- Joined
- May 15, 2020
- Messages
- 2,268
- Reaction score
- 3,689
- Points
- 113
- Age
- 68
- Location
- Atlanta
- Vehicle Year
- 1997 1987
- Make / Model
- Ranger XLT x2
- Engine Type
- 4.0 V6
- Engine Size
- 4.0 & 2.9
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
- Total Lift
- 97 stock, 3” on 87
- Total Drop
- N/A
- Tire Size
- 235/75-15
- My credo
- Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
This is a follow up to my posts on “I swore never again” and “87 4WD insurance.“
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, But I think Grundy is going to let me cover this truck on my collector policy. They don’t usually cover pick up trucks, but I’ve had insurance with them for 12 years on many cars. I have to sign a document that I won’t go charging through the woods, which I wouldn’t do anyway, and they’ll also perhaps allow it because I’ve got the F250 on my regular car policy, and that’s what I use whenever I actually have to work. The Grundy policy excludes using it for any kind of business, but that’s OK. Right now I have very clean 1978, 1987 and 1988 Lincolns with them for $520 a year for full coverage for all. They quoted me a price of $75/yr for full coverage on this Ranger with an agreed value of $6000, but it’s got to get approved by the higher ups. Y’all keep your fingers crossed. If they agree, I only have to put down $29 for the rest of this year! That’s a little bit better than every other quote I got which was over $1000 a year!
The Build: I’m going to try to do the cheapest build I can do for little or no money, with a “Rick-stoleum” roller paint job, and end up with something decent, no hot rod, no-show truck, just functional that will still get some good nods and smiles (& probably some sneers!).
Start/basis: I am starting with a 1987 short bed short cab 4WD 5-spd given to me on my birthday for free with a blown motor. Everything electric works like new, and it’s my understanding all the running gear is good, but I’ll have to check that once I get it running. It’s in black primer, but straight and rust free except for one front fender that has obviously been changed at some point. I already have a replacement.
The local 2.9v6 “T” I found with all accessories for $500 had been sitting for a couple years. When the yard tried to fire it up, they couldn’t get it to run. I’m passing.
On eBay, I found a 2.9 V6 “T” that had been rebuilt, that has the improved heads, with about 40,000 miles on it. Truck got wrecked. Yard owner knows the guy for many years and I talked to the guy who scrapped it. They gave a decent guarantee for a few months, I feel pretty good about it and I bought it. $900 but no accessories. It’s being shipped in now. I found a friend of a friend who keeps an ambulance fleet running, and he’s going to put it in for $500.
Trailers and Parts and Eating peanuts: so other than the trucks I had in the company where was part owner, I’ve never owned a Ranger (& they were new, sold after 3years), but now I have the fever, the infection, the disease, and as the saying goes “I’m eat up with them!”
Just for fun, I‘m going to build a Ranger short bed trailer (or two or three) to match this little ranger, and maybe a second one to go behind my F250. I never liked the trailers made from just cutting the frame, so I located a couple of little utility trailers (like $350 Harbor Freight) for little money, that will easily bolt right under the bed, and I plan on using the Ranger wheels. They’ll yield about 1,200-1,500# payload with improved brake axles that I already have. I doubt I’ll ever put that much weight in them, but I’m going to do it right so they can sell when I’m done later. Got both for $450 with good wheels and tires and some extras. I’m going to level the trailers to match the truck level, and use the Ranger mag wheels, and sell the wagon trailer wheels and such. Then I found a clean short bed for an 87 Ranger just like mine, and bought it. I grabbed the very clean rust free bed & tailgate and lights/harnesses, eight very cheap but very clean OEM mag wheels (4 with good tires) and a few other parts for $300. Then I found a complete 87 2wd with no engine and trans that is otherwise exactly like mine for $150, very straight and no rust. & now I found another short bed for $80, one tiny rust spot, tailgate and lights. I didn’t get that one yet, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I wasn’t born in the south, but living here since 1979, I’ve learned some southern ways. It’s like eating peanuts: once you start you can’t stop!!!
i’m going to start with the trailers while the engine is being swapped, mostly to get all the extra junk off my property in back. so I don’t look like Sanford and son. I plan on posting pictures here, some PDF documents/drawings on what I’m doing and how/why I’m doing it, and posting a couple of videos on YouTube. I have done projects like this many many times, but not in a while, it’s my hobby and my passion but not my career, but I’ve never documented one before. I hope it’s not too big a pain in the ass!
More peanuts: And in closing, let me say that I just found a 1993 2WD stick shift ranger that is straight and clean with a good interior, but the paint is peeling. It is supposed to run good with cold air conditioning, trans good, but it needs a clutch. The guy lives in an apartment and he is not allowed to work on it and I guess he’s short of funds. If I can hear it run and check it out a little bit, he only wants $550 and he said that’s negotiable, so I’m going to grab it. If I do, the plan will include taking the second running truck, taking off the bed, adding a second idler axle in the back, and making a mini tractor trailer. I did this once before around 1990 with a tiny Datsun pickup truck. We painted it up like my red F250 with the company logos on it, and we used that as a break wagon and like a company mascot. On that one I put a Chevy 350 with an auto tranny. Crazy fun, but you could snap the drive shaft by breathing hard!
if I pick up that one, I’ll have three Rangers with two extra beds, and I was never looking for even one. So I’m also going to go to therapy too. I’m going to look at it in a couple hours.
I’ll post pictures here as I go...
I’m keeping my fingers crossed, But I think Grundy is going to let me cover this truck on my collector policy. They don’t usually cover pick up trucks, but I’ve had insurance with them for 12 years on many cars. I have to sign a document that I won’t go charging through the woods, which I wouldn’t do anyway, and they’ll also perhaps allow it because I’ve got the F250 on my regular car policy, and that’s what I use whenever I actually have to work. The Grundy policy excludes using it for any kind of business, but that’s OK. Right now I have very clean 1978, 1987 and 1988 Lincolns with them for $520 a year for full coverage for all. They quoted me a price of $75/yr for full coverage on this Ranger with an agreed value of $6000, but it’s got to get approved by the higher ups. Y’all keep your fingers crossed. If they agree, I only have to put down $29 for the rest of this year! That’s a little bit better than every other quote I got which was over $1000 a year!
The Build: I’m going to try to do the cheapest build I can do for little or no money, with a “Rick-stoleum” roller paint job, and end up with something decent, no hot rod, no-show truck, just functional that will still get some good nods and smiles (& probably some sneers!).
Start/basis: I am starting with a 1987 short bed short cab 4WD 5-spd given to me on my birthday for free with a blown motor. Everything electric works like new, and it’s my understanding all the running gear is good, but I’ll have to check that once I get it running. It’s in black primer, but straight and rust free except for one front fender that has obviously been changed at some point. I already have a replacement.
The local 2.9v6 “T” I found with all accessories for $500 had been sitting for a couple years. When the yard tried to fire it up, they couldn’t get it to run. I’m passing.
On eBay, I found a 2.9 V6 “T” that had been rebuilt, that has the improved heads, with about 40,000 miles on it. Truck got wrecked. Yard owner knows the guy for many years and I talked to the guy who scrapped it. They gave a decent guarantee for a few months, I feel pretty good about it and I bought it. $900 but no accessories. It’s being shipped in now. I found a friend of a friend who keeps an ambulance fleet running, and he’s going to put it in for $500.
Trailers and Parts and Eating peanuts: so other than the trucks I had in the company where was part owner, I’ve never owned a Ranger (& they were new, sold after 3years), but now I have the fever, the infection, the disease, and as the saying goes “I’m eat up with them!”
Just for fun, I‘m going to build a Ranger short bed trailer (or two or three) to match this little ranger, and maybe a second one to go behind my F250. I never liked the trailers made from just cutting the frame, so I located a couple of little utility trailers (like $350 Harbor Freight) for little money, that will easily bolt right under the bed, and I plan on using the Ranger wheels. They’ll yield about 1,200-1,500# payload with improved brake axles that I already have. I doubt I’ll ever put that much weight in them, but I’m going to do it right so they can sell when I’m done later. Got both for $450 with good wheels and tires and some extras. I’m going to level the trailers to match the truck level, and use the Ranger mag wheels, and sell the wagon trailer wheels and such. Then I found a clean short bed for an 87 Ranger just like mine, and bought it. I grabbed the very clean rust free bed & tailgate and lights/harnesses, eight very cheap but very clean OEM mag wheels (4 with good tires) and a few other parts for $300. Then I found a complete 87 2wd with no engine and trans that is otherwise exactly like mine for $150, very straight and no rust. & now I found another short bed for $80, one tiny rust spot, tailgate and lights. I didn’t get that one yet, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I wasn’t born in the south, but living here since 1979, I’ve learned some southern ways. It’s like eating peanuts: once you start you can’t stop!!!
i’m going to start with the trailers while the engine is being swapped, mostly to get all the extra junk off my property in back. so I don’t look like Sanford and son. I plan on posting pictures here, some PDF documents/drawings on what I’m doing and how/why I’m doing it, and posting a couple of videos on YouTube. I have done projects like this many many times, but not in a while, it’s my hobby and my passion but not my career, but I’ve never documented one before. I hope it’s not too big a pain in the ass!
More peanuts: And in closing, let me say that I just found a 1993 2WD stick shift ranger that is straight and clean with a good interior, but the paint is peeling. It is supposed to run good with cold air conditioning, trans good, but it needs a clutch. The guy lives in an apartment and he is not allowed to work on it and I guess he’s short of funds. If I can hear it run and check it out a little bit, he only wants $550 and he said that’s negotiable, so I’m going to grab it. If I do, the plan will include taking the second running truck, taking off the bed, adding a second idler axle in the back, and making a mini tractor trailer. I did this once before around 1990 with a tiny Datsun pickup truck. We painted it up like my red F250 with the company logos on it, and we used that as a break wagon and like a company mascot. On that one I put a Chevy 350 with an auto tranny. Crazy fun, but you could snap the drive shaft by breathing hard!
if I pick up that one, I’ll have three Rangers with two extra beds, and I was never looking for even one. So I’m also going to go to therapy too. I’m going to look at it in a couple hours.
I’ll post pictures here as I go...