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Stepside 1st gen


Shran

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Jim, if talk to Dan again, you should ask him if he knows anyone who worked for RDI. Sturgis is like 10 miles away from White Pigeon where RDI was at... I'm SURE they all know/knew each other.

This is the only other pic I took before I removed the bed:
 


Jim Oaks

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Jim, if talk to Dan again, you should ask him if he knows anyone who worked for RDI. Sturgis is like 10 miles away from White Pigeon where RDI was at... I'm SURE they all know/knew each other.

This is the only other pic I took before I removed the bed:
I can message him. Is there any I formation you're looking for? Also, what is the wording under the RDI decal on the fender?
 

Shran

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Nothing in particular I guess. I am most curious about the alleged "Shadow" prototype - if they ever existed as a Ford sanctioned product or were they just all aftermarket conversions? I will PM you some details about the RDI decal.
 

Shran

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I forgot - I did take some creeper shots of this truck... about 10 years ago... when I first spotted it in a parking lot and thought it was super cool. Enjoy the flip phone pics.



 

PetroleumJunkie412

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I forgot - I did take some creeper shots of this truck... about 10 years ago... when I first spotted it in a parking lot and thought it was super cool. Enjoy the flip phone pics.



You keep 10 year old voyeur pics of trucks?








...right on.
 

r1ch999999

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Someday I’d love a first gen with that bed.
 

88stepside

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Jim Oaks, the story I got when I bought mine in November of 87' was that the truck had been "driven back from Sturgis".
I think it was 8 years ago now that I found a Craigslist ad for the stepside bed molds. I can't remember where I drove to but it was North-Eastern lower peninsula Michigan. The seller had purchased a bunch of molds for fiberglass stuff. He kept a mold to make benches that looked like the tail end of a 57' Chevy and had no use for the stuff I bought. There was some paperwork and an old vcr tape. The seller said the stuff had been bought and sold several time but he had been led to believe that they had been used/made in the Sturgis area. I passed everything off to Jovibuilt.
 
Last edited:

JoshT

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FYI there was one of these beds listed on the Atlanta Georgia area craigslist last week for $350. Was off the truck standing on end on a utility trailer. If I had a truck that could make the drive, and didn't have too many other things eating my I'd have already gone and gotten it myself. As it stands the Ranger project is still on the back burner, the F-100 and newer 99 Ranger take priority, and paying for school is more important than all so no step bed for me.
 

DavisRanger

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Im surprised no one has mentioned swapping a 4.0 or a 302 yet.. idk how this thread is even living on TRS right now 😂🤣.

@Shran this truck is awesome, by the way.
 

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Im surprised no one has mentioned swapping a 4.0 or a 302 yet.. idk how this thread is even living on TRS right now 😂🤣.

@Shran this truck is awesome, by the way.
Put a 460 in it!
 

Shran

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Im surprised no one has mentioned swapping a 4.0 or a 302 yet.. idk how this thread is even living on TRS right now 😂🤣.

@Shran this truck is awesome, by the way.
Well... the box was removed and put on another truck that I did do a 4.0 swap on... see my high rider thread 😂😂

I'm gonna leave the 2.9 in it forever. If it ever dies on me, I will junk my daily driver and put a 4 cylinder in it.
 
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That's a pretty cool and rare truck. I didn't read the whole thread and links, so sorry if this was discussed......

Even if it didn't come off of the Ford assembly line, I wonder if it was still customized by a local van conversion company, and then sold by a dealer.

I had been contacted by someone a while back about the 'Shadow Ranger' that told me:
I know it's an old thread, but such and interesting read!
 

dj87hrss

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I got one. 87 ranger shawdow. 2.9 5speed 4x4 on the floor with locking hubs. Know nothing about it but I'm starting to think it's kind of rare after a major migraine of research
 

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