1964 Ford Ranchero Suspension Reburbishment - Start At The Beginning

At the top of our parts parade are new control arms. These units are brand new-not rebuilt-and feature new ball joints and bushings. On the upper arms, the cross-shaft assemblies are brand new, as well as the ball joints and bushings.

New coil springs will restore the correct ride height, and these new springs will rest on new spring perches. The perches are often among the most beat-up components on a vintage Ford suspension job.

New rear leaf springs were desperately needed on the Ranchero, as the back end was sagging big time. Any load in the bed would have had us down on the bumpers.

Dearborn Classics now offers this exclusive under-engine brace for Falcons and Rancheros. The Falcon platform did not come equipped with such a brace, which is found on Mustangs and Fairlanes. Seen at the bottom of our photo, this brace will really stiffen things up when combined with the "Monte Carlo" bar shown at the top. When the shock towers are boxed in with these two components, the added rigidity will mean more precise steering and handling.

To flatten things out in the turns, Dearborn Classics included a 1-inch-diameter antisway bar for the front end of our Ranchero. As you can see, new links and bushings are part of the deal.

These shock absorbers are a new design from the experts at KYB. As the latest introduction from KYB, the GR-2 gas shocks offer the best possible combination of ride and performance for vintage cars.

We begin our job with the front strut rods, which lead from the front of the vehicle to the lower control arms. Loosen the front nut first while the rod is anchored at the arm.

With the removal of the two fasteners at the lower control arm, the strut rod can now be removed from the vehicle. These strut rods also incorporate the steering stops, so don't get the two parts reversed.

The super-skinny stock antisway bar came away from the Ranchero after the links and mounting brackets were removed.

Getting the ball-joint stud to come out of the spindle can be a difficult task. We installed this two-jawed puller onto the spindle and now we pre-load the tool with a fair amount of force. This is a nice tool, worth about $100. It has side-load bolts, which can be tightened to allow a firm grip of the spindle eye, and it fits the task perfectly. We're not super-tight on the tool, but we're pressing down on the ball-joint stud firmly.

With the tool in place as described, we now apply heat to the spindle eye where it surrounds the stud. It doesn't take too much heat to make the spindle come loose with a satisfying pop.

After we removed the pivot bolt at the small end of the lower control arm, we were able to remove the arm from the car. The lower-arm inner bushings were so shot that it would have been impossible to align the car.

The new lower arms are now prepared for installation. We have already installed our grease fittings at the ball joint, and now the new grease boot goes into place over the stud.

With the new lower arm prepared, it can now be installed. Attach the arm at the small end, then wrestle the spindle-and-drum assembly into position to accept the new ball-joint stud.

Once the new arm is in position, install the new castle nut and tighten to seat. Install the cotter key to prevent the nut from ever coming loose. Install the key right away or you're liable to forget.

New bushings and brackets are provided for the heavy 1-inch-diameter bar. Because the new bushings are rubber, we didn't grease them. On polyurethane bushings, you may wish to use grease to prevent squeaking.

The new link kits are installed. These connect the sway bar to the lower control arm. You may wish to raise the lower arm a bit with a jack to make completing the link assembly easier.

Before we leave the lower part of our suspension job, we want to install the under-engine brace provided by Dearborn Classics. Remove the six nuts from the bolts that attach the motor-mount castings to the bottom of the tower. There are three on each side, and leave the bolts in position.