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I need your advice !

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J

Joe Dibbons

Junior Member
Hi. I plan on purchasing a 1973 ford ranchero gt for $600 that i found off craigslist. The car is in great condition in the photo but it does not have an engine or transmission. I have a budget of $5000. Im pretty new to cars and im still learning, and i need advice. Is it a good idea to buy a new engine and transmission for this car? If so what engine do you think would be best? And where can i find a transmission? Ive always wanted an older car to fix up plus i hear it can be cheap, if you think this is bad idea can you suggest better ones? Thank you guys all ideas, opinions, and advice is appreciated 🙂
 
Joe, unless you have a mentor to help you I would walk away.
The best thing for that car is to find an old running car of the same era and transplant the used engine and transmission complete.
 
Any Ford 385 series big block, FE big block or Windsor small block will fit the car. I believe those cars also were optioned with the Cleveland small blocks (351C and Modified 400).

Transmissions are C4 for small blocks or C6 for big blocks. Sounds like a cool project. Don't let people scare you off. You will learn something whatever the outcome. Sometimes learning costs time and money.
 
1973 would be the worst year Ranchero to buy. If you insist on that gen find one that either runs and drives or can get there with little work. You should be able to find one more complete within your budget. Parts on that gen will also be harder to come by than previous gens.

You might want to also look at Ford Falcon's for something old, cheap, and easy to work on. Parts will be way easier to come by than a last gen Ranchero.
 
What are the odds that he comes back informing us of this awesome site he found to get parts cheap? 😛
 
Sounds like a fun project. If it actually is a roller in great shape, originally had a V8, and has a clear title, I'd buy it.
But first, you can't really tell a car's condition by a pic. You have to see it in person and poke around. And as mentioned, you need an experienced friend to check it out.
Check out the data plate to find the original engine/tranny/rear end equipment.
 
Another thing to consider.....when the engine/trans were removed, did they carefully label each wire connection under the hood or were wires indiscriminately unplugged and unlabeled, or worse yet, cut?
 
cbrsurfr said:
1973 would be the worst year Ranchero to buy. If you insist on that gen find one that either runs and drives or can get there with little work. You should be able to find one more complete within your budget. Parts on that gen will also be harder to come by than previous gens.

You might want to also look at Ford Falcon's for something old, cheap, and easy to work on. Parts will be way easier to come by than a last gen Ranchero.
Click to expand...

'73 was not last gen.
 
Ferzerp said:
What are the odds that he comes back informing us of this awesome site he found to get parts cheap? 😛
Click to expand...

rockauto.. 🙂


I could see trim and body/interior taking some work, but I'd be astounded if all the mechanical stuff wasn't still available and cheap. I'm sure from the doors forward it shared parts with any number of other Fords from that era.
I'm also sure, without looking, that there is a community supporting them somewhere out there.

That said, one of them with no drivetrain is a big bite to take on a first car, I highly recommend finding something that at least runs and drives.
 
cbrsurfr said:
Sorry didn't realize there was a gen even shittier than that gen. 😛
Click to expand...

lol.

Buddy had a '73 Torino in high school/early college. That was a great car for that time of life. Big beast of a thing, and in just bad enough shape that people knew to get out of your way.
 
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Get something that runs for your first project. There are tons of options out there. I bought a $500 project car that needed an engine and transmission when I was younger. Had big plans for it. Ended up giving it away. Just my experience, but having a drivable car gives you more motivation to keep working on it. Then when you get the experience, try something a bit more difficult.
 
I suspect a lot of us had that experience when we were young and full of more ambition than money. Mine was a 69 Cutlass S that I shudder to think what would be worth today it was such a clean car at the time. I got a few things done but life got in the way, and lack of experience, and away it went. I can build a car from a bare chassis and parts in boxes today, but I still don't unless I have a really, really, really good reason to..
 
If your budget is 5,000, then you should spend $7,500 and get a clean driver that just needs some TLC. Set aside a grand to have a car from Arizona or Southern California shipped to you. If it's from Arizona, you should expect to need to replace a lot of interior stuff if it had been out in the sun, especially those old dashboards and seats.
 
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