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AMT 1960 Ford Ranchero


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Folks , A M T released that Ranchero in TWO different versions . Let's return to 1961 briefly . First, A M T sent out the 1961 ranchero as a Annual kit , curbside as Tom mentioned WITH enough parts to have had a "Customized Sedan delivery for 1.49. The custom parts were to become the "mild custom options . The second version was actually kind of a re release as this kit was then continued as a 1962 catalogue piece too. Yes, the 61 ranchero was also released as a Styline kit , 2.00.

The Styline Ranchero was the 1961 Ranchero truck kit with Upholstery material , ( Peel -N -Stick ) and Three front extension options ! In addition, TWO Rear end treatments were added ! By that, a sheet of .040 plastic was added to make the rear extension even more radical. Even a tube of Genuine A M T Body putty was included along with a scrap of wet -or dry sand paper too!!!!!!

Now the Sedan delivery was never intended to be built stock . An upholstered , pleated roof piece was supposed to have been used as Tom illustrated in his lavender Ranchero. To have ever built a Ranchero Sedan delivery, one would have had to done some alterations to the multi - pieced cover . First, a 1/8th slice out of the bottom would have been necessary to mate the rear to the cab . The "Custom " upper tail gate could be discarded as the 1-1 Sedan delivery had a station wagon type rear windscreen, not the small rear window opening that was included in the kit .

Still, one could build a authentic sedan delivery with work . I built this one using a 1980's re release and an original rear section .

Now as to the addition of ANY stock parts , I'd say please bring them on ! I have a disassembled 1961 Ranchero I scratch built a 200 cylinder for . I was so disappointed in having those awful three spoke wheels in that piece too. I also scrounged around and found several sets of the now impossible to find AMT "Compact " white wall stocker tires for this one too. These extremely hard to find tires were found in ALL A M T Compact annuals with the exception of the Pontiac Tempest which used a large tire .

I'll be looking forward to also doing a 1960 model myself !

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There were two different resin casters who did the sedan delivery. FIrst there was one done by Mini Exotics back before the last round of reissues. It included the chassis and interior and mine still has the $50 price tag on it. Then we have the Jimmy Flintstone version which is pretty common and easy to get. I've compared the two and both have a different shaped rear to the roof. I'm not sure which is right.

I believe Ron Cash did the 2 door wagon.

Now with this kit coming back, maybe someone will do more resin for it? Maybe 2 and 4 door wagons?

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There were two different resin casters who did the sedan delivery. FIrst there was one done by Mini Exotics back before the last round of reissues. It included the chassis and interior and mine still has the $50 price tag on it. Then we have the Jimmy Flintstone version which is pretty common and easy to get. I've compared the two and both have a different shaped rear to the roof. I'm not sure which is right.

FWIW, mine is the MiniExotics.

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  • 5 months later...

I saw a post on another board. Apparently the new 1960 grill is very nice and has separate headlights and directional lenses. The new stock hub caps are nice too. And it sounds like they opened up some runners and there's some more of the early custom parts and accessories. The gas cans were mentioned.

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IIRC, I read somewhere that the engine originated in the AMT '66 Impala annual, a 396. I'm only familiar w/ the release of the Ranchero from the '90s, have no idea what release that engine was added to the kit. Not familiar w/ the original, I assume it may have been a curbside like the '61 Falcon annual was?

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IIRC, I read somewhere that the engine originated in the AMT '66 Impala annual, a 396. I'm only familiar w/ the release of the Ranchero from the '90s, have no idea what release that engine was added to the kit. Not familiar w/ the original, I assume it may have been a curbside like the '61 Falcon annual was?

AMT added the engine, opened the hood, and revised the chassis at some point in the 1970s. Yes, the original annual, and the 1961 Styline issue, were both curbsides.

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Aw , man ... <_<

Is its Chevy engine at least worth a darn ?

Well, no, of course not!

Oh- I think you might mean "Is the Chevy engine in this kit usable or at least presentable."? :) In that regard it's decent, but there are many better alternatives out there if you want a Big Block Chevy.

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AMT added the engine, opened the hood, and revised the chassis at some point in the 1970s. Yes, the original annual, and the 1961 Styline issue, were both curbsides.

What I can't recall about the later issues is if they had much in the way of an engine compartment...inner fenders, radiator, firewall, etc? I have one of '90s issue '61 Rancheros but never built it..don't recall what's under the hood besides a Chevy engine, which makes no sense in a Ford.

Edited by Rob Hall
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It's got a promo style underhood area, with rounded inner wheel liners molded to the chassis- completely incorrect for the Falcon and Ranchero. You'd need to find a suitable first-gen Mustang donor kit and raid the engine compartment from that if you wanted it to be really accurate under the hood.

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It's got a promo style underhood area, with rounded inner wheel liners molded to the chassis- completely incorrect for the Falcon and Ranchero. You'd need to find a suitable first-gen Mustang donor kit and raid the engine compartment from that if you wanted it to be really accurate under the hood.

The AMT Mustangs have an incorrect engine compartment also, IIRC w/ the rounded wheel liners. Probably best to glue the hood shut and do it annual style..

Edited by Rob Hall
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The AMT Mustangs have an incorrect engine compartment also, IIRC w/ the rounded wheel liners. Probably best to glue the hood shut and do it annual style..

The '66 coupe and '68 Shelby kits do, but...

The AMT '67 Shelby Mustang still has probably the best chassis and underhood area for this car (as well as a great 289), but keep in mind that V8s didn't appear in the Falcon and Ranchero until late '63, so if you want to build an accurate 1960 Ranchero you'll need to source a inline six.

Same goes for the '67 GT, though Steve's correct that you'd still need a proper straight six. Gluing the hood shut would work well too, though. B)

Bottom line is the '67 Stang kits would be great chassis/underhood donors for this kit... but the '66 and '68 kits are about equal with what's already in the Ranchero kit.

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I have three of these already; one will get the Jimmy Flintstone delivery body and be curbside, another will get the Shelby treatment under the hood plus I'll cut the doors and tailgate from the spare body, and the third I built stock back in the '70s from the "Baja" series reissue. Then I have a '61 Falcon coupe that I started to build as a contemporary street machine; it's about 75% done. Only thing is it's been sitting that way so long that it's now a nostalgic late '70s street machine... :huh:

One bit of trivia about that kit: that '61 grille is different from the one in the '61 coupe kit. If you look at the original '61 issue part, the pattern is engraved more deeply than it is on the reissue - plus if you look very closely around the headlights on the reissue version, you can see a remnant of the '60 grille pattern (which must be why they now had to tool a new '60 grille).

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Another chassis and underhood clip that might work under the Ranchero would be the AMT '66 Fairlane. The underhood clip is already separate pieces from the body. The wheelbase may be a better match than the Mustang would be. I'm going to have to check into that. I've got a couple or three Fairlanes and an older issue Ranchero.

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Another chassis and underhood clip that might work under the Ranchero would be the AMT '66 Fairlane. The underhood clip is already separate pieces from the body. The wheelbase may be a better match than the Mustang would be. I'm going to have to check into that. I've got a couple or three Fairlanes and an older issue Ranchero.

The Mustang wheelbase is a better match, 108.x vs 109.x. The '66 Fairlane 2dr wheelbase is like 116 I think....

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I couldn't wait. So, I grabbed the Ranchero, the '66 Fairlane and the '67 Mustang. For me, the Fairlane chassis is the winner hands down. The only modification necessary is taking six scale inches out of the length to get the wheelbase right. Anyone familiar with the Fairlane chassis knows that it's a simple modification. The width is right and the length behind the rear wheels is right.

The Mustang was wrong everywhere. Wheelbase is off 2-3 mms. Too narrow by six mms. Too short behind the rear wheels by 12mms. I'll take sectioning 6mms out of the Fairlane chassis over that mess any day.

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One bit of trivia about that kit: that '61 grille is different from the one in the '61 coupe kit. If you look at the original '61 issue part, the pattern is engraved more deeply than it is on the reissue - plus if you look very closely around the headlights on the reissue version, you can see a remnant of the '60 grille pattern (which must be why they now had to tool a new '60 grille).

The '61 Ranchero kit never shared any parts with the Falcon, except for tires. Bumpers and some other parts interchange, but are not the same.

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