The seats are stitched in...
The seats are stitched in two-tone with a solid beige and fabric. All the seat kick moldings are OEM and painted true to Ford's original color charts.
The seating is all done in Ford factory materials concurrent with OEM parts and colors for 1961. The carpet is also Ford brown loop-pile, an option on this model.
The seating surfaces have two tones, one of which is solid beige vinyl and the other, a finely ribbed two-toned fabric section set in three pieces for the front seat and four for the rear. The seat kick moldings are all OEM and are painted per Ford color charts.
The door panels are also all fresh, done in the original style by SMS Auto Fabrics in Canby, Oregon. Donald sent SMS his original door panels that were in pretty good shape but looked aged and a little saggy. These were unavailable from any other source. SMS had identical door panels made to match the fabric they supplied for the seating surfaces. The rest of the software and trimming was done by Dooley & Sons, in Magnolia, Texas.
The other significant interior problem was the headliner. Back in 1961, Ford did not use vinyl in its wagons for headliners, rather a printed cardboard.
The original was an eyesore of sagging cardboard with strange stains. For want of looking he could not find an OEM headliner but the original became the inspiration for Donald. It didn't take long for him to work out an idea with his buddy who owned an instant print shop to make a new headliner.
They copied the old pattern on the cardboard and then created a giant new digital file for the new artwork. This new pattern file was then printed out on a large inkjet printer using archival inks. Once they had enough output of the new printed material they bonded the heavy paper to new flat waterproof cardboard. With these large blanks of fresh headliner material they cut a new headliner using the original headliner as the template. It was a six-month project with quite a lot of messing about to reach perfection. For Donald, it was another worthwhile project to achieve the right look.
Could that be Don in the background?...
Could that be Don in the background? We think so. Don's low-key approach to his two-door wagon belies the performance he is known for resting subtly beneath the Ford's sheetmetal.
Other interior changes and updates include a completely fresh Pioneer sound system with Total Mobil Audio eight 6-inch mid-range speakers and three 10-inch subwoofers and a power amp.
For a Chevy guy, Donald certainly became well acquainted with the classic Ford performance hardware. The powertrain is all Ford, centered in a rebuilt 312ci, 1957 Thunderbird Y-block V-8, which now runs 317 ci.
The heads are '57 Thunderbirds, which were prepared with 1.92-inch intake and 1.510 stainless exhaust valves and lightly reworked for clean ports and smooth gas flow. The valvetrain is also lightly reworked using a mild-grind Comp Cams solid lifter cam and stock Ford Y-block parts.
The Egge pistons run 10-to-1 and the engine was balanced and assembled for durability. It features a '61 Ford 5-quart pan, an intake setup with an Edelbrock 2x4 manifold and two 500cfm Edelbrock Performer carburetors topped with K&N air cleaners. Ignition is provided off a stock Ford distributor.
The exhaust is simple and clean and all new. It features a custom layout that is set for improved ground clearance starting with stock Thunderbird manifolds. These lead to a ceramic-coated 2 1/2-inch dual exhaust system with a pair of sweet-toned, Flowmaster Super 44 mufflers.
With all that said, just look how well this engine went together. It's beautifully clean and highly detailed and runs like Swiss watch.
Power is shot out to the 9-inch rear axle via a Ford T5 five-speed transmission running a surprising clutch assembly. Donald wanted a heavy-duty clutch, so for simplicity he re-machined the flywheel drilling it to accept a 454 GM truck pressure plate and clutch disc. It works like a charm using the stock Y-block manual transmission bell housing with a T5 adaptor plate and the '61 clutch linkage. The cogs are now selected with a Hurst shifter topped with a simple white shift knob to finish it off.
When it comes to classic cruising wagons, Donald Hardy's '61 Ranch Wagon certainly is a trick Ford piece. It's so smooth that it can just glide on by without too much fuss but in reality it's a prize piece. It exemplifies Donald Hardy, always Mr. Low Key, just out hanging low and staying cool.