1969 Ranchero GT

[TooOld]

Forty years ago in 1982 my late Brother-in-Law and I started a three year full restoration of his '69 Ranchero GT , it had a 390 Automatic and was painted Meadowlark Yellow with a black interior . I don't have any photos of the finished restoration but I found this one on the web that's exactly like his .

I've had this idea in my head for a long time and finally decided to give it a shot so a couple of weeks ago I gathered some parts and got started . So far it's just been cutting and fitting plastic to get the correct shape , still quite a bit of body work needed but it's getting there . The body and chassis are from an AMT '69 Torino kit and they have been shortened a scale 3" to a 113" WB .  The bed and rear window are from a Revell '66 El Camino and have been narrowed slightly to fit . The bed rail trim is the correct shape but the bed itself along with the 'B" pillar and window will need some work . In the rear I need to work on the transition from the tailgate to the taillights and finish modifying the bumper . Those taillights were done on my printer and are for the mock-up only , I'll cast some finished ones later .

Not sure where the GT grille came from , I've had it for a looong time .

The wheels in the AMT Torino kit aren't the greatest so I have these '69 Cougar wheels as a possibility . I've got an AMT '69 Mach I on order and the wheels in that kit have the GT emblem molded in so if they're as nice as the Cougar wheels I'll be using them , if not I'll print decals for the Cougar wheels .

That's all for now , still lots of work to do but I'm hoping to start the body work next week .

[Vintage AMT]

That is looking mighty fine, 

[NOBLNG]

Wow, that is an ambitious project. It looks like you have a pretty good handle on it though.?

[David G.]

Looks like it should be a fun and fitting tribute build.

David G.

[cobraman]

Very cool project. Love those Rancheros.

[espo]

Great looking conversion on this Ranchero. Getting the bed and especially the tail gate section to look correct can be trying and your tail gate looks just like the 1:1 to me.  Have you found the paint you want to use for your build?   I have built a few different models in this color range and would offer two colors to consider. Model Master #81444 Phoenician Yellow is almost a perfect match. The other is also Model Master #2909 Light Ivory. This color is a couple of shades lighter and is Enamel, but I had no drying problems when using it. Both may be getting hard to find.  

[TooOld]

7 hours ago, Vintage AMT said:

That is looking mighty fine, 

 

6 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Wow, that is an ambitious project. It looks like you have a pretty good handle on it though.?

 

6 hours ago, David G. said:

Looks like it should be a fun and fitting tribute build.

David G.

Thanks much guys !

[TooOld]

5 hours ago, cobraman said:

Very cool project. Love those Rancheros.

Thanks Ray !  While I'm an El Camino guy I've also owned a couple Rancheros over the years and also love the body styles .

3 hours ago, espo said:

Great looking conversion on this Ranchero. Getting the bed and especially the tail gate section to look correct can be trying and your tail gate looks just like the 1:1 to me.  Have you found the paint you want to use for your build?   I have built a few different models in this color range and would offer two colors to consider. Model Master #81444 Phoenician Yellow is almost a perfect match. The other is also Model Master #2909 Light Ivory. This color is a couple of shades lighter and is Enamel, but I had no drying problems when using it. Both may be getting hard to find.  

Thanks much David ! Still need to modify the bed but I got lucky with the tailgate and was able to get it on the first try .  As for paint . . . I have a couple cans of Phoenician Yellow but will save them for future builds so I've ordered a can of Meadowlark Yellow from Automotive Touchup . I've used their paints before and had great luck with them .

[kelson]

Cool project!,i'm following along.

[Oldcarfan27]

14 hours ago, TooOld said:

I've got an AMT '69 Mach I on order and the wheels in that kit have the GT emblem molded in so if they're as nice as the Cougar wheels I'll be using them , if not I'll print decals for the Cougar wheels .

You'll like the Mustang wheels, they look great! Probably the best parts in the kit.

[TooOld]

12 hours ago, kelson said:

Cool project!,i'm following along.

Thanks Curtis !

7 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

You'll like the Mustang wheels, they look great! Probably the best parts in the kit.

That's really good to hear , thanks much Patrick ! 

[espo]

23 hours ago, TooOld said:

Thanks Ray !  While I'm an El Camino guy I've also owned a couple Rancheros over the years and also love the body styles .

Thanks much David ! Still need to modify the bed but I got lucky with the tailgate and was able to get it on the first try .  As for paint . . . I have a couple cans of Phoenician Yellow but will save them for future builds so I've ordered a can of Meadowlark Yellow from Automotive Touchup . I've used their paints before and had great luck with them .

That's a good idea, I just didn't know if that was even an option for you. This way you'll be able to have an exact color match. 

[Robberbaron]

I'll definitely be following this one.  After seeing your previous El Camino conversions, I know this will look awesome.

[Bills72sj]

Following your build.

[Zippi]

Great start on the 69 Ranchero GT.  Looking good so far.

[slusher]

I will definitely be following Bill, after the last few killer builds you have done!

[TooOld]

On 5/18/2022 at 11:48 PM, Robberbaron said:

I'll definitely be following this one.  After seeing your previous El Camino conversions, I know this will look awesome.

 

On 5/19/2022 at 12:52 AM, Bills72sj said:

Following your build.

 

On 5/19/2022 at 8:23 AM, Zippi said:

Great start on the 69 Ranchero GT.  Looking good so far.

 

8 hours ago, slusher said:

I will definitely be following Bill, after the last few killer builds you have done!

Thanks guys , should be able to get some more work done this weekend !

In the meantime I received the AMT Mustang Mach I kit yesterday and the wheels do look very nice . Here's a comparison to the AMT Cougar wheels .

The Cougar wheels look more correct to me so I'm still undecided which ones to use . Here's pics of the Ranchero GT wheel .

[Robberbaron]

12 hours ago, TooOld said:

In the meantime I received the AMT Mustang Mach I kit yesterday and the wheels do look very nice . Here's a comparison to the AMT Cougar wheels .

The Cougar wheels look more correct to me so I'm still undecided which ones to use . Here's pics of the Ranchero GT wheel .

Hmmm, tough call.  I agree that the Cougar wheels overall look more accurate, but those GT emblems do make a big difference.

Another source for these wheels is the Revell 1968 Mustang.  These are pics of a recent build from Sport Suburban on this forum:

From these pics it looks like the trim ring on these may be thicker than the ones that you already have.  Tough to tell for sure...

Edited May 21, 2022 by Robberbaron

[Bills72sj]

I may be able to help you out. I made some waterslide GT decals for my 69 Torino fastback and Cougar Eliminator. I have extras if you are interested.

[slusher]

The cougar wheels ? look better!

[TooOld]

11 hours ago, Robberbaron said:

Hmmm, tough call.  I agree that the Cougar wheels overall look more accurate, but those GT emblems do make a big difference.

Another source for these wheels is the Revell 1968 Mustang.  These are pics of a recent build from Sport Suburban on this forum:

From these pics it looks like the trim ring on these may be thicker than the ones that you already have.  Tough to tell for sure...

Thanks for those pics Robert , those are really nice looking wheels too !  The trim ring is definitely thicker but not objectionable like AMT Torino wheels .  Since I have the Cougar wheels I'm going to use them and make some GT decals for them .

[TooOld]

8 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

I may be able to help you out. I made some waterslide GT decals for my 69 Torino fastback and Cougar Eliminator. I have extras if you are interested.

Thanks for the offer Bill , I appreciate it but I've got it covered !

[TooOld]

7 hours ago, slusher said:

The cougar wheels ? look better!

Absolutely , after sleeping on it I'm going with them !

[TooOld]

Started working on the rear window opening last night , the Ranchero is larger than the El Camino .

The left half has been enlarged using a small file .

After some more work here's the result . Another advantage is this also moves the window out so it's closer to flush with the body . I've also removed the front wall of the bed so it can be replaced .

For the front wall I made a buck and used a Vac-U-Form to make the new one .

New front wall temporarily in place , I also made a pattern for the window . The opening needs to be a bit larger and the window isn't as flush as it should be .

Doing any more work is going to be tricky since there's not a lot of strength left in the window area , and removing the bed side walls will make everything pretty flimsy . Before proceeding any further it's time to glue the body together .

As soon as that sets up completely I can continue . Thanks for looking !

[David G.]

Amazing work on the modifications, all of it done exceedingly well.

David G.