Advertising:

Transmission:Automatic
Vehicle Title:Clear
Engine:292 V8
Fuel Type:Gasoline
For Sale By:Owner

Year: 1958
Interior Color: Red
Make: Ford
Number of Cylinders: 8
Model: Ranchero
Trim: Custom 300
Power Options: Power Brakes, Power Steering
Drive Type: RWD
Mileage: 120,000
Exterior Color: White & Black

Condition: Used: A vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections. ...

I've owned this Ranchero for 26 years, but sadly, I need the parking space. She's not perfect--and keep in mind that photos tend to make things look better than they really are--but she's very pretty. Carpet, headliner, and paint redone about 15 years ago in the correct colors. Automatic (three-speed Ford O Matic), 292 V8, "Master Guide" Power Steering, "Swift Sure" Power Brakes. New stuff: tires, brakes, water pump, thermostat, ignition switch, belts & hoses, exhaust system, spark plugs & wires, carburetor, and some other bits and whatnot. The ignition is a Pertronix unit, which is really sweet since there are no points worries and it's hidden so it looks 'correct'... but the original parts--including the ballast resistor--are still with the car. The original carb comes with this sale too; it's a Holley 4-barrel, but I just couldn't get it running right. Wrong jets, maybe? Anyway, there's a brand-new same-type Holley on the car and it purrs like the proverbial kitten.

Virtually all the little doo-dads operate: radio, wipers, fresh air vents, heater, lighting, turn signals, horn, all gauges except the speedometer and clock. The speedo cable is hooked up, and you can hand-spin the speedometer and get a reading, so the gauge itself seems to be fine. Maybe a bad cable or drive gear? ...so the listed odometer reading is approximate. The under-dash accessory gauges seen the photos work too. Engine starts and runs very well, with no smoke or oil use. Transmission shifts great, although with a solid 'thunk' into 3rd, as it's done since I've owned it. Plenty of power, nice on the freeway. Very sturdy tow-ball at the rear, which I've used occasionally throughout the years.

The wheels aren't original--they should be standard stamped steel with hubcaps--but these were on the car when I bought it. One photo here shows the car with the original-style tires and wheels, which don't come with the car; I swapped those from another '58 Ford for a recent Tom Hanks movie shoot ("Saving Mr. Banks", due out in December). I'm not sure the red-and-white seat vinyl is original to this model, but its sturdy construction feels very 'factory', and the seat cushion is a bit flat, so it's either original or a very old re-do. And the seats exactly match the material on the door panels, so who knows? At some point this Ranchero had a CB-style screw-on antenna mast on the roof. The screw mount is still there, and I do have a stubby 1-foot antenna that screws on just for looks.

Understandably, THE question everyone asks is about rust. I snapped some photos of the underside, including all eight main body mounts, and those shots can be seen here:

Underside Photos

In case I've screwed up that link, you can copy-and-paste this address into your browser: http://www.rightafterthis.com/onlinesale3.html

As you'll see, not perfect, but decent. It is a California car, after all. These vehicles are essentially Ford two-door station wagons with the rear roofs removed, and an old-time Ranchero guru recently stated to me his opinion that water drainage issues below the truck bed weren't initially addressed very well. He mentioned a problem area behind the cab, in the "sub-floor", where there are two square drop-down sections in the sheet metal, probably intended as rear-seat passenger footwells in the station wagons (they serve no purpose on Rancheros, since there's a cargo bed above them). At some point long before I owned this car, it looks as if new metal was place in those wells. After all these years I didn't even realize anything had even been touched under there, so I can't vouch for the professionalism of the repair.

Facts 'n figures: this Ranchero was built in San Jose, CA on October 17, 1957. It was the 388th '58 Ford to come down that assembly line, so it was manufactured quite early in the run. Perhaps that's why it's always had a black-knob 1957 turn signal stalk, rather than the white-knob 1958 version.

What's wrong with this vehicle? It's starting to show the typical bits of rust in two spots: above the headlights (see photo), where dirt tended to collect inside the fenders on most '50s cars... and at the bottom of the tailgate, which is apparently common with Rancheros, as owners forgot to keep the drain holes clear. The old paint is a bit checked in spots, especially along the center valley atop the passenger fender. The bumpers are straight and shine up nicely, but the chrome is definitely not perfect. Some of the interior chrome is a bit pitted, particularly the horn ring and vent window handles, although still pretty nice for a driver. The accelerator pedal isn't correct. The gold anodizing along the sides is pretty dull but complete and undamaged. A lot of the weatherstripping is typical for desert cars: very brittle and cracked from exposure to the sun. Windshield and rear window gaskets seem to be good though. Several decades ago somebody installed a patch panel between the bed and the cab; it's certainly not a professional repair but at least it's symmetrical and isn't real obvious. The steering wheel finish is quite worn, but miraculously, no big cracks. The "Ranchero" scripts near the tailfins are ten-year-old reproductions are aren't really as precise and crisply-cast as the originals were; perhaps newer repros are manufactured better. Also, just barely visible in a photo is at least one of two tears in the seat, one of which is about two inches long, where the passenger's butt sits. The other is where the seat cushion and back portion meet, near the driver's door (also about an inch or so). The radio could use a tuneup; it works, but not all stations come in as strongly as they should.

The doors align and close properly and I've never found any collision damage anywhere. Like the rest of the vehicle, the engine history before I bought it is a blank, but I strongly suspect it's never been apart. Heck, some of that road grime dates back to when I first saw it! I've had it apart just enough to replace the intake manifold gaskets as part of freshening the cooling system, which meant removing the intake manifold, rocker covers, and valley cover. So new gaskets on those parts too. A word on that: the cooling system came into question when the gauge started indicating things were running warm, but after a full going-through of the system, it turned out that the gauge (or sending unit) was inaccurate. A handheld laser temperature gauge shows everything to be fine. In fact, the engine might run a little too cool for some engine experts, but too cool is just fine for me in these desert temperatures.

Can it haul stuff? The last really heavy thing I transported with the Ranchero was an FE-series Ford engine/transmission to and from the rebuild shop. That's a lot of weight, and the engine actually shifted en route when a couple cheap tiedown ratchets broke. The Ranchero handled it just fine, although it was an eye-opener to have that much weight shift while at speed on the freeway. The interior floors appear to be in great shape too, with no 'give' or weak spots that I can find. Have they been repaired? I really don't know, and I'm reluctant to pull up the old carpeting/sound deadener at this point. Hopefully the underside photos will help here too. The spare is stowed behind the passenger seat, and in that area the carpeting has suffered from things being tossed back there that weren't completely clean.

I bought this Ranchero here in Southern California in 1987, and I've got lots of receipts on maintenance and parts purchases since then.

BTW, what's the "Custom 300" designation in the ebay listing? Ebay requires a Trim description when listing a vehicle, which is then automatically added to the main heading. Custom 300 was Ford's passenger car designation for the upscale stainless/gold anodizing trim scheme. Base-model Rancheros received a little less of the flashy stuff.

This vehicle is also advertised locally, so first come, first served.

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