1957 Ford Del Rio Ranchero

[Phildaupho]

I have a project ready for paint but it has been too wet to consider going to the spray booth or even wanting to spend much time outside so I just had an uncontrollable urge to try converting a Revell 1957 Del Rio Ranch Wagon into a 1957 Ranchero - one of my all time favorite cars and one which probably is unlikely to ever be released as a new kit.

The rear window is the Wagon window moved forward and the bulkhead below is a portion of a '57 Chrysler 300 roof. I am not sure when I will get back to this but it was a fun way to spend a few hours.

I previously built a Meteor version using the old Revell kit.

 

[MrObsessive]

WOW! Lookin' good Phil!

We've been hoping Revell would have come out with a Ranchero variant by now, but at this point it's unlikely. Very good bodywork so far! 👍

[crossfire 2004]

Nice work Phil, I particularly like the rear of the cab, when I did mine I deleted the roof overhang just to make the conversion easier.

[Zippi]

You need to get back on this one.  That looks pretty kewl.  

[espo]

Looks like a good project. I know of a couple of Resin Cast Ranchero bodies out there but they seem to have the base side trim and yours has the nicer Fairlane trim. 

[Phildaupho]

15 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

WOW! Lookin' good Phil!

We've been hoping Revell would have come out with a Ranchero variant by now, but at this point it's unlikely. Very good bodywork so far! 👍

Thanks Bill - I just couldn't hold my breath any longer !!

14 hours ago, crossfire 2004 said:

Nice work Phil, I particularly like the rear of the cab, when I did mine I deleted the roof overhang just to make the conversion easier.

 

Thanks Stuart - I studied the rear of the cab  closely and figured I could make the Wagon rear window work. In reality I think the rear window was a pickup unit.

9 hours ago, Zippi said:

You need to get back on this one.  That looks pretty kewl.  

You may be right Bob. Once I finish my current project and might not be able to resist getting back to the Ranchero.

1 hour ago, espo said:

Looks like a good project. I know of a couple of Resin Cast Ranchero bodies out there but they seem to have the base side trim and yours has the nicer Fairlane trim. 

Thanks David - I do like the standard trim and changed to that on a Gasser Sedan Delivery I did but I do prefer the Fairlane trim on Rancheros.

[RancheroSteve]

Looks excellent, Phil! Looking forward to seeing more.

[Steve H]

Hi Phil. This will be a cool build. Hope that you carry on once you finish your current project. Hope all is well sir.

Cheers, Steve

[Sledsel]

Nice conversion. The rear window looks really good. I love 57 Fords and I have a Ranchero build that got boxed because of time restraints. I went about it totally different and used the body from the Revell '57 Ranchero and partial roof from the Del Rio.

The roof/doors on the Ranchero kit is too short and the body on the wagon needs to much correcting for me to do again. It is one of those "I am only doing this once builds."

[Phildaupho]

18 hours ago, RancheroSteve said:

Looks excellent, Phil! Looking forward to seeing more.

 

1 hour ago, Steve H said:

Hi Phil. This will be a cool build. Hope that you carry on once you finish your current project. Hope all is well sir.

Cheers, Steve

 

58 minutes ago, Sledsel said:

Nice conversion. The rear window looks really good. I love 57 Fords and I have a Ranchero build that got boxed because of time restraints. I went about it totally different and used the body from the Revell '57 Ranchero and partial roof from the Del Rio.

The roof/doors on the Ranchero kit is too short and the body on the wagon needs to much correcting for me to do again. It is one of those "I am only doing this once builds."

Thanks guys - I think that I will definitely have to get back to this after I complete my current project. I want to save the kit engine for a future hot rod project so plan to install a Thunderbird engine from the AMT 62 T-Bird kit and will likely go with either chrome wheels or Radar mags. Color wise I am leaning towards two-tone light green and white like the box art model.

I think the only difficulty I am going to have is with the pickup bed. I am thinking I will try to make the sides, bottom and bulkhead under the rear window integral with the rest of the body.

[Sledsel]

43 minutes ago, Phildaupho said:

I think the only difficulty I am going to have is with the pickup bed. I am thinking I will try to make the sides, bottom and bulkhead under the rear window integral with the rest of the body.

   The trim should not be tough, and if the bed sides and floor are separate they will hide the seam. 

  

 

If you feel up to it, a little reshaping on the tail light bezels and quarters will help the look of the rear. For some reason Revell made the rear of the bezel flat and the bezel and top of the quarter lost its body curvature. I was able to fix this with some knife trimming and a small sanding stick.

Below are some images showing the correct shape and look.

Now, I am just sharing info..... 

 

 

 

[Phildaupho]

On 12/2/2021 at 10:35 AM, Sledsel said:

   The trim should not be tough, and if the bed sides and floor are separate they will hide the seam. 

  

 

If you feel up to it, a little reshaping on the tail light bezels and quarters will help the look of the rear. For some reason Revell made the rear of the bezel flat and the bezel and top of the quarter lost its body curvature. I was able to fix this with some knife trimming and a small sanding stick.

Below are some images showing the correct shape and look.

Now, I am just sharing info.....

 

Thanks for the info. I had never before studied the bed floor of a 57 Ranchero. I did an internet search and found a few more views so now I have a plan.

Edited December 4, 2021 by Phildaupho

[Phildaupho]

Since I originally posted this WIP I have redone the pickup area.

- The cab side door panel areas were separated from the rear side panels

- A section of the removed roof now forms the rear bulkhead of the interior as the roof of course is the same shape as the lower frame of the rear window under which a small shelf was added

- A new pickup floor was fabricated from smooth and grooved Evergreen styrene sheets to look more like an actual Ranchero floor

- The forward pickup bed bulkhead is now a flat piece of styrene with a couple of sizes of half round Evergreen rod added below the lower window frame to simulate that area on an actual Ranchero

- All the pieces of the pickup bed except the wheel tubs were glued together and to the body with the seams puttied which still need finessing. 

 

[espo]

Great looking bed. Are you planning on adding the wheel tubes to the bed floor as well or leave them separate? 

[crazyjim]

Looking pretty good.

[Misha]

That’s really coming along nicely Phil, always been a fan of Rancheros and El Caminos. Your fabrication is looking bang on and is very informative in creating a much desired model. I had originally misses your post and now I be following along closely. 
Cheers and Happy New Year! Misha

[Phildaupho]

3 hours ago, espo said:

Great looking bed. Are you planning on adding the wheel tubes to the bed floor as well or leave them separate? 

Thanks David - Until I took these recent photos I was not planning to attach the wheel tubs to the floor but I may reconsider

3 hours ago, crazyjim said:

Looking pretty good.

Thanks Jim

Edited December 31, 2021 by Phildaupho

[Phildaupho]

3 minutes ago, Misha said:

That’s really coming along nicely Phil, always been a fan of Rancheros and El Caminos. Your fabrication is looking bang on and is very informative in creating a much desired model. I had originally misses your post and now I be following along closely. 
Cheers and Happy New Year! Misha

Thanks Misha - Happy New year to you

[espo]

14 minutes ago, Phildaupho said:

Thanks David - Until I took these recent photos I was not planning attach the wheel tubes to the floor but I may reconsider

Thanks Jim

A thought no matter which way you go on the tubs. Some photos I have seen it looks as if Ford had a very narrow flat molding around the wheel tubes. Maybe one way to cover the small gap between the tubs and the bed floor as well as the sides would be to add a very small plastic molding to the body so that when the tubs are installed from below it would cover the small gap. I like how you did the bulkhead below the rear window. 

[Phildaupho]

2 hours ago, espo said:

A thought no matter which way you go on the tubs. Some photos I have seen it looks as if Ford had a very narrow flat molding around the wheel tubes. Maybe one way to cover the small gap between the tubs and the bed floor as well as the sides would be to add a very small plastic molding to the body so that when the tubs are installed from below it would cover the small gap. I like how you did the bulkhead below the rear window. 

Thanks David for your suggestion. I have decided to separate the wheel tubs from the floor pan and attach them to the pickup floor and will definitely use your suggested molding on the side panels. Seeing as the pick up bed area is the most significant aspect of this project I may as well try to make it as true to the actual Ranchero as I can.

[Phildaupho]

As mentioned above I decided to separate the wheel tubs from the floor pan and attach them to the pickup floor and added molding on the side panels.

[Phildaupho]

I figured I had better finish the whole under body assembly to make sure everything fits. You can see how I removed the rear wheel tubs and shortened the interior side panels. I decided to build the Ranchero how I would have liked one to be if I had owned one as a young guy back in the mid-1960's with a hot engine, Torque-Thrust wheels, a floor shift and a tachometer. The FE engine came from a disassembled AMT '60 Ford and the wheels and tires are from a Revell Deuce. The dark green "upholstery" is kit decals. The door panel decals do not fit properly as the cut outs for the arm rests are too high. I did have to do some trimming to the leading edge of the dash to assure the windshield will fit properly.

[espo]

Glad to see you're getting back to this build. 

[Phildaupho]

22 hours ago, espo said:

Glad to see you're getting back to this build. 

Thanks David - I have really enjoyed doing the conversion. Next time you see it I hope it will be Under Glass before the end of the month.

[Steve H]

Wow, great progress Phil! I like the direction you took with this one. Would have been a hot ride to have back in high school!!