• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

Detroit-area Junkyard Rangers - extremely pic-heavy


kishy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
ON, Canada
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ranger, RCLB
Engine Size
95 2.3 EFI Swap
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
I started going to self-serve junkyards in 2012. Since then, I've gone to a bunch of yards literally hundreds of times, mostly in pursuit of parts for my box Panthers (e.g. 79-91 Crown Vic & corporate siblings), but since 2015 also for my 85 Ranger.

Most yards I go to are in or near Detroit, MI. Most vehicles I bother to take a pic of are relevant to my own vehicles in some way, with the occasional exception of something I otherwise like. I'm not aiming for any photography awards, just a quick snap and move on, so some of these may be a little sub-par.

Catching up from the past...all of these are long gone now. What's the point? I dunno, I like looking at photos of rust, maybe you do too. Or maybe your old truck is hiding in here. Enjoy.

2014:



2015:



2016:



More to follow...
 
Last edited:


kishy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
ON, Canada
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ranger, RCLB
Engine Size
95 2.3 EFI Swap
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
2018:


(this 93 is where a lot of my engine swap stuff came from)
 

kishy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
ON, Canada
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ranger, RCLB
Engine Size
95 2.3 EFI Swap
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
2019:




(those doors are where my vent windows came from)
 

kishy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
ON, Canada
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ranger, RCLB
Engine Size
95 2.3 EFI Swap
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
2022 pt2/2:


(this is where my current cap and bedliner came from)


This is the only pictured truck which likely still remains available, at Fox Auto U-Pull in Belleville:


4x4 and the weird sway bar.
 

rubydist

Well-Known Member
TRS Forum Moderator
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
987
Reaction score
835
Points
93
Location
Denver
Vehicle Year
2009
Make / Model
Ford Ranger FX4
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
A couple of observations from those photos:

I'm really glad I don't live in the rust belt any longer, knowing that other vehicles with rusty frames are driving on the highways is scary.

The world's supply of Bronco II must have been in MI, because you found more in the jy than have ever been seen in this area.

I'm glad we are out of the 80s where for some reason the manufacturers thought the interior color needed to be the same as the exterior color on vehicles.
 

rusty ol ranger

Im a Jeep guy now.
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
12,267
Reaction score
7,274
Points
113
Location
Michigan
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Engine Size
177 CID
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
My credo
A legend to the old man, a hero to the child...
Why are they all in better shape then my road going michigan ranger?

A couple of observations from those photos:

I'm really glad I don't live in the rust belt any longer, knowing that other vehicles with rusty frames are driving on the highways is scary.

The world's supply of Bronco II must have been in MI, because you found more in the jy than have ever been seen in this area.

I'm glad we are out of the 80s where for some reason the manufacturers thought the interior color needed to be the same as the exterior color on vehicles.
Rusty frames dont pose the risk people think. I know that wasnt this guys point but watch this

 

RobbieD

2.9l Mafia
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,803
Reaction score
3,315
Points
113
Location
Georgia
Vehicle Year
1984,1990,1994
Make / Model
Ford
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
My credo
Toonces drives a Ranger . . . . just not very well.
Thanks for the post. I could look at junkyard pics all day.

You just don't see many red " FROG " trucks these days.
 

kishy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
ON, Canada
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ranger, RCLB
Engine Size
95 2.3 EFI Swap
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
A couple of observations from those photos:

I'm really glad I don't live in the rust belt any longer, knowing that other vehicles with rusty frames are driving on the highways is scary.

The world's supply of Bronco II must have been in MI, because you found more in the jy than have ever been seen in this area.

I'm glad we are out of the 80s where for some reason the manufacturers thought the interior color needed to be the same as the exterior color on vehicles.
I definitely believe that we (anyone) has some degree of social responsibility to not subject other people to hazards they shouldn't reasonably be expecting around them. For example, a truck frame cracking in half, and the truck skidding across 3 lanes of traffic creating a pileup. But I also think the number of vehicles on the road with damage specifically due to rust that post that risk is very low. It's far more likely that something surprisingly unrusty-looking could pop a ball joint out and do the same thing, or a tire worn down to the belts will suddenly let go.

Where the risk of rust damage is most significant is to the occupants of the rusty vehicle, and less so about the frame, moreso about the body. If all the crashworthiness of the body has been eaten away to nothing, there's a much higher chance of weird injuries that you don't normally think of, like the floor separating and crushing together, amputating a leg. But if we choose to drive something dangerous, and we have an understanding of these risks, I think that's something people should be allowed to do. I'll endanger myself, but I won't endanger you.

Yeah, lots of BIIs. I never see them on the road, though. Just in the yards.

As a driver of exclusively 80s cars, I appreciate the interior colours you could get back then, especially vibrant reds.

Why are they all in better shape then my road going michigan ranger?


Rusty frames dont pose the risk people think. I know that wasnt this guys point but watch this

Some of them have been, in one way or another, much better than mine. I wanted to buy the one cab (floor pic showing like-new sheetmetal) but the yard wanted to charge me for a whole car and make me title it and everything...way too much headache as I'm Canadian, and have no idea what I'd need to do to title a vehicle in my own name there, then bring it across the border.

That F-150 was very far gone, but put up with a lot considering how bad it was. I'll be retiring my Ranger before it gets that bad, but maybe not a whole lot less.


Thanks for the post. I could look at junkyard pics all day.

You just don't see many red " FROG " trucks these days.
Indeed, not many FROGs.
I'll drop more photos as I continue finding them. If that last red one is still there in a week or so I'll probably have gone and looked at it some more. It's rusty but if the bed is nice, I might just swap mine out. Easier than wheel arch repair panels.
 

kishy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
148
Reaction score
58
Points
28
Location
ON, Canada
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ranger, RCLB
Engine Size
95 2.3 EFI Swap
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Didn't take long to get my first yard trip out of the way for 2023.

Went back to Fox Auto U-Pull in Belleville to look a little more closely at that red '86 Ranger pictured above. Specifically, looking at the bed, recognizing that it is a rusty truck but didn't seem to have a rusty bed.

No good. Although the cosmetic outer rust could be cleaned up pretty easily, the underside isn't pretty, and wouldn't be an upgrade over mine. Mine is quite solid everywhere except the outer wheel arches. Repair panels are available but if I find a clean bed I'll just swap the whole thing.

Did grab the front sway bar and hardware. This is now redundant and I'm unintentionally starting a front sway bar collection, but I've misplaced the hardware I got previously so what's another 13 bucks.















 

Josh B

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Aug 15, 2019
Messages
3,958
Reaction score
1,959
Points
113
Location
Oklahoma
Vehicle Year
1993
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Too pixel heavy for me
 

Ranger850

Doesn't get Sarcasm . . .
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Messages
8,426
Reaction score
4,664
Points
113
Location
Tallahassee Florida
Vehicle Year
2001
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
Born with a 3.0, looking for a donor V8
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Total Lift
Stock 2"
Tire Size
Stock
My credo
Doing things wrong, until I get it right.
So many red interiors back then. Those red buckets looked better than than half the seats I see 😂
 

Angie

Well-Known Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
1,510
Reaction score
368
Points
83
Location
Vancouver area BC Canada
Vehicle Year
92 & 83 project
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
4.0L 302
Transmission
Automatic
Thanks for sharing. really like seeing them. post #5 has that very old blue first ford pick up. i would have taken that whole thing home with me and rebuilt the cab and front onto a new frame... if nothing more than restoring a part of history. first one of those i have ever seen. cheers thanks



1672782207584.png
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Members online

Today's birthdays

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Latest posts

Truck of The Month


Kirby N.
March Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Top