First Ford Ever

[qorray]

Hello everyone, picked up my first Ford ever!!! 1990 Ford Ranger SuperCab XLT 2.9L AT unknown miles. Truck named after my boxer Roscoe nickname "lug nut". Why this truck?, caught my eye on Craigslist as being uniquely farmtruckish. Went to test drive and it needed everything, but drove ok and was complete. Swear to god every part on this truck is original after 32 years!!!!!! While I'm not into common cars/trucks anymore I try and find cars that stand out in a different way. Lugnut filled my current void for a project!!! I'm an old hotrodder more on the GM side but dabble in anything that uniquely catches my eye, last 2 projects for my Covid-19 builds were a 1971 Kaiser CJ5 and a 2016 all electric SCCA built Fiat 500. Both of these are stories by themselves. This Ranger is a cool project with many pros/cons, will share more on the journey later. As far as direction for this project, it will be well a urban farmtruck for me and my wife for our urban house in Fort Worth Texas. What you see in picture is the vibe we want to keep, all the work really happens under truck!!!! Did add the 70's staggered Cragar Magmaster slotted rims, 14x8.5 and 14x7 for a little hustle. 14" rims!!!!!!, these came off a 1970 Chevelle ss convertible a buddy bought out in Weatherford and he didn't want them. Sold original rims to a friend that has a 1994 Ranger. We do a lot of gardening, have chickens and 2 special pups. Roscoe gets in Lugnut when the door opens, very hard to get him out. Thanks for being here and look forward to my first Ford journey.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Welcome to TRS.
The truck looks to be in decent rust free shape.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You can spin these trucks whichever way makes you smile.

There is a Tech Library that has 20 plus years of information that will most likely come in handy.

It's gonna get in your blood.

Welcome to TRS...

 

[qorray]

Yes it is. Definitely seen use in its life, but taken care of. I think it was stored for 12 years also with bad transmission, had new looking 12 year radials on it when I got it. No trailer queen for sure, really like parking lots as I worry about no-one door dinging me!!!!! Q

 

[qorray]

And smiling I am.....

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Welcome to TRS!

Being that you have a hot rod background, then you have picked a good project. There’s a limited aftermarket for these, but if you’re willing to step outside the box, well, the sky is the limit.

Are you planning on keeping the current drivetrain and just modding it or are you planning on going a different route? If you are keeping the current drivetrain, @gaz and @PetroleumJunkie412 have done a lot to the engine. If it’s an automatic, I would highly recommend doing a shift kit and valve body mods. My 92 with just the transmission work (and a 4.0 under the hood) would light up the back tires if you got on the gas too hard.

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site.

 

[qorray]

Welcome to TRS!

Being that you have a hot rod background, then you have picked a good project. There’s a limited aftermarket for these, but if you’re willing to step outside the box, well, the sky is the limit.

Are you planning on keeping the current drivetrain and just modding it or are you planning on going a different route? If you are keeping the current drivetrain, @gaz and @PetroleumJunkie412 have done a lot to the engine. If it’s an automatic, I would highly recommend doing a shift kit and valve body mods. My 92 with just the transmission work (and a 4.0 under the hood) would light up the back tires if you got on the gas too hard.

Last "hotrod" in this case that I did right was a 1971 Buick Skylark Custom convertible, lot of work over a 10 year period but sold it around 2010. This car is in Amsterdam, I still talk to owner to this day! Nicest car I've built to date but not the funnest. Once you go to far modding seems your always fixing something or tuning. Modding flavor on this truck is stock (except those old Cragars & wood bed rails, I think I did say I love my truck!!!). I want my wife to be able to enjoy it also, when I really mod a car really I'm the only one who drives it because it's either slammed, crazy tire combos, stretched tires, to fast, lifted to high, paints to nice, might rain etc... I know there's a few people probably on here that know what I mean.

Couple pics from my Covid19 builds last 2 years

1971 Kaiser CJ5 with the Dauntless V6 3SPD with Warn overdrive. Heaviest clutch I have ever had to drive, this WILL give you a Popeye left leg. Cant remember but I think the flywheel was like 50-60#s. Crazy cool, mainly suspension mods

2016 Fiat 500e all electric rocket, way to much to list. Complete suspension replacement for SCCA racing (to much to list), if Fiat hadn't pulled out of US market I would still have this car. Very fast around town light to light, sucked on highway!!! Traded almost straight up for a 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE 6 speed manual, to the dealer. My local Toyota manager just had to have this car and I was happy it got a good home.

Funny you mention tranny, what shift kit works best with the A4LD in your opinion? I got the new Lubelocker gasket and Mercon V ready to go but a shift kit sounds right up my alley. Let me know.

 

[qorray]

Welcome to the site.

Thanks DVDSWAN

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Last "hotrod" in this case that I did right was a 1971 Buick Skylark Custom convertible, lot of work over a 10 year period but sold it around 2010. This car is in Amsterdam, I still talk to owner to this day! Nicest car I've built to date but not the funnest. Once you go to far modding seems your always fixing something or tuning. Modding flavor on this truck is stock (except those old Cragars & wood bed rails, I think I did say I love my truck!!!). I want my wife to be able to enjoy it also, when I really mod a car really I'm the only one who drives it because it's either slammed, crazy tire combos, stretched tires, to fast, lifted to high, paints to nice, might rain etc... I know there's a few people probably on here that know what I mean.

Couple pics from my Covid19 builds last 2 years

1971 Kaiser CJ5 with the Dauntless V6 3SPD with Warn overdrive. Heaviest clutch I have ever had to drive, this WILL give you a Popeye left leg. Cant remember but I think the flywheel was like 50-60#s. Crazy cool, mainly suspension mods

2016 Fiat 500e all electric rocket, way to much to list. Complete suspension replacement for SCCA racing (to much to list), if Fiat hadn't pulled out of US market I would still have this car. Very fast around town light to light, sucked on highway!!! Traded almost straight up for a 2021 Toyota Corolla Hatchback XSE 6 speed manual, to the dealer. My local Toyota manager just had to have this car and I was happy it got a good home.

Funny you mention tranny, what shift kit works best with the A4LD in your opinion? I got the new Lubelocker gasket and Mercon V ready to go but a shift kit sounds right up my alley. Let me know.

I wouldn’t overlook doing some engine modding. It’s relatively easy to get a little better performance and ensure the engine will last with these. Just something you might want to keep in mind.

I used the TransGo shift kit and did some other mods recommended both with the TransGo kit and some that were recommended on an Explorer forum. I’ve been meaning to try and get things detailed on here, but between my injuries and stuff I haven’t got that far yet.

 

[qorray]

I was also looking at the Zipper Kit, thanks for the reply. Q

 

[planeflyer21]

That is farm-truckish.

Nice!

Welcome aboard.