A home for the engine?

A week or two later, Alan sent me a posting from Craigslist. It was a 1957 Ford Ranchero and it looked rough! The Ranchero would be period correct for the engine. You could actually order any Ford engine for your Ranchero in 1957 which would include the 312. This could be too good to be true! I contacted the owner and setup a tentative meeting for the weekend.

Another listing on Craigslist for a Y-Block engine and transmission appeared shortly after with the promise of better castings and extra parts. Armed with my casting identification chart found on one of the in depth Y-Block sites (www.ford-y-block.com) we setup an appointment to take a look at the engine. It was at a storage site in town which looked more like a campsite for old cars and questionable folks. The engine turned out to be something like a 54 with a heavy duty truck transmission. Disappointing indeed...

On the way to Alan's storage place to do some sorting of parts, we got a call from the Ranchero guy about six minutes after we passed the location where the car was. A quick turn around and we were on our way!

I had never seen a 57 Ranchero before so when I saw the posting, I started looking online for other cars. A fair number were pretty stock which while interesting, wasn't very alluring to me. One rendition did catch my attention. The side trim was removed and everything was smoothed over. The real kicker was the bumper and front trim was not chrome and stainless but instead painted the new body color and had scallops painted down the front half. It was a good looking car and my interest was peaked.

Well the Ranchero was interesting but very rough. No engine or transmission and it looked as if the body had been stripped and sanded at one time. The car resembled more of a patchwork quilt then a real car but it still looked cool and had potential. A further inspection revealed rust, rust, and more rust. While the usual places were bad like rockers and floor pans, the A-pillars were also heavily rusted. The quarter panels would need work along with the hood, fenders, and rear sections. This was a parts car, not a rebuildable car. My stubbornness was telling me to take the chance but Alan was saying "Don't get involved." In talking with the owner, we talked about our ambitions and experience with cars and he shared opened up to us knowing that we weren't just some yahoos looking at his car. He was part of a Ford club and had some pretty nice cars of his own that were meticulously restored and others ready for love and attention. He was a nice guy to talk to and if we really wanted a project, he had a good one. 1500 was probably a decent price to pay for all the parts that would be usable but we weren't ready to part out a car.

So that day was a bust. No engine and no car. My search for a 57 Ranchero would continue. While not necessarily the car we wanted, it was interesting. My initial thoughts were to drop it in a T-Bucket or something open fender. Most of those cars have a Chevy 350 installed and having a 312 would make it stand out.