I am greatly disliking old cars....

Especially when they are stupid models. Case in point, one 1966 Ford Ranchero. So far, I have tracked down a windshield and hopefully a set of wheel arch moldings, but still need a hood trim piece and a vaporware piece of sheetmetal behind the cab. To top it off, it isn't even my car. The things I go through with my dad.....

Why can't he just do the right thing and stick with a Mustang or hell a Fairlane or Galaxie?

I have a 66 galaxie and some of the parts for that are impossible to find

72 Ranchero parts are pretty easy to find, go figure

Well, I have yet to dig into my 66 Ranch Wagon but I can only assume it will suck just as bad finding parts for as the Ranchero.

In reply to Anti-stance:

Yup.

my stepdad has been resto-ing a ranchero for yeeeeeeears. it is currently a comanchero (jeep comanche bed macgyver'd on there in lieu of finding an oem piece) that runs and drives but does not stop, which is scary. lol
its an ongoing battle and I think he may have given up on it sadly.
"sadly" because it is still a cool looking truck thing, even if my mom calls it a Fodge

I have an 89 Accord and there are parts I can't get for it.

You guys gotta be kidding. Try restoring a '72 Capri.

There are more parts available for my 1962 MkII Sprite than for my '98 M3.

Everything but the rubber grommets the wiper motor mounts to, and the heater fan switch/cable.

Fortunately the car has neither a heater nor wipers. Nor door handles, roll up windows, a radio...

fast_eddie_72 wrote: You guys gotta be kidding. Try restoring a '72 Capri.

I've been looking for an E7 Corolla door panel for over a year!!!

fast_eddie_72 wrote: You guys gotta be kidding. Try restoring a '72 Capri.

I have 2, I've got worse

Hey you don't have a Yugo.

1917 lafrance fire engine my uncle did Eot

I could turn my '67 Le Mans into a GTO way more easily than I can restore it in stock format.

Meh...try finding parts for a 1958 Wartburg. "Purists" were upset by what I did to her but the truth be told there was no realistic way to get the parts she needed to go back on the road stock anyway.

1967 right hand drive, JDM Mitsubishi Colt. Title's in Japanese.

Game, Set, Match.

Got two RHD JDM cars myself. Those super-rare "JDM yo!" parts that are expensive and hard to find? I gotta find those all the time. And the USDM parts that fit? Good luck finding them, I think they've all been turned into soda cans and oil drums in North America.

My reason for this rant is that he wants it berkeleying stock. I would have deleted the associated trim that is missing, crude patch panel (it's in the damn bed anyway), and just lived with finding a windshield and got this project rolling.

I'd almost rather try to have to make the non-existent sheetmetal for a side swiped Fox body then this car....

yeah... I'm going to go out on a limb and say that trying to restore any pre-1990 Japanese car other than a Z-car is going to be harder than just about any American car.

I think the '72 Ranchero shares more with the Torino it's based on than the OP's car. They loved using a lot of one-year, one-model only bits back in the 50's and 60's...

My dad feels your pain, try finding parts for a '53 Mercury Monterey. The parts it has in common with the Ford version isn't an issue, but the Mercury only stuff is very hard to find. Luckily his car has all the trim on it still.

Dude, try restoring a '66 Pontiac Superior Consort, the hearse/ambulance combo. Mine was missing a piece of trim - guess how many of those were made? 150. Most of them are crushed and recycled years ago. I never did find that piece, and sold it missing the trim.

But yes, working on cars that don't have OEM or repro parts available sucks.

I even tried Green Sales for the trim... They don't have any.

But I did find out that 66 was a one berkeleying year only taillight, since his look the same but don't match, and it only shares with the wagon.....

Could be worse...you could own a 2011 Saab 9-5 like the one I just junked because we couldn't get over a dozen parts for it. At least old stuff is still in junkyards here and there. This thing had no used parts availability.

I can get alot of what I need for my 80' BMW. Very few things are unobtanium. Although I think in the next decade or so the oem parts from BMW are going to start drying up.

76 GMC Casa Grande. The Blazer parts...easy...the parts for the camper...almost impossible. Then you have the parts specific to just the GMC version, like decals, and that is impossible.....I'll have to get them custom made.