the Ranchero disaster & Brand X update

[Noobz347]

Fake grass here in Nevada, you would crap your pants laughing when the wife vacuum s it.

That would be the ultimate use for RoboVacs.


They better have pet-turd avoidance systems though.

 

[General karthief]

Move to North Dakota. You only have to mow 3 months per year.

nope I want to drive my junk year round.
Me+ snow/cold=hibernation.

Fake grass here in Nevada, you would crap your pants laughing when the wife vacuum s it.

You are kidding right??
Like artificial turf like crape?
Does it ever need repainting?

 

[nickyb]

Same piece lasted twenty years,before yard makeover.

 

[limp]

Fake grass here in Nevada, you would crap your pants laughing when the wife vacuum s it.

Visited Arizona ( from Oregon then) and the " rock yards" were interesting.... LIving in a desert.... No thanks

 

[WhiteCobra95]

Move to North Dakota. You only have to mow 3 months per year.

Sold!

 

[limp]

Move to North Dakota. You only have to mow 3 months per year.

Those Honda snow blowers are a bit pricey though....

 

[General karthief]

well, now that the weather is or has been a bit on the winter side, and I'm sure all my 'followers' need an update to waste a little more time from their life force,
with pics that may or may not be evidence of forward movement....
in other words....watch me put lipstick on a pig

yes, the NTM glass has defrost and a really crappy tint job, the Pyle does not have defrost and I don't care, the flat strip that connects the lines between are kinda fuk'd and one side completely disengaged from the glass, again don't care. Stripped the tint and associated goo off the glass, gave it a bath and went to work on touch'n up the pads.

prep and ready to paint,
i must menchen that I'm glad I'm not painting much because sandpaper is very hard to find down here, I've heard there is a guy north of me someplace that is hording sandpaper and primer, I'm reduced to scrounging the trash bins of the local chop...er, body shop for scraps...

there, rear glass and louvers are ready to go.
now, keep in mind that the Plye don't even run yet and I gots the wing, window trim and back glass out and prepping the area for new goo to glue the glass back in which means dealing with surface rust in that area....gotta check out that new chop...er, paint shop down the road for some more sandpaper

 

[General karthief]

Well the ranchero ain't performing up to snuff, thought about a different thread for it but in reality it ain't gonna be a project, just keep it dependable and not beat it up too much so you will be updated here on how long that turd lives..really if it was not for the rust (not unexpected just underestimated) it's together just ill repaired. A few bare wires twisted not covered, even a couple wire nuts, fun stuff.
The first thing that needs fixed is the charging system, apparently it only does 12.5 volt at any RPM, total discharge if anything is turned on. I changed the alt and regulator, still broken. Wait only two wires to the alternator? Needs three, so this is where old(guy) with new(ish tech) worlds collide, smoke builds and hair is pulled.....or was that the last episode of WWE?
See, I bought a factory repair book, well books actually, I didn't realise it was on a flash drive. Like three THOUSAND pages covering like 7 different models and no way to 'pic-a-page' you gotta scroll your az off to locate. So after fiddl'n around figured out how to print a page, don't ask... Gotta find the ignition switch, might be major undertaking. Will see.
And then there's Brand X.
Don't ask me why but I really like drive'n it, slow, relaxed and just cool enough I don't feel guilty about hold'n up traffic. First gear is over in a matter of a few feet, in second you can get it up and buzzing respectively and third it will pull you along but 45-50 is about the limit, safely anyway, it don't act like Christine and wanna kill everybody inside anymore.
Got a good bit of the dripping stopped. Well some anyway.
I've been looking into improving some things for longer hauls and a major stumbling block is the 6 volt generator charging system, I have been looking at rebuilding and rewiring the present system but they were unreliable then but fixable with available parts but now they are just as unreliable and replacement is 4-500 bucks, 12 volt swaps are out, to much to change or resistor matching needed, watching a utube character, uh for entertainment purposes, he showed a 6volt negative ground alternator swap, bracket, wires, instructions and all. Apparently this has been a thing in the tractor world for a while so teach a old dog a not so new trick. Just what the driver ordered.
I'll post up pics of the possible fiasco and some witty commentary if anybody cares
Or not
My thread, do what I want...
As long as it's ok with the Janitor

 

[General karthief]

Well what do we talk about first? (I post like someone is actually listening)
the Ranchero or Brand X? You can guess from the title the Ranchero is a few feet from being toast, yes it has crispy bits.

So it has an annoying issue with charging, new alt and voltage regulator and still no chargey, noticed the wires involved with the alt looked funky, kinda spliced and twistedtogether and crudly taped, no problem, peel back the tape repair the connection,not that easy, referring to the wiring printout I am so proud of, me thinks there is a wire missing that goes to the alt, stater wire (I think it's also called the exciter, sounds kinky) so I think I got that mess worked out but still no charge. need to find the ignition switch. it's behind the instrament cluster on top of the coloum, the instraments are kind wonky and not easily seen and the oil and temp gauges don't work so lets fix that while I'm in there. Did not expect this and have never seen this before, as I was removing screws, dust and small off-white pieces were falling on the floor, barley noticable, the pic above tell the story, that gauge pod is now pod dust....

and it prolly still don't charge..... gonna rig up some gauges so if I need to drive it I can and find another truck or something. this thing is operational junk.

 

[General karthief]

Now about Brand X, got the stuff to install the 6 volt alt, wish I coulda got a blak case but it was not offered, maybe later in it's life I paint it or something if it looks funky. Or not....

I did paint the brackets black though so....
I'll let you all know how it goes. Should be easy...right...

 

[DadLife0724]

Well what do we talk about first? (I post like someone is actually listening)
the Ranchero or Brand X? You can guess from the title the Ranchero is a few feet from being toast, yes it has crispy bits.

So it has an annoying issue with charging, new alt and voltage regulator and still no chargey, noticed the wires involved with the alt looked funky, kinda spliced and twistedtogether and crudly taped, no problem, peel back the tape repair the connection,not that easy, referring to the wiring printout I am so proud of, me thinks there is a wire missing that goes to the alt, stater wire (I think it's also called the exciter, sounds kinky) so I think I got that mess worked out but still no charge. need to find the ignition switch. it's behind the instrament cluster on top of the coloum, the instraments are kind wonky and not easily seen and the oil and temp gauges don't work so lets fix that while I'm in there. Did not expect this and have never seen this before, as I was removing screws, dust and small off-white pieces were falling on the floor, barley noticable, the pic above tell the story, that gauge pod is now pod dust....

and it prolly still don't charge..... gonna rig up some gauges so if I need to drive it I can and find another truck or something. this thing is operational junk.

I remember lots of crispy dash plastic growing up. Lived deep south and the sun just ruined that stuff. Not sure Ive ever seen it quite that bad. Might be some kind of record. Check with Guinness.

 

[nickyb]

Yeah check with Guinness ,a six pack or two should be more than enough.

 

[General karthief]

I've seen dash pads and plastic crack on top where the sun bakes through the windshield but never the gauge pod itself, I also could see sunlight peeking through so the cowl under the windshield is rusted out..it's a parts car that runs and drives.

 

[limp]

Can you find a new to you dash gauge panel????

 

[91AOD5.0LX]

Not sure if this is an option but Amazon sells sheets of black ABS textured plastic that is basically 100% the same as auto interior plastics. It can be cut easily.

Amazon.com: ABS Plastic Sheet 1/8 Inch Thick 12" x 16" (2-Pack)，Black Rigid Moldable Panel with Different Surfaces (Textured Front & Smooth Back) for Structural Parts, Project Enclosures, and DIY Home Decor, etc. : Industrial & Scientific

Amazon.com: ABS Plastic Sheet 1/8 Inch Thick 12" x 16" (2-Pack)，Black Rigid Moldable Panel with Different Surfaces (Textured Front & Smooth Back) for Structural Parts, Project Enclosures, and DIY Home Decor, etc. : Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

 

[General karthief]

I'm gonna stick some gauges in the hole and rig up the speedo, only thing I'm not sure of is fuel gauge but if I can get the speedo to hang then I can guess fuel consumption, I prolly could drive this junk cross country with minimal issues, it been dependable after a couple issues were delt with.
Just need it to drive local, you know small truck stuff. Meanwhile I'll stock up on zip ties.

 

[General karthief]

Can you find a new to you dash gauge panel????

Yeah but I'm not gonna put any money into it.
i found a guy up by Hudson that had a parts car but was selling a 'package' and not parts, trying to get his attention to see if he still has it, he was kinda fed up with the trash talk he was getting.

 

[General karthief]

I have come to the conclusion facepage is 85% crap when shopping for somewhat obscure car parts, let me tell you, the 15% left are a hard find.
The local guys I've met have been fine, and there was the guy that got kinda snippy over those heads I listed but in the end we both chuckled.
In searching for a gauge cluster for the rustchero I found two supposed used parts 'dealers' that had the right one, first place was Sentry Ford parts, nice pic and not ridiculously priced but want apple pay or zelle. No credit cards, says they are in Boston. Middle eastern accent (didn't really surprise me). I came across more than a few stating they were a scam, did a little poking around and only found a car dealership there but during the search I ran across a Jay's Spare Parts in Vegas but looking at the address it don't look right for selling used parts and he only takes pay apps and there was a couple comments on a 4x4 forum that said they were a scam too so , I mean I could rig up some gauges just drive it but that's the last resort,
On the plus side I swapped the 'almost a' generator for a 'I'm gonna charge' 6 volt alternator, only drama there was a stripped thread and an idiot testing systems.
Be back in a sec.

 

[Noobz347]

What year is the Ranchero?

There are outfits out there that make replacements for a lot of that OEM stuff that turns to powder.

 

[stormsedge]

well lets update the sheer avalanch of work(?) done on the Junk Pyle, I did some wiring on my 3G stuff, new 4ga cable for ground straps power, I got a 150amp Eaton circut breaker mostly because of it's compact size and hopefull durability.

Will I be good with this?
I made a small bracket to mount off the drivers shock tower just under the coil mount.

Got coolant hoses all done, checked some connections and cleaned them up, some of that 'special' stuff for wiring connections, dumped some of the vacuum lines and kept just what was needed, kept the TAB/TAD electronics but no vac lines, that should keep the CEL happy, right?
Pulled the drivers seat up and got the clutch cable back on the quadrant, I really hope the unknown brand aluminum quadrant works, don't want to do that job again.
Now I'm test fitting the AC lines, what is good to use on that line that runs from front to firewall along the shock tower by the headers? Neither lines I have gots that 'poolnoodle' looking cover.
And for @limp
I present to ya'll the stupidimpulse buy of the year, yes boys and girls, it's a Ranchero AKA 'Tugboat'.....

79 Ranchero to be exact, and it don't really look this good in person. 351W with a FMX auto trans and YES, it is GUTLESS.
Gotta do something about that AFTER the Pyle is resurrected, maybe, don't know how long I can hold out.....

I had a ‘76 Ranchero GT years ago. It was loaded…460, C6, 9”, ps, pdb, ac, cruise…a beast…green metallic, white stripes and white interior. Sadly, it was a northern car and the floor pans were rusted through in big gaping holes. I didn’t have the time or facilities, so I traded in on a new ‘93 Nissan pickup (the dealer used it to draw on lookers). That Nissan wore like iron and served us well for over 15 years…but, that Ranchero would be cool about now parked next my New Edge at the locals. Oh well!