Slick 60's

I thought it would be a good idea to move my progress reports on my 65 to the appropriate place, so here I am. I started last Monday March 22, got the bed removed and front sheet metal and started the body work. A week and half later, the tailgate is pretty much finished, the rest of the bed is slow going as there is a lot of little dings that you never see until you get to looking close and start spraying a little primer on, there is 45 years of tiny dings from PO's throwing things in the back of the truck. There is probably another two to five days of work to be done on the bed to get it close to being right. The engine runs great and I am not going to rebuild it, I am however replacing the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, front cover gasket, intake gasket, oil filter housing gasket and any other gaskets that can leak. The intake gasket was leaking bad, also this gives me a good chance to clean the engine good and repaint it while it is out of the truck. I got it out yesterday and tore down as far as I intend to. When I bought this truck the lade told me it was a 43 thousand mile truck. I questioned her as to why she would think that, as the speedometer could have rolled over once, twice or even more. She said the man she bought it from was the original owner and he swore that was the original mileage. I did not put much credence in what she said as I have heard that song and dance many times before. When I got the truck home and started driving it, I found the steering and the front end to be very tight. The cab was tight with no rattles, everything worked perfectly. The truck looked bad on the out side because of 45 years of setting out doors. Looking close at the interior I found there to be no wear on the seats, and the carpet didn't have any holes or show any wear on it, the peddle pads showed little wear too. I felt that the truck probably was an original 43 thousand mile truck. When I tore the engine down I was a little more assured that it could be true. The engine has never been gone into before and is good and clean inside and also the water jackets are rust free, apparently someone not only kept plenty of antifreeze in it but also a rust inhibitor as well. The water pump had been replaced at some point but that was the only thing that I could see that had been replaced. This truck still had the original heater hoses on it with the funky squeeze clamps on it. Both radiator hoses had been replaced as well as the hose between the water pump and the intake. The engine tag was still attached too. Here are a few pictures of the progress



factroy hose clamps


I guess the 174 is some sort of factory marking.


Engine and tranny is out.


Bed work progresses.

It's great to start with a solid platform. It's looking good Michelle.

Your headline threw me for a minute. Thought you had lucked into one of those "really, really rare, never before seen" 1956 Rangers.

Looks like a real nice project you got going... I wish I had a shop that big.

Gritsngumbo wrote:Your headline threw me for a minute. Thought you had lucked into one of those "really, really rare, never before seen" 1956 Rangers.

I hadn't noticed that, your are absolutely right, a 56 would be a very rare Ranger. I have to be careful, having the 56 and the 65 it is easy to get the numbers reversed. The fact that I used the license plate off my 56 for my 65 probably didn't help either. It was a personal plate that said Chels56. Yes, I know it was illegal but it said truck on the plate and was a lot cheaper than buying a plate that I would only use for a couple of months.

I know what you mean I have a 56 and a 66 and my email has 56 in it I confuse my self sometimes, when ordering parts. I like your shop, I always look at backgrounds in pics. yours has a lot to look at I like that big job truck in the background, and its great to have a project going like you do on your ranger.

I got a little more work done on my truck this week.


The transmission is cleaned, painted and ready to go back in when the time comes. If you are wondering why it is red there is a reason. When I cleaned it I found it to be Glyptol red inside and out. Glyptol is a durable paint that is used inside commercial and industrail use transmissions and gear boxes. The thriteen speed on my big truck has this inside it. I was a little suprised to fine it in the New Process pick up tranny, but since it was I dicided to paint it back like it was.



The bed has took a little longer than expected, after 45 years of tossing things in the back of the truck there are lots of little dings that you never see until you start looking hard. I sprayed the rest of the red on the floor of the bed, it really brought out the dings.

what product did you use to clean the gunk off the transmission?

slickmainer wrote:what product did you use to clean the gunk off the transmission?

I used a scraper to get the excess off and then used some engine degreaser. I let the engine degreaser set a spell and then used my power washer to remove whats left. After I did that, I sat down in a stool next to it and looked for any residue grease that was still on it and scraped it off and spot cleaned any areas not clean with varsol. You have to use elbow grease, no easy way to do it.

Details, it's all in the details. Very nice job Michell

Man Chel, You aren't fooling around. And the cool thing is that you are doing it right unlike me and my project. But I'm building a daily driver. I really like your other trucks.
Very good job. If I were a slick, I would want someone like yourself to rebuild me.
Wyatt

Great pics Michelle, keep'em coming.

Thanks for starting a build thread on your Ranger. Your progress is looking great Michelle. Keep the pics coming, you know I am a little partial to Rangers

what kind of brakes are you going to do? manual drum/drum? disc/drum?

I got a little more done since the weekend.


I got the cab off the frame and started the cab corner that was rotted out



I hope to start sandblasting the frame next week.



The bed is is taking longer than expected but finally coming around.

WOW!! to have the patience to even do the inside of the bed... ... Think I'll just have a bed cover made... ... Yup, bed cover it will be...

The truck is really coming along Michelle. How many hours do you put in on the 'ol gal every day?? Your bed is really looking good.

I know I am making good progress, but it sure seems slow when you are looking at it every day.



Welded up a hole in the door jam, I am waiting on the center cab support extensions to arrive, when it does I will get the other hole repaired.


The right cab corner is in and the dent in the left side is repaired, the back of the cab is pretty much done.


The frame was pretty good with no scaly rust on it, only surface rust, it sand blasted pretty clean.