1972 Ford Ranch Wagon Questions

Discussion in 'Cosmetic & Restoration' started by MT58, May 16, 2022.

  1. MT58

    MT58 Member

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    Good morning! On a recent family road trip, I happened to purchase this wagon for $450. It'll probably cost me that much to get it home, but I figgered I may as well take a chance (the wife did not agree.) Anywho, I've been doing some research without finding a whole lot of answers. It hasn't been started in 7 years, needs a good cleaning, and a few exterior parts. My questions are:
    Do the fenders/center grill of other full sized cars like a LTD or Galaxy interchange with the wagons?
    It didn't come with a key for the tailgate...what are my options for getting one, or changing the cylinder out?
    Anybody have a tried and true recipe for trying to get that engine to fire up once the car gets here?

    I'll get the car next Monday and I'd like to try to get parts together so that I can get right to it.

    Thanks for your help!

    Here's a couple of pictures of what I'm starting with.
    passengerfront.jpg Driverfront.jpg passengerrear.jpg frontseat.jpg
     
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  2. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    I have a lot of experience resurrecting these. We'll start with the engine/trans and main electricals first.
    First off, a really good underhood inspection is in order. Wear a dust mask (N95 or a dust/mist respirator; viruses carried by vermin don't play well with humans), make sure all nests are out and gone, and go over the main battery and solenoid-to-starter cables. Look for chewed cabling, dried-out and crumbling insulation, exposed conductor touching ground, etc. If they pass muster, undo each cable connection and wire brush everything. Even just a thin layer of corrosion can keep the starter from properly turning the engine. Also, unbolt the solenoid and wirebrush the base and bolts, as they are the solenoid's ground path. Check the cable terminals; if they're eaten away and pitted inside the contact area, replace them.
    Go ahead and drain the oil, replace the filter. Let the oil pan drain overnight to remove as much old oil as possible. Meanwhile, buy the tune-up parts your car's engine will need: oil, fuel and air filters, copper plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points and condenser. Pull the plugs, pour ATF into each plug hole and allow it to sit on the rings while you do inspections and repairs. Replace the point set and the condenser, IIRC, the initial gap is .017" or the thickness of a matchbook cover. If you have no experience with point-condenser ignition, I can walk you through the procedure. Start with those first.
     
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  3. 60Mercman

    60Mercman Well-Known Member

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    To add to your answers on the cosmetics yes other fender and grill parts will work. You probably wanna stick with Custom, or Custom 500 parts. LTD fenders will work, however there is additional trim pieces that will not align with your doors etc. the Galaxie grill is interchangeable, the LTD grill would work, but it looks like you only need the center piece anyway, and that is custom or Galaxie. If I find the add on Facebook I’ll PM you, but I think someone was parting out a ‘72 Galaxie even the same color. I’ll look back. Also the trim that goes around the bottom of you hood will work from any model as they all have the black painted line in them. Also I’m thinking that the ignition key might have been the same key as the tailgate.
     
  4. OldFox

    OldFox Curmudgeon

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    Spin the engine over to pump out the excess ATF before installing the new plugs. Also, that would be a good time to run a compression check. Might save you some time later.
     
  5. MT58

    MT58 Member

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    Wow, thank you guys for these replies. I'll be following your advice to a T.
    Honestly, it was such a rushed purchase that I didn't even look to see what motor was in it or what size tires it will need. There is a 429 out of a '72 Thunderbird available locally and it comes with two transmissions, so I wasn't really concerned with what was in the wagon. Just looked for rust, and anything that made a bad impression. Now that I've been doing some research, I would like to at least try to see if the original motor will work, and I'd like to see if I still have some of those wrenching skills from back in the day when I helped my dad work on his wagons. Been a long time since I worked on points and condensers! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once I actually get the car home and can start in on it.
     
  6. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Speaking of points and condensers, go on ePay, snag any one of the Sears engine analyzers, no matter what size, or design, just get one that's complete, with all cables and the booklet, that works. And, a small set of feeler gauges. Not everyone has a matchbook cover these days.
     
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  7. 60Mercman

    60Mercman Well-Known Member

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    Hell can you even get matches today? I guess with all the legal pot you probably still can. Oh by the way MT58, I was so excited seeing your Ranch Wagon I forgot to welcome you to our obsessive wagon site. There are a lot of great folks on here with a world of knowledge. I’m still amazed every day!
     
  8. MT58

    MT58 Member

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    Haha, I got a whole butt load of match books! I guess my mom thought it was cool to collect them, and then she hid them away when my brother almost burnt the house down playing with them at age 5 back in the late 80's.
    Thanks for the welcome Mercman, I pretty much spend my days at work browsing the forum, trying to soak in everything thats being discussed, I had no idea there were things like this where like minded folk could discuss their passions! Glad to be here.
     
  9. 60Mercman

    60Mercman Well-Known Member

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    If you’re on Facebook there are two groups in particular that I watch everyday, and see a lot of our era Ford Parts. They are: 60’s-70’s Ford and Mercury station wagons, and ‘69-‘72 Ford LTDs. These groups have a ton of parts posts and good info as well.
     
  10. MT58

    MT58 Member

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    Just bought the engine analyzer today, should be here next week. Feeler gauges are on the list. Thanks for the help STH
    I just joined both of them!

    I need to be careful here. My wife was actually ok with me buying my 1958 Brookwood project a few weeks ago, she was not happy with me buying this as more immediate gratification. My justification is that it will become my daily driver (one thats much cooler than a 2008 Honda Pilot :)) Once that analyzer shows up, she will know I'm headed down a slippery slope into financial ruin.
     
  11. moparandfomoco

    moparandfomoco Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, like I've always told me ol' lady....at least you know where I'm at and I'm not out with another girl, or out in the garage making meth. There are a hell of a lot of worse vices than old cars....

    That's a cool Ranchy - looks killer with denuded trim and poverty caps.
     
  12. 60Mercman

    60Mercman Well-Known Member

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    Plus with your price point you need to point out to your wife that this car and the Brookwood are appreciating assets.
     
  13. MT58

    MT58 Member

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    I've got no clue what combination of words I googled, but pretty cool to find this video on YouTube. Its a bit long because it was a live show, but using the skip feature makes it watchable. My wagon gets delivered this coming Tuesday and I hope to accomplish the same thing!

    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
     
  14. MT58

    MT58 Member

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    Ok, finally something to post about. The car finally made it home Friday evening. I've been messing with it as time allows this weekend. I wish I could put pictures, but I've yet to figure that part out with this computer I'm using. Bear with me!

    I've got the seats out of the car, cleaned out the prepper mess that was left inside and started the task of pulling out the carpet (only one mouse decomposed into it.)

    Mercman, you were right, the key works in all doors, but I still can't get the tailgate to open. It feels like the key unlocks it, I can definitely unlock it from the inside with the pull, but I can't open it with either handle. Can I just take the panel off and access the mechanism from the inside? Is there a step I'm missing or a trick to it?

    Mechanically, I've replaced points, condenser, rotor, cap, spark plugs, changed the oil and filter, and put new battery terminals on. I also cleaned all electrical connections that I could find.

    It looks like someone had tried some of this stuff already, some of these parts looked newer (like the rotor and air filter) and the fuel line was alread set up to run out of a can instead of the tank. The plugs were fouled, and the oil pretty dark though.

    I did run in to a problem with the fuel filter, actually its the carburetor. Its cracked where the fuel filter goes in, and it isn't fixable. I'll be looking for a reasonable replacement carb this week.

    I couldn't wait any longer so I did throw a battery in it to see what would happen. The dash lights up when the key is turned, but when actually trying to turn it over there is just a click and twang type noise...thats it. I'm hoping its something easily diagnosed that I can work on while I wait for a new carb to get here. I plan on spending more time tomorrow going over all the electrical connections again
     
  15. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    What engine/carb do you have? I may have a rebuildable replacement, if your carb is a 2100 or 2150 Motorcraft 2-barrel. I'd only ask a core price for it, $75 plus shipping, if it's the type of carb your engine has.
     

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