I had blogged about my father's 1968 Ford Ranch Wagon previously. It's Father's Day morning, I'm feeling sentimental so I searched for new images of a '68. Low and behold, I found a couple. Of all the cars my father had, the Ranch Wagon has proved to be the most challenging to find not only pictures on, but information on in general. I updated my previous blog with those new pictures I found.
When the mechanic at Stu's Gulf gave the diagnosis that the Rambler had a cracked block, he gave my father two options. He'd either replace the engine at considerable cost or he'd take the car off his hands for $150. Sitting next to my father in the greasy office of that long gone service station at the corner of Merrick Road and Silver Lake Lane back in Baldwin, I could hardly contain my excitement when my father said he'd take the money. Update...Chip and I took a trip back to New York last year and where Stu's Gulf used to be is home to a Chinese Restaurant, a nail salon and a dry cleaners.
My father terrified me when he'd light up his pipe while driving the Rambler. Lighting a pipe a two handed affair.
Despite a push button transmission, I was never impressed with the gray on red, 1961 Rambler "Classic" that was the Connolly family ride when I was very young. When you grow up on a block loaded with automotive talent from Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Ford and Plymouth "The Rambler" seemed woefully if not painfully inadequate. Update...I'd say pathetic...but...it is Father's Day, after all and I'm doing my best to stay positive.
It was a great day when the flat head six crapped the garage floor with oil and antifreeze.
What's more, back then my father traveled a lot and at least once a month, if not more it seemed, he'd fly down south for several days and return home in a "company car". It was a rental from Hertz but since "the company" was paying for it that's what he called those cars. For the most part he came home in something that was much more interesting to me than the darn Rambler. From time to time though he would bring home some clunker like a station wagon or "little foreign job". One of those "little foreign jobs" was a 1973 era Mercury Capri btw. I hated it at first because my father, who was a big man, hated it. What did I know. This is a story for another time. "Company Car"; still sounds exciting to me.
With the Rambler finally gone I was giddy with anticipation as to what we'd get. How exciting it would be go car shopping! Would we get that amazing Impala Sports Coupe with the tough sounding engine he had brought home not so long ago? Perhaps that gigantic and magical Fury convertible he brought home in the middle of winter! Oh, sweet joy! The sky was the limit!
Our Ranch Wagon looked EXACTLY like this except ours had blue rims not black and did not have whitewalls. Avendre is a French word meaning for sale. I'll take it!
So, when a baby blue '68 Ford Ranch Wagon showed up one day I simply shrugged my shoulders that it was one of the clunkers he'd get every now and then from Hertz.
I found this quickie shot of a '68 Ranch Wagon from an episode of Kojak. Who loves ya, baby. Note roof rack, chrome rub strip, black rims and whitewalls. This is probably a Ranch Wagon Custom 500. We had the bone stripper Ranch Wagon. This actor, especially with that hat and with that raincoat, looks just like my father.
Imagine how crushed I was when I found out that lump was in fact our new family car. Turned out my father was such a fan of Hertz' rentals that he bought one they had for sale. It was the company car that came to visit and stayed for a long, long time.
Our Ranch Wagon did have the new for '68 and optional 302 cubic inch, 210 horsepower, "Challenger" V-8 engine. My father marveled at the car's power. Not to take anything away from the car's power but anything would've been considered powerful compared to the Rambler.
My father past away in November 1997.
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