'85 Ranger Restomod

[Dirtman]

So my receiver hitch bumper might come apart when I least want it to?

Probably not... just don't tow anything expensive.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Is 7014 run on the same polarity that 7018 is? I always ran 7018 on DCEN (I think, may have been DCEP, been a while.) 6011 and 6013 I used AC.

I have some 1/8" 7018, it welds surprisingly good with my little HF inverter stick welder. Very hard to light it but once it's hot, you're good.

On my stick welder since it has DC, I leave it on DC, everything works better on DC unless you are dealing with aluminum... 6011, 7018, whatever, DC is superior in my book!

Then again, lately I've been lazy and usually stick to my Titanium 170 or 200 with flux core, I don't have a tank yet so no solid wire...

More amps and keep a shorter arc (harder to do with lower amps) and that should help out but as said, 6011 won't be pretty, but if I'm going to be lazy and trying to cut through rust it's my go to, I have a giant box of them on hand all the time (hey, when you buy a house oven full of rods for $5 at an auction that has a 50lb box of 6011 and a can of 7018 and a bunch of other stuff, that's what you use)

 

[Roert42]

On my stick welder since it has DC, I leave it on DC, everything works better on DC unless you are dealing with aluminum

Excelloy Makes an electrode for Aluminum that runs on DC. I think it's Excelloy 41, I have a box in my garage that someone gave me, runs really good.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Most of the time I run 6013 rod. I like to practice on scrap of the same thickness before I dive into a welding project. But then again I dont weld every day or even once a month on average. Always want a little practice before Im committed to the job at hand.

That is all we used in school.

Saturday's run was basically to see if the welder worked... if it needed to go in the garage or the scrap pile behind the garage.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Excelloy Makes an electrode for Aluminum that runs on DC. I think it's Excelloy 41, I have a box in my garage that someone gave me, runs really good.

Interesting, if I get bored I might look for it... I did buy a spool gun for my Titanium welders so I'd probably just use that, all I need is a bottle of argon now, and a bottle of CO2 or 75/25 for solid wire for steel... not in the spool gun

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Thanks to @BlackBII posting his cool NOS find sending me down the NOS rathole on ebay I did get a couple kinda neat old Ranger things.



I didn't even know the fuel cap strap was a thing. It will be really nice, kind of a first world problem but it is a PITA babysitting a loose fuel cap now that I have a topper, prior I could just lodge it between the rollbar tubes and the bedrail while I clean windows or whatever. Now I don't have to throw the fuel cap on the seat or stuff it in my pocket. Strap is $10 so they would have been a good investment at $2 back in the day.



Ever since I got my truck the drivers side door won't unlock with a key. Around here I never lock the doors so no biggie, kind of a PITA on roadtrips to unlock one door, reach over and pop the other one open before I can get in. No box but I don't care, two Ford keys with a code ring which is cool enough for me.

And the guide book is just plain cool, every option for an '85 Ranger and how much it costs.

 

[BlackBII]

Ah yeah NOS is the way to go! To be honest, I was inspired by @1qaz and his awesome truck, along with you @85_Ranger4x4 helping me find the part number for the STX stripes, which helped me find that NOS set.

The parts for these trucks are going to start disappearing completely, so we have to get them while we can.

 

[Dirtman]

NOS = new old stock. I'm still finding NOS stuff for my 65 mustang... When does this old stock run out!?!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

NOS = new old stock. I'm still finding NOS stuff for my 65 mustang... When does this old stock run out!?!

Hard to say. We have some NOS two cylinder John Deere parts in inventory where I work. My boss dug them out of the dumpster when he worked at Deere lol.

Pure speculation here... NOS stuff for RBV's is harder to come by than it is for most things. I don't know if dealers were that much better at managing their inventory by then what. It is also more obscure, like my light covers I was checking out earlier today, not sure if anyone knows anything about them really as most fell off 20 years ago and somebody who probably didn't even know those weird lights were going to be rare replaced them with cheapies from wally world. How well documented is factory optioned lights on your Mustang? You have NOS and tons of aftermarket reproductions to pick from, some stupid sod restoring an older Ranger has NOS if you can find it or period aftermarket for options if you want to kinda keep it looking originalish.

1QAZ's work is fascinating, I am not near to his level. It is fun when I can sneak up on something NOS though. Like my fuel cap strap was only $10, I doubt there is an aftermarket one out there any cheaper and it has been a thorn in my side for almost two years. My door cylinders were $25, brand X from Rockauto are $13+freight... so about a wash plus I get Ford keys.

I am still trying to figure out how to make it better but just poking around on ebay I have kind of been collecting part numbers for neat first and second gen RBV parts and stashing them plus pictures of the interesting stuff in post three of my build thread,

'85 Ranger Restomod

I should have started one of these a long time ago, so there is some catching up to do. In late August 2000 for my high school vehicle, I don't remember what day it was but I got insurance for it on 9-11-00 (I remember being shocked right after 9/11 when I went to put the new card in it) Just...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Shran]

Also speculation on my part but I'm assuming that if you were buying parts prior to the 80's, you were probably buying actual Ford brand parts to fix your car rather than Duralast or Sachs or Master Pro...etc... and it's easier to find Ford part numbers because there are a lot more Mustang guys, specifically VERY anal retentive ones that simply must have the exact item so Ford part numbers for stuff are easier to come by. I have a hell of a time finding RBV Ford part numbers for a lot of things. I know you can buy aftermarket Mustang parts NOW but could you THEN and were they as widespread?

My buddy's dad is really into first gen Mustangs. He is so bent on exact parts that he won't use a fender that was factory painted green on his blue car. It has to be an exact match or it's not good enough. I don't understand that logic at all.

 

[BlackBII]

My buddy's dad is really into first gen Mustangs. He is so bent on exact parts that he won't use a fender that was factory painted green on his blue car. It has to be an exact match or it's not good enough. I don't understand that logic at all.

My dad restores mustangs and is the same way. NOS, original, or nothing. It makes sense when you have cars in national shows though. Aftermarket parts will never be exactly the same, and all those old guys can tell. Especially with factory defects; those cars were hardly perfect when they came out of the factory, and there is such a thing as "over-restoring" a car.

 

[Shran]

My dad restores mustangs and is the same way. NOS, original, or nothing. It makes sense when you have cars in national shows though. Aftermarket parts will never be exactly the same, and all those old guys can tell. Especially with factory defects; those cars were hardly perfect when they came out of the factory, and there is such a thing as "over-restoring" a car.

Yeah, I get that, especially with aftermarket body panels. I just wasn't sure why a factory red trunk lid from a '65 can't go on a yellow '65 (for example)... you're probably stripping and repainting the whole panel anyway and it rolled off the same line that the yellow trunk did. Nobody will ever know so what difference does it make?

I read a thing on Mopar guys a while back...some of them will recreate factory inspection paint marks and stamps on parts and stuff. I admire the attention to detail; I just have better things to do with my time... duplicating exact details is just not important to me.

 

[BlackBII]

Yeah, I get that, especially with aftermarket body panels. I just wasn't sure why a factory red trunk lid from a '65 can't go on a yellow '65 (for example)... you're probably stripping and repainting the whole panel anyway and it rolled off the same line that the yellow trunk did. Nobody will ever know so what difference does it make?

I read a thing on Mopar guys a while back...some of them will recreate factory inspection paint marks and stamps on parts and stuff. I admire the attention to detail; I just have better things to do with my time... duplicating exact details is just not important to me.

Yeah that seems silly to me. You're stripping the panel so it doesn't matter. A fender is a fender. My dad doesn't care to that extent, only that the panel is original Ford.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My dad restores mustangs and is the same way. NOS, original, or nothing. It makes sense when you have cars in national shows though. Aftermarket parts will never be exactly the same, and all those old guys can tell. Especially with factory defects; those cars were hardly perfect when they came out of the factory, and there is such a thing as "over-restoring" a car.

My 1953 tractor has like a 4" wide run in the factory paint on the frame rail in plain sight just ahead of of the clutch pedal... imagine how unhinged somebody would be about that today either receiving a freshly repainted tractor or a brand new one.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Well the fuel cap strap was a swing and a miss... apparently I need to find a OEM fuel cap now.





This fell out while I was fighting to get the new cylinder locked in to the rod.

I later learned on door #2 that getting that out of the way makes it easier.

For the most part it wasn't too bad, they did make the clip much more robust on the new ones and they were a lot harder to clip on than the old ones were to unclip. My arms are really too big to easily cram into the door and that didn't help much either.



Anyway, the cylinders are in and they work perfect.