EZ Project?: 1962 Ford Ranch Wagon

Having spent its entire motoring existence in Oklahoma this Ebay find Ranch Wagon is ready for a new life. Looking completely stock and missing nothing essential, the next owner has an open canvas on what the next stage will be. Get her up and running as is for a daily driver? A stock restoration? or perhaps a hot rod surfer wagon is in this wagons future. In any case, with a very straight and solid looking body the next owner will be be off to a great start in whatever project he chooses.

The Ranch Wagon was the baseline wagon for the full size Fords in 1962 but for me there’s a lot of appeal for these stripped down utilitarian haulers. Like most entry level cars of this era, this one has the three on the tree manual transmission- after all, an automatic transmission was a big chunk of change in 1962. And although a cheaper 6 was available, this one is equipped with a 292 V8 which was a solid 42hp higher than the available six.

The biggest issue with the body appears to be a small fender bender that left allowed some rust to begin and also appears to have bent the front bumper a bit. The rest of the body looks perfectly straight withe no evident rust.

As expected, nothing too flashy in the cabin but its all there. If kept stock, a good dye job might be sufficient for the seat covers. Door panels may need to be replaced as there is evidence of some sagging and cracking.

Probably the biggest question for this wagon is the mechanics. The seller says the car has been sitting in storage for awhile and needs ‘minor tinkering’ to get driveable but doesn’t mention what the issues are. Maybe the issues are minor but it would probably be safe to assume that at minimum a fair amount of work will be needed.

Update 12/11/2017: Car has sold for $6,249