1963 Ford Falcon Ranchero

1963 Ford Falcon Ranchero
I have really enjoyed building and driving this car but unfortunately with a growing family I hardly get to drive it the way it deserves and I have another 1965 Mustang project I would like to get the ball rolling on. I am not in a bind or forced to sell the Ranchero but the reserve price is set significantly lower than what I have invested in building the car in PARTS ALONE.
This is an extremely fun car to drive that never fails to put a smile on my face. With a little more suspension work of the new owners choice, this car could be a very capable autocross machine.
I am sure I will leave out plenty of details but please feel free to message or contact me and I will be happy to provide any details requested.
I bought the car out of Sacramento California.
Once it got to Tennessee I stripped it completely, media blasted to bare metal, and was painted correctly with PPG Base/Clear Wimbledon White with PPG Matte Black/Matte Clear on the hood.
The Ranchero has been to shows but I would call it driver quality, though most disagree.
All emblem and lettering holes were properly welded and smoothed as well as the bumper bolts.
100% new glass and rubber.
All original trim was blasted and powdercoated for a durable finish.
The previously weak unibody has been boxed and braced with 2x2 square tubing throughout ( a much better interpretation of subframe connectors) and you can tell immediately after driving it that this is not a stock unibody ford.
Suspension/Brakes/Driveline:
-Stock style front suspension with upgraded parts from OpenTracker Racing(Baer Tracker Bump Steer Kit;Full steering rebuild;Roller Idler Arm;Koni Shocks, Performance Springs, Roller Spring Perches etc.)
-Street Or Track Billet Export Brace
-Stock Style Rear Suspension with 65 Mustang Leaf Springs located properly further rearward with Leaf Spring Sliders, Koni Shocks.
-Later model Ford 8" rear axle with a completely new 3.55 gear/TracLoc assembly from Quick Performance, 11 inch disc brake conversion.
Fuel System:
-Tanks Inc EFI 15 Gallon Tank (Filler Neck located inside bed)
-Earls EFI Fuel line,fittings, and filter (feed and return)
Wiring/Lighting/Gauges:
Completely rewired Front to Rear with American Auto Wire Harness all centralized to an easy access panel behind the rear seat
All wiring inside and out has been wrapped in heat resistant wiring loom (not the cheap plastic stuff) wherever possible and I did make an effort to keep the wiring tidy although I am sure someone else could do a much better job.
Vintage Retrofit Led Headlights
All exterior lights are converted to LED
-Custom made Speedo Bezel (by myself using factory bezel) to house Tach+GPS Speedo (all Autometer Ultra Lite II)
-Triple Gauge pod adapted from a 1965 Mustang aftermarket piece ( black vinyl wrapped) housing Fuel, Coolant Temp, and Oil Pressure gauges (Autometer Ultra Lite II)
-Master Battery Cutoff switch( mounted to Easy access wiring panel)
*Battery has been relocated to underneath the bed floor with an access cover*
-US Shift Quick 4 Transmission Controller with custom TPS Harness adapter (Ford 4R70W) *Tons of adjustability, you can make the car shift however you want it to*
Wheels/Tires:
if you know falcons, you know it is always a challenge to fit bigger modern rubber underneath these cars, much time was spent measuring, massaging metal and rolling fenders (properly) to get the desired look and tire size.
-18x8 Front/Rear (JNC)
- Custom Made Hub Centric Spacers Front/Rear
- 225/40/18 Nitto NeoGen (less than 1000 miles on the set)
-Also comes with a spare set of black steel wheels/tires(90% or better) 16x7.
Brakes:
-Wilwood 12" Front Brakes
-11" Explorer rear disc conversion
-Wilwood 1" bore Master Cylinder (black) with Wilwood Prop. Valve.
*This car stops great even with manual brakes and never leaves you crossing your fingers and hoping for a stop like most manual brakes *
Interior:
-Second Skin Spectrum Liquid Coated interior+Damplifier Pro+Heat Wave Pro
*To control Heat inside the cabin as well as noise; worked very well; but there is no luxury quiet BMW-esque atmosphere. I just wanted to make the car as bare bones, simple, and fun as possible while still maintaining a somewhat wife-approved noise level inside the cabin !*
-Summit Racing Sport Seats (intended on replacing; but they do their job)
-B&M Shifter
-New Black Carpet
-New Door Panels and associated door components
-Interior is not perfect, but it has all the essentials and everything functions perfectly
- Alpine Bluetooth stereo with 6.5" Polk Audio MM Component Speakers in new kick panels.
*Also comes with custom center console that I never got around to installing*
*Add AC and restore the dash knobs for a fully restored interior*
Engine/Trans.
-Low mile Ford Explorer GT40P longblock (approx. 85k currently; 80k when pulled)
- Entire motor gone through, cleaned, painted, inspected
- Heads rebuilt with new valve guides, upgraded valve springs, retainers, chromoly pushrods ( all spec'd by Anderson Ford Motorsports for the camshaft)
-Anderson Ford Camshaft cut for my specific application; great driveability, very responsive, but does have a mild lope at idle
-1.72 ratio roller rockers
-All new seals, gaskets, water pump, balancer,alternator, serpentine drive components.
-Edelbrock Performer Air Gap II Intake Manifold
-Lokar Dipsticks for Engine and Trans
-Holley Sniper EFI (Black 600hp version) nestled under a low rise air cleaner
*Cannot say enough good things about this system, increased driveability greatly over a carb, and the adjustments of this system are so convenient for tuning on the fly. The Digital Dash is mounted on a RAM Mount under neath the dash on the driver side near the ashtray for easy on the fly adjustments.
-Ford 4R70W transmission rebuilt with BCAtransmission components including a performance valve body and a PTC 2800 stall converter, and Aluminum trans pan with drain plug.
*Controlled by the US Shift Quick4 Trans controller as stated earlier*
-Sanderson Headers built specific for the GT40P Plug angle and the 4R70W transmission into a full 2.5" exhaust with X -pipe and single chamber mufflers exiting in front of the rear tire into Nascar style Rectangular Exhaust tips.
*The car is not overly loud; I enjoy the sound of the car, but some may find it a little too much. I have 2 Vibrant 18" resonators I can include with the car for the new owner to use if they like .
Cooling System:
- Core Support trimmed slightly (not hacked) to fit a 1967 Mustang Aluminum Radiator (the original size falcon radiator was just not up to the task of cooling the hopped up engine. Current radiator has much larger core and better cooling capacity; sitting in traffic the car has never seen temps over 190 and drops immediately when you start moving to around 179-182)
- 14" single speed electric fan operated by Holley Sniper system to automatically come on/off based on temperature.
-Canton Aluminum overflow tank.
Now for the BAD:
- A few rock chips from driving, nothing out of the ordinary
-Have not installed the new outer door weatherstripping yet, but it is included with the sale
-The bed could use a fresh coat of bedliner, I'm just picky
-Currently no headliner installed, I prefer it out but I will include the headliner bows if you prefer to add a headliner.
-If you plan to get anywhere in a hurry or are generally anti-social, don't buy this car because pumping gas can turn into a 20 minute conversation with complete strangers!!
-You will constantly be asked "What year El Camino is that?" (maybe just a Tennessee thing haha)
All parts not installed but included with purchase :
- New Vintage Air heater
-Electric Power Assist Steering Conversion
-New custom center console
-Spare set of wheels and tires
- Whatever remaining parts I have accumulated over the course of the build .
In all seriousness, this isn't a perfect showcar, it was built by myself in my hobby garage to be the best version of a 1963 Ranchero I could envision on a realistic, everyman's budget over 2 years, and it is something the new owner can take pride in while blasting down a backroad or polishing it up for a cruise-in.
Did I overspend on some items? Sure.
Are there things I would still like to modify or do differently? Of course, it's the whole point of hot rodding!
I want the car to go to an enthusiast who will appreciate it for what it is and build it into whatever the new owners vision of a 1963 Ranchero may be.
If you are still reading this novel, CONGRATS, this is the end. I love this car, it's been a pleasure to build and even more fun to drive and enjoy, however my family is expanding, life is speeding up ( I was a single man when I started this project haha) and I find myself cleaning the Ranchero and running it around for maybe 1 hour per weekend just to keep the battery charged.
This car deserves to be driven, driven often, and driven foolishly and as much as I don't want to admit it, I don't have the free time to give this car what it deserves.
If you so happen to become the lucky owner, rest assured I built this with the intentions of keeping it forever, and that you are getting a bargain ( I have far more time and $$ invested in this car than I care to tally up or admit !!) and the reserve price is set far lower than you could replicate this car for.
My cell # is 931-247-6533 and email is [email protected]. Feel free to contact me anytime and I will be happy to answer any questions.
Happy Bidding!

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