Our project '66 Ranchero takes on a whole new attitude when dropped to the ground courtesy of Air Ride Technologies' bolt-in ShockWave setup. For good measure, we also threw in an 11-inch four-piston disc brake kit from Classic Performance Products, and fresh front suspension parts from Rare Parts Inc.
To start things off, we tackled the steering portion of the rebuild. Rare Parts got us the right parts for the job, including the cool new link that replaces the bulky, hard-to-find, and (in our opinion) unnecessary power-assist hydraulic helper. The link is situated in the photo directly below the bulky end of the ram. It simply screws in place with a special clamp to keep it from spinning out of adjustment.
Next we removed the original suspension, setting aside the parts that would be replaced and concentrating on the few original parts that needed serious cleaning. We started out with a wire brush, but soon realized a sandblaster could do a better job and probably do it a lot faster than the hired help shown here doing his best.
1966 Ford Ranchero Suspension Upgrade - Falcon Down Ok, So It's A Ranchero, But Technically A Falcon Underneath
By Jason Walker Custom Rodder Magazine, January 2006
In the pursuit of the "right" stance, a smooth ride, and improved performance, we can easily go in several directions these days. Air springs are one of the more popular options, and have been part of our hobby long enough now that most of us have either felt for ourselves or heard from others just how well they can work. When you think about it, riding little rubber pillows of air does sound pretty appealing.
Achieving the right stance using airbags is easy because the vehicle can be raised or lowered by adding or exhausting air from the system. And with the proper air spring properly installed, ride quality can be fine tuned for comfort and performance. Yes, you heard right, performance. For the past two years, Air Ride Technologies has held a track event to demonstrate with hands-on opportunities that airbags can handle with supreme performance on a road racecourse. Every magazine editor who attended was given more than enough chance, in more than a few different types of vehicles, to push air-sprung cars to the test. We were all very surprised and pleased with the experience, as well as the unprecedented opportunity to beat the heck out of some really nice rides just to prove a point.
While airbags or ShockWaves (which combine an air spring and shock in one unit) can be a good addition to many vehicles, it won't do you any good to just bolt an Air Ride Technologies kit into your car without first making sure the ball joints, control arm bushings, tie-rod ends, and so on are in tip top shape. In an old project like our '66 Ford Ranchero, that will often mean rebuilding and updating the existing suspension parts. Who knows how many miles our forlorn project had logged; just by visually inspecting the ball joints, it was evident that we would be rebuilding the entire frontend. The Ranchero's suspension parts are basically the same as the early Mustang and Falcon cars, but that didn't seem to help when we first went looking for all of the individual suspension pieces. Then we contacted Rare Parts Inc. One phone call, combined with a few minutes of looking around the company Web site, and we were able to get every part we needed, including a cool little kit to do away with the clumsy original power-assist steering contraption.
There was just one area left to address on our Ranchero's frontend: the brakes. What good are a fast engine, adjustable suspension, and tight handling if you can't properly stop the car? Surprisingly, finding a disc brake kit for our Ranchero was a bit of a challenge, too. One choice was to scour the local junkyards in hopes of finding a Granada with a complete set of front brakes. Instead, we got on the phone with Classic Performance Products. Known for putting together disc brake, steering, and suspension kits for vintage Chevy products and Ford trucks, CPP has recently started branching out to other cars like our early Falcon/Ranchero. The supplied kit was a bolt-on setup that utilized the car's original spindles. We even used most of our original brake lines, only needing to add a proportioning valve for the rear drum brakes, and one additional brake line from the passenger side of the engine compartment to the new dual-pot master cylinder.
Finally, we took the time to carefully install the rebuild pieces, ShockWave kit, and disc brake kit. This was done at home using common tools. There was no need to press anything, or go to any type of specialty shop for help. By the way, we are planning on running a set of 17-inch Cragar SS wheels. At the time of this install, however, we only had an old set of 14-inch Americans. We were very curious to see if they would work with the new disc brakes--keep reading to find out.
The upper control arm, spindle, and lower control arm stabilizer shaft were then liberally coated with semi-flat black. Next we laid everything out in front of us, making sure all parts were present so nothing would impede reassembly.
All of the replacement ball joints and tie-rod ends came with grease fittings. The only trick with these little guys is not to tighten them too hard. The grease fittings have tapered threads and tighten while they screw in place.
The original upper control arms received new cross shafts, seals, end cup/bushing bolts, and new bolt-in ball joints. There is a swedge-style shank on the bolt that keeps it firmly in place. A couple taps with a small sledgehammer and they popped right in.
Three bolts later, the upper and lower control arms were mounted and ready for the spindle. The next piece was the ShockWave unit. Air Ride Technologies has manufactured specific upper and lower mounts that take seconds to install. The upper mount is very much like the original shock mounting system, only this unit utilizes the round CNC-machined aluminum shown.
The aluminum mount centers the ShockWave within the original coil spring pockets. The upper mount also uses two urethane bushings. The lower mount on the assembly simply bolts right onto the top of the upper control arm just as the original coil spring pivot used to.
Inside the engine compartment we can see another well-designed part that not only covers the top of the shock tower, but also provides extra strength between the upper ShockWave mount and the bolts that hold it in place.
The airlines feed right into the top of the ShockWave. All necessary
fittings, and a few extra ones for good measure, were included in the kit.
Next we unboxed the 11-inch rotors from CPP and included bearing and seal assemblies. Since the outer bearing races were already installed in the rotors, we only needed to grease the bearing and install the inner grease seal before the rotor was ready for installation.
Before the rotor was set into place, we bolted the caliper mount and shroud to the original spindle. This kit mounts the brake calipers toward the front of the car.
We then slipped the rotor on with its new washer and castle nut. Don't forget to install the cotter pins into each castle nut used in assembly. The brake kit also included a pair of brand-new grease caps that are also critical to install.
Once the four-piston calipers were bolted in place, the new pads simply slipped in from the top. Don't forget, the caliper's bleeder screw should always be at the top. It can be easy to accidentally swap the right and left calipers, as they look identical. Also included with the new calipers were two brake pad retainers that bolted in after the pads were installed.
We opted for manual brakes (no power booster), and had no problem bolting the new master cylinder onto the original mounting studs. The new cylinder also included the proper brake pedal link.
When installing disc brakes and retaining the original drum brakes in the rear, some sort of proportioning valve should be used. This adjustable valve was designed to be plumbed in line somewhere between the master cylinder and rear brakes. It allows the small amount of constant pressure the drum-style brakes need to work properly.
With the frontend and brake system completely assembled, we went back to the ShockWave kit to install the last few pieces. As if the Ford Motor Company knew we would one day need a safe cubbyhole to mount our air compressor, tank, and control valves, we found that the original spare tire area was perfectly suited for this purpose. With the new 17-inch Cragar wheels on the way, we figured the original spare wouldn't be used anyway, and we'd come up with a new place to mount a spare. For now this is too perfect. Included in the kit, but not shown here, was the wire loom that ties the gauge and switches to the control valve shown here at far right.
Air Ride Technologies ships the gauge and switch assembly already assembled and ready to bolt wherever you desire. Wiring this panel is a snap because the wire loom comes with plug-in ends that simply snap in place.
Finally, we had to take a close look at how the disc brake kit fit within 14-inch wheels. Back when we first planned this build, we figured we had no choice but to bump up the diameter of the wheels (which we still plan to do
just because we want to). But to our surprise, our old 14-inch Americans had almost a half-inch of clearance. You can see it if you look really close in this photo. This may not be the case with all 14-inch wheels, but it's good knowing that certain ones will fit.
SOURCES
Air Ride Technologies 350 S. St. Charles St., Dept. CRM
Jasper, IN
47546
Classic Performance Products 175 E. Freedom Ave., Dept. CRM
Anaheim, CA
92801
Rare Parts Inc. 621 Wilshire Ave., Dept. CRM
Stockton, CA
95203
© 1998 - 2008
