1972 Ford Ranchero!

[RobertB]

(I myself will replace the fuel filter after that tank of gas is used up.  The job to replace it isn't too hard.)

     Aw, I changed the filter, and after about 90 miles, the engine is stumbling again... idle too low... stalling out at low speeds... no pep in the acceleration.  Time to change the gas filter again.  :/
     At about $5 a pop plus my labor, it's manageable but tiresome to keep dealing with this contamination problem.  I've been looking at the Perma-Cool fuel filter/water separator 81074 --

http://www.shop.perma-cool.com/Fuel-Filter-Water-Separator-Systems_c21.htm

It uses a spin-on filter for easy replacement and captures any water at the bottom of the filter, the water being easily drained by turning open a petcock.  I just need to know where to plumb it into the gas line of the Ranchero.

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

Time to change the gas filter again.

     I changed the filter, but the stumbling/stalling problem remained.  I sprayed carburetor cleaner into the carb throat and into the PCV valve and noticed that the engine ran better as it digested the cleaner.  That told me to get another can of B-12 Chemtool, and even though the gas tank was 1/4 full (5 gallons), I poured in the entire can (15 ounces of Chemtool for 15 gallons is the recommended ratio).  (Ack!  I must remember not to spill it on the car paint, because it can eat that.)
     Though I've read that I should let the Chemtool sit for 45 minutes in the tank, I used the car right away and immediately noticed a better, smoother-running engine with idle speeds back up to normal (which I have set on the high side).  I hope the effects last through the rest of this tank of gas, and when it comes to the next fill-up, I may put in another can of Chemtool.

          Not expensive at $4 a can,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

     The previous owner of the Ranchero had let it deteriorate quite a bit.  It seems that he didn't change the engine oil regularly.  When the carb was rebuilt a little over a hundred miles ago, the mechanics gave the car its first oil change in a long, long time.  When I changed the valve cover gaskets before that oil change, I had found lots of gummy oil under the valve covers and covering the lifters.
     Over a hundred miles later, I checked the oil on the dipstick.  Yow, black, tarry oil globbing on the dipstick, not golden brown oil fluidly sticking on the dipstick!  So, that first oil change had been only the beginning of an eventual flush of the engine.
     I considered buying Motor Flush or other similar flushing chemicals but was scared off that they might be too powerful and exacerbate clogging the oil passages and oil pump.  I decided that regular oil changes and oil filter replacement would eventually flush out the engine.
     So today, with my tools I crawled under the Ranchero and located the oil filter and drain plug.  Both were right there near the driver's side front wheel, in a position which was far easier to get to than the 302 V8 in my Crown Vic and Colony Park.  Off came the no-name oil filter the mechanics had installed; I put in a Fram.  As usual, the mechanics had overtightened the oil pan drain plug, but with me pushing on the socket wrench with my foot, it finally opened up.  Lots of that tar-like oil poured out into the drip pan and some onto the street.  Ack!  What a mess to get that wiped off the street.
     I installed a new, magnetic drain plug (shiny!), after letting the last drop of old oil drip out.  Then I poured in my concoction for a motor flush - 2 quarts of 5W-30 synthetic oil (synthetic with its superior cleaning abilities), 3 quarts of regular oil, and pint of CD2 engine detergent (I prefer Valve Medic, but I can't find that anywhere, anymore.)
     Then I ran the engine at idle, checking for oil leaks.  Afterwards, I drove the car about 4 miles, and when I parked it, I checked for oil leaks again.
     After 100 miles, I'll check on the oil condition again.  If it looks bad, I'll do the same above procedure.  The process will continue until I can be assured that engine has been flushed of all gummy contaminants.  Since the truck is not my daily driver, it will be awhile until I put another 100 miles on it.

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

     With all the rain and cold wind here in California, work on the Ranchero has come to a stop.  However, I'm looking forward to April.  There is supposed to be a car show... you know, one of those shows where you come into a lot, park your car, and have spectators look over your vehicle.  If I wash truck, spray protectant on the tires, clean the glass inside and out (getting rid of water spots), shine up the chrome with Turtle Wax chrome polish, polish the aluminum wheels with Mother's Paste, replace the broken wheel center caps with new spinner center caps (probably from SummitRacing.com), and install new mag wheel washers and wheel nuts, then the Ranchero would look acceptable.  Hey, I should give the engine a degreasing, too.
     To do the wheel/tire combos correctly, I would have to remove one at a time, do the laborious polishing, and apply the protectant.

          Back from the Caribbean,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

...it needs is a long-distance, highway trip to get the engine oil to clean out the engine and for the engine to get hot enough to burn off the carbon.  A trip like that requires that new radiator and some front suspension work.

  The long-distance tripping has to be moved farther into the future.  Not only does the Ranchero need a new radiator but I think it also needs rear suspension parts.  At low speeds I knew that the rear end would shift over when it would hit a bump (the rear end should track straight and follow the front suspension).  The other day I was driving the car around, and I decided to accelerate it down one freeway entrance and back up the next freeway exit - a distance of a mile.  I stepped on the accelerator and felt the carburetor open up.  So far, so good.  However, when I corrected the steering to straighten out the car after entering the freeway, I felt the rear end shift over again, unsettinglingly so.
     The four-link rear end is not stable.  From what I can see, the bushings have dried and cracked on the upper and lower control arms.  Instead of replacing the bushings, I say that the better solution is to replace the control arms with a modern solution - new, engineered arms from Spohn.  See

http://www.spohn.net/shop/1972-1976-Ford-Torino-Ranchero/Suspension/

An expensive solution but one that replaces Ford's more primitive, 1970's solution.

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
          July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v13 -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

The four-link rear end is not stable.  From what I can see, the bushings have dried and cracked on the upper and lower A-arms.

     Confirmed by my mechanics.  The upper A-arm bushings are in worse shape than the lower A-arm bushings.  But when I decide to have them replaced, all of them will be replaced at once.

          Not one set at a time,
          Robert Bernardo
          June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
          July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v13 -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

     Last Sunday while I was traveling through Washington state, I stopped to pick up an item I had bought on eBay.  The item was some chromed aluminum mouldings for the rear window of my Ford Ranchero.  The seller could not send the mouldings through the mail, only for local pick up.  So, I went far into the forested mountains of Washington, past the pine and fir trees, past the isolated river in the middle of nowhere.  I finally arrived at his warehouse... yes, a warehouse in the middle of a clearing in the forest.
     In the clearing, there was at least a half dozen Ford Torinos and Rancheros in various broken-down states of condition, slowly rusting in the light rain.  James came out to greet me and handed me the mouldings.  Then he asked if I wanted to see the inside of his warehouse.  I said yes.  Oh, my gosh!  There were another dozen Torinos, Gran Torinos, and Rancheros inside!  Most were being stripped for parts, though a few of the rough ones could be restored (with a lot of money!).  There were parts all over the place!  Motors
in one area, rear differentials in another area, doors in another, car glass in another, etc., etc..  If only my camera had been charged up so I could have taken photos!  I told James that I had heard stories about hidden warehouses full of old cars, and now I was
standing in one!
     We talked for about an hour... about cars, about my retirement, about my old computers.  It was all very enjoyable.  Eventually, the rain outside started to get worse, and James had to get back to work disassembling cars or sorting the parts.  I asked him to look for a coolant recovery tank for my 1972 Ford Ranchero, and he was sure that he would be able to find it.  I said that I would be back in his area in June.  Perhaps I can visit his warehouse again!

          It was Ford Torino/Gran Torino/Ranchero heaven!
          Robert Bernardo
          June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
          July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v13 -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

     While I wait to order the pricey items for the Ranchero, I'm doing small things to keep it running well.  The ignition points are fair (not yet time to replace it with electronic ignition), but I did replace the distributor cap and rotor, just in case.  The cap was replaced with one that had brass contacts, and the rotor was replaced with another brass contact one (the original had some corrosion).  I sprayed a can of SeaFoam through the carburetor.  Whew, what a lot of noxious vapor came out of the exhaust as that SeaFoam combusted!  I then ran the car on the freeway for a few miles.  According to the Ranchero's tach, I picked up another 50 rpm with the transmission in drive and 150 rpm in park.  A nice, little gain!  Time to adjust the carburetor to compensate for the extra revs.
     After the 15th of the month, I'll order some low-resistance Taylor spark plug cables and a Spectre washable air filter from SummitRacing.com

         Thinking about ordering one item more from SummitRacing,
         Robert Bernardo
         June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
         http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
         July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v13 -
         http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

...I'm looking forward to April.  There is supposed to be a car show... you know, one of those shows where you come into a lot, park your car, and have spectators look over your vehicle.

     The car show is on May 20.  Unfortunately, I will be going to the Bay Area Maker Faire that weekend.

           My Ranchero not at that car show,
           Robert Bernardo
           June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
           http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
           July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v13 -
           http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

     While at Valley Differentials for diff repair on my father's 1979 Chevy C30, I asked Miles, the shop owner/mechanic about upgrading the diff in my Ranchero.  I explained that it was ordinary, open, 9-inch diff, and I wanted the upgrade to a Trac-Lok (limited slip) diff.  He quoted me a price of $625.  Wow, far cheaper than what I had thought!
     I told him that in late 2017 or early 2018, I could bring the car in for the upgrade.

          Well, that's the plan,
          Robert Bernardo
          June 10-11 Pacific Commodore Expo NW -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
          July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v13 -
          http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex

[RobertB]

     A little bit of progress on the Ford Ranchero... I've ordered a new ignition lock cylinder/door lock cylinder set from Dearborn Classics and and a pair of new, plastic "window rollers" from Auto Krafters.  Those will be installed in mid-December.  Then I will have smooth locking in the ignition and doors, and the windows will be rolling smoothly up and down.

          Merry Christmas!
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

[RobertB]

     OMG!  I spent over 7 hours spread over 2 days in order to shine up a brass license plate frame on the rear of the Ranchero!  I now feel how it was for my automotive ancestors who had to shine up the brass on their antique cars of the 1900's to the 1930's!
     The license plate and its frame had received no care from me or from the car's former owner in years.  I decided that I should disassemble everything and give everything a good cleaning before reattaching and putting on the new registration sticker.  Removing the assembly from the rear bumper was relatively easy.  I separated the frame, plate, and bolts/nuts and washed everything.  Then I tried metal polish on the thick brass frame.  After a lot of rubbing and a couple of hours, I had only progress a little bit.  Hmm, there had to be a faster way to do this!  I had no buffer/polishing wheel, but I had Tarn-X tarnish remover.  I remembered that when I was little I used it to shine up a copper penny, and lately as an adult, I had used it to shine up some door hardware.  Though the bottle specifically said not to use it with brass, I tried it anyway.  With a cotton swab, I applied the Tarn-X liquid to the front surface of the frame.  The rotten egg smell that it gave off as it contacted the tarnish meant that it was working.  The bottle said not to leave it on for more than 2 minutes, and afterwards to rinse it off with water.  Done.  Hmm, slight effect.  Time for several applications.  Over and over, I followed the same process, except with each time, I left it in contact for longer and longer periods of time.
     Finally, after 2 hours of this, I rinsed it off, dried the frame, and tried the metal polish.  The Tarn-X had dissolved some tarnish and weakened the leftover tarnish, making it easier to remove the tarnish with the polish.  What a trick!  I hand-buffed the brass frame to a high luster and then turned my attention to the license plate.  I removed the old registration stickers by slitting them with an X-Acto knife and pulling off the pieces.  I then weakened the glue residue on the plate by using paint thinner and then rubbing off the residue.  I washed the plate again and gave it coat of car wax before affixing the new registration sticker.  For the bolts, nuts, and washers, I immersed them in Tarn-X.  After 1/2 hour, I rinsed them, let them dry, and then steel-wooled the top of the bolts.  They were a dull black which would not match the brass frame.  To make them match, I painted the top of the bolts with some gold leaf paint I had for another project.  Then I let the bolts dry.
     I reassembled everything back on Ranchero.  Wow, a bit of bling on the old car!

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
          Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan

[RobertB]

     With the cooler but still warm weather here in California, it's time to get the Ranchero out its hibernation.  I washed the truck yesterday and polished up the chrome.  Time to get it back on the road! 

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
          Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan

[RobertB]

I washed the truck yesterday and polished up the chrome.

    After 2 days, there's a layer of dust on it again.    Well, I've washed the tires with Armor All Wheel & Tire Cleaner (highly recommended!), which removed a lot of grime, and then sprayed the rubber with Turtle Wax Tire Shine.

Time to get it back on the road!

    Though the truck had not been started in quite some time, the battery kicked the starter over!  It's great to have an AGM battery (Sears Diehard Platinum, in this case) that holds the charge for months without requiring a trickle charger!  I put in some fresh, premium gas and drove her around a few miles.  Unfortunately, the gas gauge is not registering any fuel in the tank!  And I had the fueling sending unit replaced several years ago.  Not another replacement needed...

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
          Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan