single-adjustable for perfect damping. The car is lowered a bit; to maintain good geometry in front, a wedge kit was installed for increased ball joint life. The rear consists of standard Ranchero (pick-up like) leafs mounted on heavy-duty sliders for better lateral stability (instead of shackles). Current alignment is correct and will get you down the road at 80 with perfect tracking and stability. The wheels are also new: 15x7 Wheel Vintiques steelies. The tires are cheap 195-65-15s; they are basically new, but are far from performance tires. Here's the cool part: The engine and transmission are from a 1997 Ford Explorer (2WD), so you get a distributorless 5.0 (the last iteration of this engine) and a 4R70 automatic (4-speed). The overdrive can be turned on and off with a button on the dash next to the stereo. Since the computer is OBDII compatible, you can run gauges through a tablet and a data port Bluetooth thingy--this will give you everything from road speed to coolant temp. The gas tank (new Tanks Inc. unit) has an in-tank pump (Walbro 255), and will run flow until literally the last drop is gone; it is also baffled for minimal corner starvation. This thing runs and shifts perfectly, and gets 20-25 miles per gallon, depending on the weight of your foot. The rear axle is a standard Ford 8-inch, the most common of V8 car axles (like a 9-inch, but smaller). The car also has brand-new disc brakes on all four corners; the fronts are Wilwoods with aluminum calipers, and the rears are from Right Stuff Detailing. The driveshaft and u-joints are also new . . . The carpet is new as well, as are some of the gauges. The stereo is okay--it's a Pioneer CD player with detachable face. The speedometer does not work, however, you can use a smartphone with a GPS speedo app. This trucklet is a hotrod. As such, the paint is far from perfect ('80s repaint?), and there are jobs here and there that are needed. The engine's computer is mounted in the firewall (see the Classic Broncos forum for clarity on this concept), and could use relocation--this would allow the wipers to act correctly. There is noticeable Bondo near the original gas filler (the present tank fills through a spot in the bed--no spilling!). Overall, the body is quite straight, and the panels are pretty nice; I would not have bought the car otherwise. I'm presently overloaded with cars, and this one needs to go. If you're a hotrod guy, you can have a lot of fun with this thing, both driving and doing little jobs on it here and there. Feel free to hit me with any questions, as I'm sure there's stuff I've missed. The reserve has been set very competitively.