Hello from S. GA

[b1pig]

The "official" greeting to the forum.
It looks like I will be picking up a '88 XLT long bed next week. It belonged to my wife's uncle. He passed away a month ago. People have been going onto his property and destroying everything. Father in law wants to keep the truck in the family, and they're in no shape to be fooling around with it.... so it looks like it's coming home with us.

As it is, I KNOW, precisely nothing about this truck specifically. I have always been a fan of the early Rangers. While ideal for me would be a reg cab short bed, I'm not going to complain if I can keep this one. Supposed to be a 2.3 manual 2wd truck... and it "stopped running" while my father in law was driving it in the field. First bet is the fuel pump crash sensor. Then I'll go from there.

Been doing a lot of crash course studying on the model. Can't wait to get a really close look at it. Hopefully all will go well. If the drivetrain is worn out, then I will more than likely search for a 5.0 and matching 5spd to swap into it. Like I said, I've liked THIS model Ranger, the early S-10 of similar vintage and the Nissan Hardbody trucks. Couldn't afford one when I was a kid while the lowrider scene was really booming. But, hey... who knows.

 

[1986RangerXL]

The "official" greeting to the forum.
It looks like I will be picking up a '88 XLT long bed next week. It belonged to my wife's uncle. He passed away a month ago. People have been going onto his property and destroying everything. Father in law wants to keep the truck in the family, and they're in no shape to be fooling around with it.... so it looks like it's coming home with us.

As it is, I KNOW, precisely nothing about this truck specifically. I have always been a fan of the early Rangers. While ideal for me would be a reg cab short bed, I'm not going to complain if I can keep this one. Supposed to be a 2.3 manual 2wd truck... and it "stopped running" while my father in law was driving it in the field. First bet is the fuel pump crash sensor. Then I'll go from there.

Been doing a lot of crash course studying on the model. Can't wait to get a really close look at it. Hopefully all will go well. If the drivetrain is worn out, then I will more than likely search for a 5.0 and matching 5spd to swap into it. Like I said, I've liked THIS model Ranger, the early S-10 of similar vintage and the Nissan Hardbody trucks. Couldn't afford one when I was a kid while the lowrider scene was really booming. But, hey... who knows.

The inertia switch? Yeah that's why I got mine lol. Good luck, the EEEC-IV system in this generation is a pain to diagnose sometimes.

Welcome to the forum

 

[sgtsandman]

 

[ericbphoto]

 

[b1pig]

Aaaannd....
It's more official. Went to my in-laws' place today and picked this up and brought it home. Its pretty rough. No garage kept gem. Odometer says 65731. There should at least be a 1 in front of that. Maybe a 2. Might be a good thing this truck came from a time when that number didn't matter. LOL


Got it home. Emptied the bed of all the junk. Gave it a quick wash-down. Vacuumed it out. The carpet is trash. Seat cover is ok.... but the seat foam is pretty much gone from the driver's seat. It has a working new-ish JVC radio, but obviously the little rear OEM speakers are junk and the dash speakers sound like they should be. But. Aside from the cruise control not working... everything else on the truck works great. All the bulbs. Even the tag lights. Both of em. A/C works ok for a 31 year old truck.

So, here it is.

1988 4cyl/5spd XLT.

Drove home like a champ. Smells like it has a fuel leak somewhere under the cab. Probably around the fuel filter. If the weather cooperates I'll have a look at it tomorrow.

 

[Dirtman]

 

[RobbieD]

Congratulations! That, my friend, is a diamond in the rough. Everything is there, and functional; that truck can be fixed up nicely. I like it!

 

[sgtsandman]

By rust belt standards, that's a darn good find.