5.0/5-Speed! 1966 Ford Ranchero
Ford’s Ranchero was an interesting mash-up in 1966. Considered a one-year-only model, it wore Fairlane trim, was Fairlane sized, wore Fairlane taillights but still displayed a Falcon grille and non-stacked headlights, unlike its hardtop/sedan counterpart. Today’s find is in sound shape and has undergone some notable upgrades that should certainly help it find a new owner. Located in Torrance, California, this ’66 Ranchero is available, here on craigslist for $11,500.
Ranchero was offered in two trim levels for ’66, Standard and Custom, and saw a total production output of about 21K units.I questioned, at first, the originality of the color selected for this Ute and it does look like Code F, Arcadian Blue. It’s a respray but appears to be what it originally wore. The seller suggests that it could use some TLC but all-in-all, it shows well. The cargo bed is a bit beat up, and all the better for it. Now, the next owner won’t have to worry about inflicting that first scratch or dent. A couple of observations – the hood scoop looks like it originated with a ’69 Torino or Mustang and the American Racing wheels/white stripe tires yield a nice old-school look.
The big news under the hood is the substitution of a later model 5.0 liter V8 engine but it’s fed by a carburetor/Edelbrock intake manifold as opposed to fuel injection. Another change includes the addition of roller rockers. Unfortunately, “Runs and Drives” is all the seller has to say about it. The transmission makes for an intriguing substitution as it’s a five-speed manual transmission that contains straight-cut gears in the first through the third range. It likely sounds like a NASCAR Jerico four-speed, or a Muncie M22 – lots of whine.
The interior, as compact as it is, is a bit of a letdown. It’s far from terrible mind you, but the seats aren’t original to this Ranchero and they’re showing a good bit of wear. The door panels look homemade and that dash topper is probably hiding some dash pad mayhem. The carpet, however, shows well – perhaps it’s a more recent replacement. Note the after-market wooden steering wheel, it’s a nice touch.
The seller suggests, “The bed height is also very low so it is great for loading motorcycles into it“. True enough and there’s a myriad of other tasks that could be assigned to this cool half car-half truck combo. And that makes me think, if this Ranchero were to become yours, how would you use it?
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Comments
Hmm, super nice build, California, “only” $11 grand, something a goin’ on. Always liked the smaller Rancheros, and this is properly updated, although, I bet that bent hood( caused by sticky spring hinge) upset them, but it’s obvious, someone drove this regularly. Straight cut gears? Like a crashbox? As a truck driver, I’d have no problem, but you have got to be kidding. Pretty stupid, people can’t shift a synchro trans, much less a crashbox. It seems, in so many of these posts, it’s clear, the builder did what they wanted, but little foresight into anyone else actually wanting that. Surely what’s holding back the sale. An automatic would be gone by now.
We definitely have different ideas of what constitutes a super nice build lol.
Howard. Ford Australia who invented the UTE did so by using a car body . On the Falcon we used the Station wagon body which has the sedan wheelbase and does not have a 3 foot overhang. So it has round tail lights and a parcel shelf behind the seat .look up google and find one you will like it. Mick from Australia. 18/2/23.
I have a 57 TBIRD it cost a fortune in the exchange rate not to mention shipping costs then i rebuilt it all parts come from NPD in Florida not cheap when they got here.If you really wanted one you could get one with a 302 plus 4 speed or auto a 6 was standard.And you would confuse your friends as we are a right hand drive country. You could buy a 2004 ute with a 5.4 liter V8 auto prefered that puts out 350 HP and runs out to 180 mph stock i got one that is like brand new. They sell for around $20k Aust.so your exchange rate would cover the freight.You guys miss a lot of good Aussie Ford stuff…Mick George. Australia.
With the straight cut gears I’d bet it has “dog ring” syncros which will work well for cruising or stoplight drags. Nice rig.
I, not being all that knowledgeable mechanically, have never heard of straight-cut gears. Sounds a lot like “steel-cut” oatmeal but I am guessing there is no connection.
Seriously, what would be the limitations of straight-cut gears? For instance, does that mean you cannot downshift with these?
The name explains it all really, the actual teeth of the gears point straight out from the centre point of the gear instead of forming a helical shape like standard gears in almost every other road car on the planet. Instead of the teeth curling nicely in a spiral format around the centre axis of the gear, they protrude outwards; more like the sprocket on a motorbike.
How do they work?
The main advantage of using straight-cut gears is that they produce no axial load. This ‘thrust force’ is generated by the sliding contact between the teeth of helical gears. This lateral force is applied to the input shaft of the gearbox, which in front-wheel drive configurations will then convert through to the driveshafts. This greatly restricts the amount of torque that can be applied through the gears before failures on other components occur.
So straight-cut gears effectively allow much larger powertrains to be placed in a vehicle without risking the output shafts and other bearings tearing themselves apart, producing a larger safety factor within the transmission itself.
Helical gears generally replaced straight cut because they are quieter.
To gear heads, straight cut gears make a nice whine. Plus what Ike said.
370zpp- I copied that response from “The Google”
Thanks Ike. Very informative. And not exactly what I originally thought it meant.
LOL…I felt really stupid reading that! I thought.wow he’s really articulate! Ya jess never know )
I’d like this if it wasnt bastardized……….this or a ’65/66 El Camino.
Have to learn to double clutch w straight gears 370…. or you better rev match perfectly.
Its like anything, just requires time in the seat 💺
My manual shifting days are probably over, Stan, so no plans for that.
Parts runner. One of the dirty secrets of building a hot rod is you need to have something to haul old parts out to get them fixed and new parts in to upgrade it.
A car-based pickup would be enough to haul an engine or transmission out to have it worked on and still be easy and comfortable to drive. A late model pickup would be nicer, but it’d be more expensive too. This’d be fun to run around in while the wilder hot rod slowly, hopefully, takes shape.
Howard, Ike or somebody…
Is “5 speed transmission with straight cut gears 1-3”
desirable or trouble?
I would think it might be a little noisy, but otherwise it’d be fine.
SO, this Ranchero needs a Mustang T5 upgrade, Right?
Front fenders have side marker lights. 68?
No, the 1968 fenders included the turn signal on the front edge and had 4 horizontal headlights.
Looks more like the 289 emblems from what my aging peepers can tell.
5.0. is the way to go! Transmission can be easily swapped out for a T5 if downshifting is preferred over drag racing.
The 66 Ranchero had more than just a a Falcon grill , the fenders and hood were also Falcon , as well as the instrument cluster
What’s that Howard? You hadn’t mentioned that you were a former truck driver.
Me say..truck good, California bad!
Syncromesh has nothing to do with straight gears. Other than gear teeth that are on a parallel line with the shafts. Helical refers only to the gear teeth and not whether it has syncromesh or not. A “crashbox can also have helical cut gears but no syncromesh. Old 3 speeds prior to the mid 60s were syncro,on 2/3 but crash on first.
Do you know the difference between a Harley and a yellow lab?
Both spend a lot of time riding around in a pickup, but the lab can get in by itself!
The oddest part of the 1966 Ranchero is that part way through the year the front sheetmetal was switched to the Fairlane from a Falcon. The easy way to tell the 66 Ranchero Fairlane from a 67 from the outside is the emblem in the grill of the 66 is round.
I hate that the stuff I really like are always at least 2 time zones away
Or 3.
I worked in the Ford Australia plant carving out the dies to make this era of Falcons, including the cars, wagons, Utes and delivery vans. I personally owned a 65 Falcon wagon which I thought was an extremely good vehicle.
Yep the 66/7 Falcon range was good because Ford got some US 66 CARS SENT OVER AND THRASHED THE SHIT OUTA THEM.after the first Falcon fell apart read front end they could not afford another mess which would have seen them close down.They no longer exist anymore in Aust. but are well sought after cars.better than the rubbish that lands here today.you can buy a Chinise MG 4 door petrol car for $15k Aust.you probally got the same rubbish over in the USA. Mick George Australia.
some where along in here (4 yrs later?) is a “one yr” only model.
I lub any of the down sized (dart, AMX, chevy II, falcon, early Bronco, rambler, etc). Here’s a great 1 that went falcon and fairlane. The stacked hdlght 2nd is just incredible looking 2 me. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/1967_Ford_Fairlane_Ranchero.jpg
But the smaller 1st 1 I can C in SCCA livery carvin up the canyons. This 1 is pretty cool, the bed does not seem too long style wise w/the cab. Love the straight lines of the earlier 60s. The stamped 1 piece grill gives me that “Ahhh…” feeling (not unlike gettin home after a long trip). And the fairlane tail lghts seem a perfect choice not matter the era. I use a station wagon for prts runnin (usta B a big ol country squire) but the ’80s fox-bodied is plenty for 80% and has the 3.8L for better mileage, w/o issue.
AND
“the 1st SUV” debate goes on. I could stir it up w/other quotes (inc how the falcon, an attempt to challenge the VeDub bug’s decimation of the usa auto industry, spawned the muscle phenomenon (stang wuz nxt) & the suv (bronk is justa 4WD falcon) which we’re still in some) but will not as this is a Chero discussion. Besides, in my mind the 2nd gen holden kingwood waggy (Oz) beats anything we ever made (4WD ) in-that its a cheb lookin as this:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/544935623637238162/
imagine it w/the ‘clam shell’ tail gate? Nah, Down Under would beat that outta the frame ina month…
The 1965 Falcon XP was the “make or break” Australian Falcon: Ford’s future in Australia depended on this car succeeding. Ford’s Deputy Managing Director Bill Bourke conceived a promotion for the new model which was a major gamble: demonstrate the XP’s strength by mercilessly driving a fleet of XP Falcons around its You-Yangs testing grounds for 70,000 miles (110,000 km) at over 70 mph.
The gamble paid off with the Falcon winning the prestigious Wheels magazine Car of the Year award. Front disc brakes were introduced as an option (standard on Fairmont and Hardtop models). The XP was built from March 1965 until August 1966.
The 2 door XP hard top ‘coupe’ was the first Falcon without a ‘B’ pillar.
From: http://www.falconfever.com/
The 64/65 Falcons were not the same as the US models of the same year. they were just 1962 Comets designe wise that were desigined into the Falcon.in fact the only true US Falcon was the first one that the rfont end fell apart on.the rest look like US Falcons but have there differences. MICK AUSTRALIA.
Righto Mick, the 1965 Australian XP used the 1962-63 US Comet front fenders and hood with a new grill. The XP coupe center section of the car and all the glass remained same as the 1965 US coupe. The Australian rear was a new Very Improved layout with proud high taillights.
Mick, Yes, In Oz we call it a flatter bonnet and squared off lines, in US we call it a hood.
wish we had the Oz falcon here.
Y U guys get all the good cars?
8^ 0
YEP the best was the last US themed model in 1971/2 the XY GT HO WHICH HAD A 380 HP CLEVELAND V8 mated to a 4 speed manual. the 380 hp variant which was street registered but meant for racing and cost about $7000 AUST is now valued at a million dollars and most are owned by collectors. try that on against a US Muscle car of the same year. Oh and it has 4 doors.Mick Australia.
I like the ol i6 when Oz took over w/’iron 2v x-flow head’ (that soon went alu & evolved the eventual Barra). That head (some of the X or X-… ’72/9) fits the plentiful usa blocks. Rare today but some import here for that mod.
Like the coyote here, the barra is too big’n heavy, over-kill anyway (in my mind). See SCCA application above.