This is my 1967 Ford Ranchero. I originally bought in back in 1996 from my uncle. He owns a paving and excavating business in Felton, Pa. For 20 years, it was used as a work truck and at one point was even used to haul a steamroller on its bed, the whole way from New Jersey. In 1988, he finally sat it outside his shop, in the back field to join a 59 cadillac and a 68 Thunderbird. My dad has always been into rebuilding street rods and muscle cars. Needless to say, it was passed on to me early in my life. It was 1996 and I was in the 7th grade. He came to me and said it was time to buy my first car and I told him I was confused because I had 4 more years until I could drive. I was expecting a little p.o.s. as my first car, which is what usually happens around this area, but was surprised when he told me that he'd help me build a muscle car. The next question out of my mouth was how in the world was I going to afford that at the age of 12. He told me it wouldn't be a problem. So he took me down to my uncle's shop and told me to pick out one of the cars sitting there rotting. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled at the choices. I picked the Ranchero because I had always been a mustang fan since I was 6. The guy that lived next door to my parents had an all original 1968 Shelby GT500 KR. It has less than 15,000 miles on it to this day. That and his 1996 Cobra SVT Convertible had won me over to the ford mustang as my car of choice. I did some research on the Ranchero and learned that they had used falcons as the base for the ranchero in the late 50's and then Fairlanes in the 60's and eventually went with the Grand Torinos later on. My style used the Fairlane as it's base. Basically they beefed up the rear portion of the fairlane and slapped a truck bed on it. The more I read though, I found that the Fairlane was indeed the mother of the Mustang. If you take away the fenders and outside of the fairlanes, as well as the 60's mustangs, you'll find that they are damn near identical. Same drivetrain, same motor, same frame. At that point I was very happy with my pick, also the insurance on a 67 ranchero is dirt cheap! After years of working on the Ranchero, I'm proud to say that it looked good and I had the nicest car in high school (was in a vote in the High School Newsletter). I won a few trophies with it also before it was in the accident. I was broken hearted, just a small four years of rebuilding it and dumping every last cent I made into it, and having it on the road for 8 months, a moron ran a light and hit me. To this day I'll never forget him yelling as he got out of his F150. "Of all the cars for me to hit! I just got my damn truck out of the shop from my other accident!" Followed by a lot of cursing. He ran a light and hit me doing an estimated 70mph in a 25mph zone. We had to chop the car in half, halfway up the window posts and right under the seats. The impact had bent the transmission hump and destroyed most of the front end. Regardless, after sitting in my dad's garage for years, it looks like it will finally hit the road 8 years after the accident. In an effort to get out my excitement for it, I decided to make this page. I hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks for Looking.
