1966 Ford Ranch Wagon

Not too sure about the color combo here. I do like the Mustang wheels. I've seen a few other 66s with these wheels. Still kicking myself for passing on a clean set with good rubber for $500 bucks a while back.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c36065d89&vxp=mtr

 

I'm having my doubts on this one.

Seems to me that it might have been an attempt to invest some money in a cheap 'wow' paint job, quick (and cheap?) upholstery job, then throw it on the market for a quick profit. Could be wrong, just a guess.

What makes me question this one is the A/C wasn't touched, and it appears that neither was the entire engine compartment.

 

I was thinking that too. I don't know how bad the car was before, but I can't imagine this guy is going to get much of his investment back, no matter how cheaply it might have been done. I decoded the paint code, and it used to be Wimbledon White. Anyway, I kind of like the two-tone paint scheme, and how the separation line follows along the body. I've yet to see a 65 or 66 painted this way. But the red is a bit much. I think something more subdued, like sliver or some other mild metallic would be have been better on the bottom half.

 

You aren't wrong, first thing I thought of when I saw it too Krash.
The car may have been a real good candidate for a full resto but that's out the window now. There's nothing harder and more costly than trying to fix what other guys screwed up.
A lot of guys that keep the cars do things backwards and do the paint and interiors first so they can go cruising and look good when the car breaks down or steers itself into a tree, but that looks like a pure flip job.

As the late actor Fernado Lamas was known for saying, "It's better to look good than to feel good".

 

I feel I've done my car a bit backwards sometimes (opting to do the interior last) but that being said first thing I did after, and during, paint was to do my engine bay. So I tend to agree with you guys, with all the interior and paint detail why would you forget to even clean the engine bay.?

 

It does not show up very well in some of the other pics, but in this one below look at the door bottoms. Looks like heavy bondo IMO, has that fat round look witch is not supposed to be

 

hmmm

I was going to say how "garish" it looks in those colors.(and then I did)another "splash a pretty color on it and put it out on the lot" car. The engine compartment DID look a bit neglected. All that attention paid to paint and upholstery, and they didn't even clean off the air cleaner housing and put on period correct stickers(not that difficult, from what I understand)

 

The car may be a long ways off from perfect, and it may just be a flip job. The paint is rough as is the body work. Clearly this wasn't a restoration, but if the mechanicals are solid, and you just want an old classic for a little cheap fun, why not?

I think the price has gone far too high for what it is, and I think the new owner will find some disappointment as a result, but I don;t think there is anything wrong with a "quick and dirty" resto as not everyone has the skills or the means to do more.

That being said, I think there is too much work that has been put into this for it to just be a quick flip (2years worth). I think someone started a project and lost interest, or maybe found something else. I think they have sugar-coated the description a bit, but they aren't trying to pass it off as a show car.

Still, could be a fun cruiser for a couple years while the paint lasts for someone looking for some cheap fun.

 

So, I'm the guy that bought this car.

I actually came here for the first time the night I won the auction (due to pick up the car the next day) and I was all excited because I finally found the wagon I have been looking for. Here were my criteria:

1. Cheap; under $5k
2. Fun - the "cool/classic" vibe
3. Running
4. Some repair needed is okay, but not a roller or "project car"
5. Within 2 hours of Indianapolis
6. Able to hold a family of six (not required, but would be nice. This is what led me to look at wagons.)

I have been looking at cars from the 60s and 70s for months. Everything I've found in the right price range has been, frankly, junk. Cars I've driven hours to see ended up having rotten frames or no brakes, serious electrical gremlins, etc. Understand that I wasn't expecting to get a show car for the money I was willing to spend, but I wanted something I can actually drive without spending another 10 grand on rebuilding it.

I found this wagon on eBay, and decided I would be willing to bid it to $5k. I won the auction for less than that and got pretty excited. I came to this forum to find veteran wagon people, and I got all fired up when I read the notes above.

So here's the good news: the car is structurally solid, and the interior work that is done is done pretty well. The paint isn't bad either, for what it is. It is at least good enough to keep the car from rotting while I work on other stuff.

Here's the thing though. The car broke down 15 miles away from the guy's house where I picked it up. So, looks like I'll be investing in the mechanicals sooner than I had planned. I'm keeping the car and getting it to the point where it is a dependable runner, but I thought that was what I was buying (based on my phone conversation with the seller).

Yep, I'm eating all of my (unspoken) words of indignation now.

Hope I'm still welcome here!

 

Grats on your wagon purchase and welcome. Sorry to hear of the issues with the breakdown on the ride home. I hope that it isn't anything too serious and that you can get it back up and running soon.

For what its worth, you aren't the first person to end up with a couple surprises when buying a nearly 50 year old car, restored or otherwise. My '67 Merc had plenty of them, but after nearly completely disassembling the car I hope that the majority of them are now a thing of the past.

At the time I purchased my car I'm sure others would have pointed out numerous things I missed and probably would say I paid too much for it as well (and I very well may have). But I strongly suspect that the hard words here were not intended to be personal, but rather cautionary to other members. Probably a lesson to be learned here for those posting.

That being said, I doubt you will find anything less than 100% support in enjoyment of your wagon and any work you have planned for it.

Please accept my sincerest apologies if my previous post offended. It certainly was not my intent. I personally like the paint scheme that was used, and stand by my thought that this could be a very cooler cruiser while staying inside budget. I hope you find many miles of happiness in it.

Once again, welcome.

 

Crocodator, stuff happens and if we were really honest I feel most of us have experienced how you may feel now but in reality you have a longroof that you and your family will enjoy and fix up as the budget allows . from Downunder

 

Croc, by all means you are certainly welcome here, and we are pleased you joined!

Yes, some of us (particularly me) were a bit critical of this Ranch Wagon. Most of the time though, the criticism is aimed squarely at the seller for they way they prepare and sell the wagons.

In the case of your wagon, I'm afraid I've seen this type of deal before. The pics showed a rather flashy paint job as well as some new upholstery, but the engine compartment looked totally untouched, as evidenced by your problems immediately after picking it up.

My guess is that the seller was hoping for something a bit more than $5,000 for the wagon, which would have given him a net profit of $2,000 or so. (I'm guessing he bought it for some where south of $2,000, and maybe spent $1,500 - $2,000 or so on the paint, wheels and interior.) Soooo.... I think you got a good deal in the end.

Anyway, glad you're here, and let us know if we can help you get the kinks worked out. We gots some Ford experts amongst us.....

Marshall

 

Thanks everybody. As I said above, while I'm a bit annoyed with the seller I still am (overall) happy to have this wagon. It has good bones and he hadn't done anything horrible or irreversible to it. Even with the problems I ran into last week, I still think this car is worth what I paid for it. I have the original Texas title and I can see what's done and what isn't.

I'll admit that I kind of like the gaudy paint, but I'm thinking about some alternatives for down the road that might be a bit more classy

The best part though is that for the 15 miles with one gas stop that I had with it (that's about the right ratio, right?) I loved the looks and thumbs up I got! Having owned a minivan in the past, I don't miss the soul-sucking feeling of getting behind the wheel of a Honda Odyssey.

 

Welcome Croc. Since I originally posted the link to the eBay ad, I feel compelled to respond.

I'm glad you understand that no one here feels any ill will toward you, or even the car. It seems that a fairly lively discussion emerged from the posting for your car. Members here regularly post links to wagons for sale, and sometimes they can evoke strong reactions.

I too join with my fellow members and wish you good luck with the car, and hope you enjoy it. Also glad to hear that during your brief drive, you experienced the fun of seeing others' reactions to the car.

Hopefully you sort out whatever the problem is. I doubt it's anything serious or anything the seller would have known about. With any luck it's something simple. When I bought my Ranch Wagon, it still had the points ignition, and it wasn't long before the condenser failed. I replaced it, and within 500 miles, the replacement failed (which prompted to splurge for a electronic conversion). Let hope it's something like that.

BTW, I too bought my 66 RW on eBay out of Indiana, back in 2010. First time I've bought a car on eBay and thankfully it worked out. It was located in Milroy IN not far SE of Indy. I had plans to do some kind of mild custom like yours, but when I got it, I found it was in far too original condition to mess with.

If you are interested, this is a great site for 66 Fords and there is a lot of information contained there.
http://66ford.fordregistries.com/

Also, quite a few SWF members own 65-68 Fords/Mercs, so you should have plenty of support for questions and concerns.

And for what it's worth, I still like the Mustang wheels on the car. And while I'm not hip to the red, I do like how the upper and lower color separation line looks on the body. I had not seen one painted this way, and I was curious how it would look.

Again, good luck with your new purchase, and hopefully you'll be back on the road soon.