Ranchero Romance
Almost every Roamin Angel has “the one that got away.” Car, that is.  It might be the first car driven, the first car owned, the car taken on a first date, or some other fond memory of years ago. Seldom does that car survive the years, but the memory does. Bob is no exception.

He learned to drive in his father’s ‘57 Ford Ranchero back in ‘59. He went on his first date with his wife Marie in it. Then he began to buy his own hot cars, some of which he raced at the drag strip. The years passed, Bob and Marie married, his dad sold the Ranchero, and hot  rodding was left behind for a while. But it never left his heart and when the kids were raised, he built a ‘41 Willys with a supercharged big block Chevy engine for racing. Since it was not street legal, he needed to tow it. For sentimental reasons, what better choice than a classic Ranchero?

In 2001, he found his “new” ‘57 in L.A. and brought it home. With the original 292 CID engine, it was a little low on power and gas mileage. So Bob dropped in a ‘90 Mustang 5.0L fuel-injected engine with an overdrive auto trans. He’s added new suspension and steering, as well as painted it white with flames. As his daily driver, Bob has put on 80,000 miles since he got the Ranchero. So when he and Marie go out cruising it’s deja vu, just like dating again.

Story and photos by Roamin Angel Ron C. ©2007