There are a thousand and one paint and panel techniques that Adam Porrino applied when building his low-down Ranchero. Tricky stuff that he’s picked up over decades spent shaping and painting other people’s show cars. But there’s one thing he’s given this ute that cannot be taught or learnt, and that’s style – you either have that or you don’t. And in this case, it only takes a quick glance to know that Adam is one stylish hombre.

First published in the March 2026 issue of Street Machine

BODY: Smashing a Ranchero together with a T-bird takes a lot of work. The laundry list of mods include guards welded to the body, connected via the valance panel; the cut-and-shut grille that incorporates T-bird headlights; and the addition of prominent T-bird bodylines. All door corners were rounded, door handles and windscreen wipers were deleted, and the fuel filler was relocated, with everything smoothed out like it never happened

“I’ve been building and painting show cars professionally for over 20 years, but this is the first vehicle I’ve built, painted and completed for myself,” says the Californian, who works out of his shop, Artistic Precision.

STANCE: The Ranchero rests on the pavement when parked thanks to a body drop, deepened rear tubs, and Universal Air airbags. As an extra-neat touch, plastic air lines run inside the steel suspension tubing and into the ’bags, keeping lines and fittings hidden from view

The ute is kinda like Adam’s own Expression Session made real. It’s a wild creation that blends three different models of 1960s Ford – Ranchero, Thunderbird and Mustang – and a variety of build styles – notably mini-truck, custom, and lowrider. Everything hangs together so harmoniously, you’d swear he’d planned it this way from the start, but as it turns out, that was not the case.

“I’ve been building this Ranchero for 16-plus years, off and on,” he explains. “In the beginning, I was heavily into mini-trucks – that’s why it’s body-dropped, with all the suspension exposed in the back. But then, as my skills and tastes evolved, I started putting more custom and hot rod styling into it.”

As a proud Ford man, Adam took great delight in fusing together a 1960 Ranchero with several different 1964-66 Thunderbirds, into which he then implanted the heart of a 1966 Mustang. The 200ci inline-six engine was rebuilt by Wayne’s Engine Rebuilding and swapped in along with the Mustang’s C4 trans. Considering the factory Ranchero six-cylinder topped out at 144 cubes, this has got a little more pep, but Adam readily admits that horsepower was not a high priority. “It’s definitely not built for speed and performance,” he says. “All style and looks.”

STRIPES: “The lowrider style comes through in the leafing and the pinstriping,” says Adam, who added variegated gold- and silver-leaf and metalflake pinstripes on the bonnet, roof, tailgate, and some subtle lines down the sides. “I wanted to throw a little lowrider in there, because I love that kind of artwork and that’s what I like to do”

The pick-up is a showcase for Adam’s many talents, and it’s got more mods than you can shake a bead roller at. The list of work performed to the exterior alone runs over a couple of foolscap pages, and includes a two-inch chop, a one-piece shell, and T-bird bodylines.

“I bought the Ranchero for 900 bucks, and originally it was going to be my daily driver, until I got it home and saw how rotted the frame was,” Adam recalls. “I needed to build a full frame, and that’s what took it in this more serious direction.”

TRAY: The painted and pinstriped diff, fuel tank, and suspension componentry are right there for all to ogle. Adam built the two-link suspension using 1.5in steel tubing. “There’s two straight lower link bars and a triangulated upper wishbone, with the rear air springs sitting on top of the lower straight bars,” he says. To help achieve the low ride height, Adam cut out the rear wheelwells and welded in trailer mudguards as mini-tubs

The first order of business was the body drop. Adam cut out the rotten floors as well as 1½ inches of engine compartment sheet metal to allow the body to slam on the ground when the suspension was aired out. Since Rancheros are of unibody construction, he copied the factory frame rail locations to weld up the new chassis, then rolled a steel floor and firewall and seam-sealed those to the rails.

“Keeping it unibody seemed to be the quickest and easiest way,” he says. “It was easier to weld the floor all in there together with the frame, rather than trying to make new body mounts and all, which would have taken more engineering and time.”

When it came to customising the body, the aim was seamless integration. Adam poured countless hours into cutting, moving, welding and smoothing everything so that the pick-up retained its Ranchero identity but looked like no Ranchero you’ve ever seen before.

ENGINE: The rebuilt 200ci engine is one of Ford’s ‘Thriftpower Sixes’, sourced from a 1966 Mustang along with the C4 trans, which feeds back to the original Ranchero 71/4in diff. Adam readily admits the ute is not likely to win any dyno comps. “I’m going to switch to 14in wheels with larger tyres soon, which will increase freeway speed a little,” he says. “And I need to swap to a Ford 8in diff”

“I tried to mix in as much Thunderbird as I could,” says Adam, who shortened up the Ranchero grille to accommodate the T-bird’s quad-headlight assembly, and welded on the sides of a ’64 T-bird to create the bodyline flares.

Some of the ‘simpler’ mods include shaved door handles, deleted fuel filler (relocated to the tank itself), and mini-tubs made out of trailer mudguards. Among the bigger jobs was merging the front guards with the body to create one whole piece.

HOOD ORNAMENT: In addition to its Ranchero, Thunderbird and Mustang DNA, the ute is adorned with some cool parts from other Blue Oval classics. The dash clock is out of a Galaxie, wheel skirts
are off a Mercury Comet, while the hood ornament is from a ’57 Fairlane

“With the fenders welded on, I was able to cut and round off the back corners of the hood where they meet the windshield cowl,” says Adam. “I cut and rounded the bottom corners on the front of the doors where they meet the fenders, and also rounded the back two corners, with all the factory seams welded and smoothed.”

The random Blue Oval parts to feature on the pick-up’s exterior include the hood ornament from a ’57 Fairlane, the Mercury Comet wheel skirts, and the rear sections of the door window frames that have been adapted using the front pillars of a Falcon.

“That piece has a slight curve forward, unlike the Ranchero window, which is straight and square,” Adam explains. “The edge of the roof around the doors also has a steel rod welded on, instead of the factory drip rails, giving the roof edge the ‘snowdrift’ detail.”

The pick-up wears its mix of styles like a champ, with its aforementioned mini-trucking roots really coming to the fore in the tray area, where painted and pinstriped rear componentry is on full display, including the stock 7¼-inch diff, fuel tank, and the custom suspension set-up incorporating all the air suspension gear.

“It’s a two-link with a triangulated upper wishbone, and the rear airbags sit on the lower arms, so when you air the bag up, it works like a scissor pivot to lift the car,” says Adam, who handled all the barwork himself.

Just like the exterior, the cabin has been overrun with Thunderbird features, including the seats, steering wheel, gauges and centre console. “I know a guy who parts out old Thunderbirds, and he let me borrow all the pieces for the interior,” says Adam. “I mocked it up and thought they would fit, so I paid him and then just had to do all the fabrication to make everything connect.”

INTERIOR: The Thunderbird infusion shifts into a higher gear inside the cabin via the seats, steering wheel, gauges and centre console. There’s still some stock Ranchero stuff in there, including the glovebox area and the very front part of the dashboard, while the top of the dash is a custom piece created from the Ranchero’s old rear parcel shelf. It’s topped off – literally – by the sexy-as ‘angel hair’ faux fur headliner

Needless to say, there’s a high level of difficulty to a lot of this work, and that goes almost doubly for the paint and pinstriping. In fact, of the many things that went into this Ranchero, the paintwork is what Adam is most proud of.

“I’ve always been a fan of the cars built by Richard Zocchi back in the day,” he says. “They all had pastel colours with fades, and they were top-notch customs that were winning awards at the big shows. So, basically I copied the paintjob from a ’57 Ford that Zocchi had. I was studying that car and trying to match the paint as close as I could colour-wise and all, and then I put my own touches in there.”

The aqua base coat was mixed to Adam’s liking using Challenger-brand products, and from there he just went to town. “I did fades around bodylines and edges by tinting the base colour, as well as using House of Kolor transparent teal candy. I sprayed an HOK gold pearl over it all, then did a simple linear panel graphic over the hood bump up onto the roof. In and around there, I added subtle gold pearl ghost designs, giving it some classy Art Deco elements.”

The Ranchero debuted at last year’s Sacramento Autorama, where it picked up the award for Top Radical Custom Pick-Up. “That thing wins awards every time it goes out,” says Adam, who’s just glad to finally have it out of the shop and back on the road again.

PAINT: The pastel paint with detailed pinstriping pops in any kind of light. ”The car was in white primer when I got it, and for many years I envisioned it being white with maybe a white pearl in there,” says Adam. “That would have been clean, but it wouldn’t have been the statement that it is with the colour that’s on there now”ADAM PORRINO
1960 FORD FALCON RANCHEROPaint:Custom AquaENGINEBrand:200ci Ford Mustang six-cylinderInduction:Stock intake, Autolite 1100 single-barrel carbHead:StockInternals:StockFuel system:Stock tank, Edelbrock electric pumpCooling:StockExhaust:Factory manifold, single systemIgnition:HEI distributorTRANSMISSIONGearbox:C4 three-speed autoConverter:Stock lock-upDiff:7¼inSUSPENSION & BRAKESFront:Modified Ranchero front end, Monroe shocks, Universal Air Suspension springs, tilt steering columnRear:Custom two-link with triangulated upper wishbone, Monroe shocks, Universal Air Suspension springsBrakes:Factory-style drums (f & r)Master cylinder:StockWHEELS & TYRESRims:Stock 13in steel, stock hubcaps (f & r)Rubber:Coker whitewalls (f & r)

THANKS
My dad, Dan Porrino, for help with some of the sheet-metal body modifications; Mike Ennis for help with body and paint; Daniel Gonzalez for letting me paint it at his shop, Daniel’s Kreations; Dave Monnig at Coast Airbrush for the paint materials; Jose Pena for the mechanical work and wiring; Bernie’s Custom Glass; James Stremple; Brian Langford; Eddie Guerrero; Joey ‘DJ Greengo Uno’ Strege (RIP).

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