Found! 86-94 Supercab Ranger/B-series roller with title

[kishy]

Did this one come up in your search? Extend cab, 1st gen ... says title.... dirt cheap... ticks all the boxes so far

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It had not - at a 13 hour drive it's definitely on the outer radius of where I want to go but it's an option. I've messaged the guy, we'll see if it's still around and what the underside looks like. I'm not optimistic because the body line on the cab and bed are madly misaligned, usually a sign of a cab mount or bed rail problem. But it might just be from the oddly balanced weight sitting on it.

Paying some thought to the idea of going Bronco II.
Biggest problem is it means the firm and definite loss of "truck utility" in my life - I have a utility trailer and all my stuff can tow, but for example, I drove to somewhere just past Chicago hauling an EV battery in the Ranger, and that would have been substantially less good all-around using the trailer.

Other problem is it's not a drop in powertrain swap. Bronco II, even RWD, uses that ridiculous dummy transfer case which means I'd need to track down the extension housing for a 4x4 TK5 (and the real or dummy transfer case) as a prerequisite to being able to make it a functional vehicle.

But, exchanging messages with a guy about 2 hours North of me in Ontario who has a southern BII roller and will see where that goes.

Zero interest in the BII with any powertrain it was built with new. It only appeals as an option if it ends up with my 4-banger and TK5 in it when I'm done.

Georgia guy didn't get back to me with photos. Not really wanting to pester him, but I think if the ad is still up at the 1 week mark from when I first called, I'll follow up. If he's getting no other serious interest it might work out for me.

 

[RobbieD]

Other problem is it's not a drop in powertrain swap. Bronco II, even RWD, uses that ridiculous dummy transfer case which means I'd need to track down the extension housing for a 4x4 TK5 (and the real or dummy transfer case) as a prerequisite to being able to make it a functional vehicle.

Late 1990 model Bronco IIs used a regular 2WD transmission (both auto and manual) and ditched the dummy t-case. So a 2WD drivetrain is definitely doable, it's just a matter of buying a driveshaft, or having one made. The B2s used that weak CV driveshaft, too, that parts for which are made of unobtainium, so a new cardan style driveshaft is usually a given on a B2 anyway.

 

[kishy]

Good to know re: the later B2s. I didn't even know about the weird CV driveshaft until I started looking at photos oif these rollers and saw it laying on the ground.

I paid a fair bit of thought to all the things I use my Ranger for. Historically it's been my winter beater, but it's also...well...a truck. And I use it like one, hauling yard waste and car parts and loads to the dump and all sorts of stuff. I would seriously miss the utility of the bed. Yeah, I've got a trailer and I can tow it with my cars, but using the example of the EV battery, that would have involved towing my trailer (which is the back half of another 7ft Ranger) empty from Chicago back home again. Absolutely destroying fuel economy and making things like stopping at restaurants harder. It's just not a good option on a permanent basis. So I think I've ruled out a Bronco II unfortunately.

edit to my edit (avoiding bumping unnecessarily):
Currently in talks with 4 sellers ranging from 6 to 10 hours away. All are responsive and providing answers, and working on getting photos, so they're all easy to deal with so far. Have high confidence I can have a truck in my hands by December if I apply myself, but the one most likely to work out on that timeline is the most expensive. This would be much easier, quicker, and cheaper if I didn't require the title to exist and be in the seller's name, but I don't want to take the risk of the truck being a paperweight if the title isn't available and I can't make the paperwork line up for the border folks.

I'll update here with what happens. In the meantime, I'm still in the market for a supercab Ranger with no rust.

 

[RobbieD]

For simple practicality, you can't beat a pickup.

Get you a good Ranger for the primary, then if you're hopelessly addicted to the platform (like most of us here), get a Bronco II and/or an Explorer for a secondary.

Honestly, you simply can't have too many RBVs.

Bonus insider tip: they don't make the really good ones anymore. Get some while you still can . . .

 

[kishy]

Status of the hunt:
Spoke with Canada Border Services Agency. They have a "D-memo" which specifies that vehicles exempt from the RIV program (and 15yrs+ are so) do not require title documentation during import; the border guard will ascertain through "other documents" that the sale was legit. I've been warned there's a high risk of being denied and there is no precise list of acceptable documents to prove your case so it's best to just not even consider the ones with no title, or title not in the seller's name.

Which leaves me with 4 current viable options (1 strongly preferred, 1 second choice, 2 undesirable) in VA, NC, and TN, as well as one local option that has appeared.
Edit: looks like I'm down to two viable options, 1 strongly preferred manual RWD roller, 1 not really preferred at all complete auto 4x4 truck, and the local option is way too rusty to be the starting point for my project. The "strongly preferred" US truck is hung up awaiting some underside photos, which the seller has agreed to provide. If they're what I'm hoping for it's probably a done deal but since it isn't yet, I am very much still looking if you find this thread and have something suitable.

After much consideration the updated goals are:

• 86-92 Supercab Ranger, now also open to 93-94 Supercab Ranger or Mazda (these will be very friendly to receiving my engine as I'm running it with 93 engine controls)
• Originally assembled as manual and RWD

For simple practicality, you can't beat a pickup.

Get you a good Ranger for the primary, then if you're hopelessly addicted to the platform (like most of us here), get a Bronco II and/or an Explorer for a secondary.

Honestly, you simply can't have too many RBVs.

Bonus insider tip: they don't make the really good ones anymore. Get some while you still can . . .

I already have a platform that captured me in that way - Panther platform cars, which nothing has ever come near to in terms of satisfying the things I find valuable in a vehicle - so I am unlikely to ever go deeper into concurrent RBVs than "the new one I'm assembling" and "the old one I'm disassembling". Still, this little rotbox has grown on me, and if I was in any way fed up with the platform I'd probably be in an E-250 spec Club Wagon instead of hunting for another Ranger.

 

[Brain75]

... I asked if the guy would dig a little into making sure/asking, but I wouldn't hold any breath at all when dealing with big giant companies. ...

I followed up with the junkyard guys today on buying one out of the yard... they talked to the bosses. I learned a few new things. In Colorado (and most other states I understand) the VIN goes with the "cab" and stays with the cab.... this has come up in the '48-56 crowd before and guys just who want to swap vin tags around so the better cab has the correct vin for the paperwork they have.... Well per the junkyard they would sell you as much of a vehicle as you want EXCEPT the part the VIN is riveted to as scrap steel by the pound. If you buy that (the VIN tag) you buy the title (always salvage) and they don't have a dealer license so they can't sell you a "vehicle"... Also their computer system is directly tied to the state, and the instant they type in the VIN on entry/processing it kills the VIN with the state and it can not be used for anything.

They said if you were really serious, you could come in, pull a motor & trans set em aside since you don't want those, remove the dash with the VIN tag attached to the dash, then they will fork lift the rest of it out to your trailer and you buy it by the pound, you would have to put your own dash (and VIN tag) into that donor to make a vehicle again. And the title will remain the same, you are still driving your "old" truck.

Generally I am guessing you could do that with just about any junk yard - sounds like the ones in Detroit are on the same page from the comment "of nothing but a chunk of dash with a VIN tag attached left".

 

[kishy]

No developments of note on the hunt for a truck yet, but chats progress with a promising one.

nothing but a chunk of dash with a VIN tag attached left

 

[Brain75]

Given what I am used to seeing and driving that would be a hard pass for me... rust clear through behind the wheel wells, rust clear through all along the bottom of the tailgate.. If rust has chewed through that much of the truck it has chewed through everything else. That might be a "nice truck" for the rust belt/snow zone but that would be considered a "hopeless cause" down here. I can't believe anyone picked all the parts off that thing.

 

[Shran]

Shocked that a Land Cruiser would even end up in the junkyard. I've never seen one here. Toyota parts get recycled so many times that they're either part of an operational truck or so destroyed that they skip the junkyard and head straight to the crusher.

I've never bought a vehicle from a "junk" yard here but some of them also operate tow trucks and so they can acquire clean titles for vehicles that come in. I bought my beater '88 Ranger from a towing company that way years ago. It has a clean title but even if it was salvage, it doesn't really matter to me, my wife's old Prius had a salvage title from hail damage and we still got right at normal book value when we sold it.

 

[Brain75]

I take it you could get registration and insurance in ??South Dakota?? with that Prius salvage title?

In CO you can't insure it, and if you don't have insurance the state revokes your registration. (When they first passed the law my '48 carried full coverage memorial day to labor day and "storage only" from labor to memorial - comprehensive only, the state cancelled my registration and sent me a bill for $100 to reinstate + a new year of registration after I provided proof of full insurance.)

There's a process to re-certify it is roadworthy but it is flat out impossible, designed to keep anyone from even trying.

 

[Shran]

I take it you could get registration and insurance in ??South Dakota?? with that Prius salvage title?

In CO you can't insure it, and if you don't have insurance the state revokes your registration. (When they first passed the law my '48 carried full coverage memorial day to labor day and "storage only" from labor to memorial - comprehensive only, the state cancelled my registration and sent me a bill for $100 to reinstate + a new year of registration after I provided proof of full insurance.)

There's a process to re-certify it is roadworthy but it is flat out impossible, designed to keep anyone from even trying.

Fully registered and insured. SD doesn't care if it's salvage or not, nor do the insurance companies, and the state doesn't check insurance. Personally I think that is due to certain populations here that have a lot of uninsured vehicles driving around... or unlicensed... or both. I am guessing we quit doing inspections in the early 80's for the same reason. I have some frustrations with how registrations work in SD but they pale in comparison to what some of y'all have to deal with.

 

[kishy]

Got one!

'89 Super Cab, RWD, 2.9 stick roller missing both engine and trans. Dirt cheap, has paperwork, zero structural rust anywhere on the underside. Cosmetic faults but included a full set of all the panels to make it pretty down the road if desired. Hit all my checkboxes.

Updating thread as "found" and you'll see more of this one in the future.

 

[RobbieD]

Congratulations. It looks like a nice score.