Rusty Ranger Danger

[FlooredCustom]

Hi fellow Ford enthusiasts,

I recently acquired a 1989 Ford Ranger Custom 2.3L 4wd, manual transmission, its a beauty.

I knew i had some rust to repair on the body but didn’t know at what point it was dangerous.

My clutch and my break booster both let go while I was driving on the highway in 5th gear. It was a ROUGH stop to say the least.

Pushed them right threw my firewall.

Removed the seats and the floors to uncover more expected surprises.

At this point I know a cab replacement would probably my best option but that’s not the point, I'm fixing this baby up!


I have read many informative posts on here and I hope posting my repairs will help others as well.
I will be starting a thread (link coming soon) for my repairs in the proper forum section and I'm looking forward to hearing from you guys.

Cheers!

 

[Hoonin88]

Noice! Will this be a resto or a restomod??

 

[truckfan]

Good luck on fixing the rust issues. Welcome aboard.

 

[FlooredCustom]

Noice! Will this be a resto or a restomod??

If I understand correctly, I'm going for a restomod. Angled and flat steel bars will be used rebuild the main frame shape and integrity, then I’m thinking about bolt on panels or something that would allow me to easily access all the nooks and cranny that are usually unreachable/treatable and tend to rust.

The one thing i dislike about the ranger is the small opening to access the inside of the cowl-vent under the windshield. The entire bottom seam of mine is rusted and the water leaks onto the floor when it rains. So that it one thing i plan on changing, cutting away the rusted seems on the entire width, square up the edges and fabricated a plate to bolt on there one way or another.

I'm going to start my new thread tonight once i get a few more picture, and I’ll share the link in this post.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[89Twincharge]

I can't find 2.3 4wd rangers... When I do they sold before I even get a chance to get excited.... I wanna boost one!!!!

 

[Hoonin88]

I can't find 2.3 4wd rangers... When I do they sold before I even get a chance to get excited.... I wanna boost one!!!!

Find a junked late 80's ford with the 2.3T and start the swap!

 

[89Twincharge]

Find a junked late 80's ford with the 2.3T and start the swap!

I have 3 turbo ford engines... I just can't find a 2.3 4wd ranger near me!! Don't really want to do any conversions although it might have to happen