1961 Mercury Unibody Shortbox

Knew exactly where the pic was taken soon as I seen it,, lol Was in Toon Town last june for a family reunion of the wife( she is one of 60 FIRST COUSINS!!) and stopped by Kelvins Wheel to say hi, that hill is a bit higher than the pic, lol
Thanks for the pic.
Fred
 
rmk57: No wasn't looking for a shaker assembly and I may be wrong but I thought I have seen a aluminum oval with Fins that was stock on a non shaker car? May have just been one of the many different ones Ford and other aftermarket manufacturers made. Similar to this one on my Fairlane.
IMG_9739.JPG
 
Hi Fred, yes if you were out at Kelvins you would be able to figure it out and I would think the hill is a bunch higher after all these years. Tim Lee had an office nearby Kelvin for his electronics business back then.
 
If you mean a Torino shaker assembly then yes hard to come by and as you know pricey if you do find one.
WARNING: Mini thread hi-jack. @rmk57 Hey thanks for the memory stimulus blast from the past trip down memory lane (to many similes/metaphors). In 1970 I worked at the Ford dealer and I bought a new Torino (Ranchero) with the cobra jet (?) 429 with the shaker hood. Went in a straight line great, corners not so great. I used let it warm up in the winter outside a greasy spoon while I had breakfast before going to work but many times I had to go shut off because the windows in the cafe were rattling so bad. Ah the memories, thanks.
 
Last edited:
More hi-jacking....

This is a Ranchero I used to own back in the 80's. Was originally sold from Fogg Motors in New West. It was a factory Drag-Pac car, 429 SCJ, 4-speed, 3.91 Trac-Loc. I bought from a guy in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island. Picture was taken in 1985 o r87 at Bremerton all Ford drags. The fellow I sold it to got a Marti report on it and it was 1 of 12 built with a SCJ engine and 1 of 5 with a 4-speed. One I should have kept.

luzbS1m.jpg
 
Last edited:
As I said in another post, a picture is worth a thousand words so here are a couple of the seat belts. Hope it helps somebody out there. This first one you can see the Ford part number, may help to track it down, also shows the bottom mount.

IMG_9896.JPG


Shoulder belt top mounting,

IMG_9897.JPG


Shot more from the front.

IMG_9898.JPG
 
More hi-jacking....

This is a Ranchero I used to own back in the 80's. Was originally sold from Fogg Motors in New West. It was a factory Drag-Pac car, 429 SCJ, 4-speed, 3.91 Trac-Loc. I bought from a guy in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island. Picture was taken in 1985 o r87 at Bremerton all Ford drags. The fellow I sold it to got a Marti report on it and it was 1 of 12 built with a SCJ engine and 1 of 5 with a 4-speed. One I should have kept.

luzbS1m.jpg
Don’t know how is missed this post. Awesome car and specs !
 
rmk57: Didn't mean to ignore your post, I much like the Ranchero's, tried a 68 390 GT as a tow vehicle for the dragster but swapped out to a 1/2 ton. Do you remember how quick it was? Probably was hard to get off the line without spinning? Nicely optioned!
 
Thanks to Bash for this one, he just was installing fuel filler so thought I would show how I did mine. It was not one of Fords better ideas when they put the tank in the cab! Filler doors off mid 80's Ford trucks fit nicely and here is how I covered inside the box. The cover metal measures .080, wanted something substantial but make sure you keep it back a little from the body.

Back tank filler cover

IMG_9901.JPG


Cover off

IMG_9902.JPG


Front cover off, holes in box are 5th wheel mounts

IMG_9906.JPG
 
Looked back at pictures and noticed I didn't show the fuel tank selector I got out of a semi truck. Works great and looks like it belongs.

IMG_9907.JPG
 
rmk57: Didn't mean to ignore your post, I much like the Ranchero's, tried a 68 390 GT as a tow vehicle for the dragster but swapped out to a 1/2 ton. Do you remember how quick it was? Probably was hard to get off the line without spinning? Nicely optioned!

If I left at slightly over idle and rolled on the throttle it could manage high 14's. P235/70/15 BFG rear tires and no track prep back then equals dismal results. It was an oddball Ranchero being it was Ranchero 500 and not a GT as you would expect with the drivetrain it had.
Here's a photo after I sold it. The new owner hit a deer which explains the 71 grill.

JwWUcGi.jpg
 
Sorry Frank if I'm high jacking my own thread,

rmk57: Love the Dog Dish wheels, they came stock on my Boss Mustang and always preferred them. I give you great credit for high 14's, both in that was 'fast' back in those days and we all ran no prep! Sometimes lost these days when all street cars seen in print now run 8's.

Here is the only picture I have of my 1967 Ranchero (big finger typo error above) sent to me from the guy who sold it to me. Bought it based on the pictures from Ontario (yes I was leary) as I couldn't find one anywhere nearer. Wasn't a fan of the wheels and swiftly changed to stock styled steel wheels with beauty rings and GT caps.Typical me, I have no other pictures! Worked OK but soon realized I needed a truck to support my racing program.

Ranchero.jpg
 
The hubcaps/ trim rings are Boss 302 units. I managed to get the last pair of NOS trim rings out of a Ford dealership in Winnipeg.
My dad had a 67 Ranchero 500XL back in around 1972-73. 390 4 bbl, c-6, console, buckets and factory air.
Somebody must have added the GT badging to your Ranchero. As far as I know there were no GT Ranchero's in 67. Nice pickup.
 
Last edited:
Thanks rmk57, I continue to learn stuff!! I do not remember buying it because it was (or not) a GT. I was looking for a 390, C6 combination for towing and just couldn't find anything at the time. I did a little internet cruising and most sites agree that no GT's for 67, although the Ranchero US site shows model code 49 (67 to 69) as 500 XL, GT? I do not remember the guy I bought it from saying he added the GT stuff? I do remember it was very 'stock' and had not been 'hot rodded' at all. It was a fun car/truck but had to go to an equalizer hitch even to tow my open trailer so changed my plans and went to a pickup rather than messing with adding leaves or re arching the stock springs. I seem to remember I sold it to the guy who owned which I think at that time was still 'House of a million parts' later became Bucks Auto Parts?

still unfinished open trailer

img040.jpg
 
If you had an old registration from it the 5th digit in the vin# should be either H,Y or Z a GT would be S. My dads was a 500XL which was as top of the line as you could get back then. Before I got my yellow 70 Ranchero a friend from back in the day had a factory1969 428 CJ, 4-speed Ranchero GT for sale. It was in his back yard with the front end up on jack stands. He had blow up the clutch in it and wanted $3500 for it, I thought it was too much.
 
Sorry, registration gone long ago. When we moved here in 1993 came with a Jeep Cherokee and two boxes.