Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and - Joined
- Jul 16, 2023
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 8
- Points
- 3
- Location
- Washington State
- Vehicle Year
- 1985
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger
- Engine Type
- 2.3 (4 Cylinder)
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
Hey everyone. Been lurking for a while gathering knowledge. Had the account for a couple of months, figured I should post in the intro forum.
I'll likely be posting some questions in the near future, but I try to use the search function and do as much reading as possible before posting.
Some background. I've got a 16 year old daughter and I thought she should have a vehicle with a manual transmission as her first car, as I did, and my father before me. She learned to drive on my '21 Rav4, so she is pretty spoiled when it comes to learning how to drive a computer. I found an 85 Ranger (4x4, 2.3, manual, long bed, 2 fuel tanks) that was someone's half-finished barn-find restoration project that lost steam. The truck has 83k original miles on it and is in great shape (considering the age and sitting in a barn). The person I bought it from was quite thorough with his restoration, but probably lacked the technical skills (wiring) to get it over the line. He said he had it running after putting a new engine in, but it died shortly after and he gave up. I found he pinched some wires when replacing the front fuel tank and also the harness that connects to the inertia switch had melted. After bypassing the inertia switch (temporarily), and fixing the pinched/melted wires between the fuel tank, the truck runs great. I also found one of the spring hangers was broken, so went ahead and replaced both shackles and spring hangers. There are still a few small fixes before I feel comfortable letting my daughter drive it to school every day, but overall, I am extremely happy with the purchase.
I got the Ranger into driving shape a couple weeks ago, and we've been going for drives every night. My daughter is doing great (probably better than me when I was learning), but I'm starting to pick up on a few more things about the truck that may need attention. I'll probably be posting a question relating to the input shaft bearing in the near future, but still reading up on what I can find on the forum.
Cheers!
.
I'll likely be posting some questions in the near future, but I try to use the search function and do as much reading as possible before posting.
Some background. I've got a 16 year old daughter and I thought she should have a vehicle with a manual transmission as her first car, as I did, and my father before me. She learned to drive on my '21 Rav4, so she is pretty spoiled when it comes to learning how to drive a computer. I found an 85 Ranger (4x4, 2.3, manual, long bed, 2 fuel tanks) that was someone's half-finished barn-find restoration project that lost steam. The truck has 83k original miles on it and is in great shape (considering the age and sitting in a barn). The person I bought it from was quite thorough with his restoration, but probably lacked the technical skills (wiring) to get it over the line. He said he had it running after putting a new engine in, but it died shortly after and he gave up. I found he pinched some wires when replacing the front fuel tank and also the harness that connects to the inertia switch had melted. After bypassing the inertia switch (temporarily), and fixing the pinched/melted wires between the fuel tank, the truck runs great. I also found one of the spring hangers was broken, so went ahead and replaced both shackles and spring hangers. There are still a few small fixes before I feel comfortable letting my daughter drive it to school every day, but overall, I am extremely happy with the purchase.
I got the Ranger into driving shape a couple weeks ago, and we've been going for drives every night. My daughter is doing great (probably better than me when I was learning), but I'm starting to pick up on a few more things about the truck that may need attention. I'll probably be posting a question relating to the input shaft bearing in the near future, but still reading up on what I can find on the forum.
Cheers!
.
