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My 1980 Ford F100 Ranger Lariat


Fordtruckman80

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Thanks guys! It means a lot. :)
 


85_Ranger4x4

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That is a clean truck, I would love to find a F-350 of that vintage in that condition (with a 400 and 4spd though)

Quick question, does your truck not have A/C? Dad has a '80 F-350 that is a straight Ranger, I sat there looking at your dash thinking "dads doesn't have that much woodgrain" I finally had an excuse to drive it today and noticed it has a vent on each side of the cluster, where yours does not. His originally had A/C, but I don't see a compressor in yours (which doesn't always mean a whole lot)

I can't come up with another reason why one truck would have them and one wouldn't... and even then it is kind of a weird thing to save a couple bucks on (on Fords part)

I wish his looked like yours, it looks like it has won several wars... and I guess in some ways it kinda has.
 
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Fordtruckman80

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That is a clean truck, I would love to find a F-350 of that vintage in that condition (with a 400 and 4spd though)

Quick question, does your truck not have A/C? Dad has a '80 F-350 that is a straight Ranger, I sat there looking at your dash thinking "dads doesn't have that much woodgrain" I finally had an excuse to drive it today and noticed it has a vent on each side of the cluster, where yours does not. His originally had A/C, but I don't see a compressor in yours (which doesn't always mean a whole lot)

I can't come up with another reason why one truck would have them and one wouldn't... and even then it is kind of a weird thing to save a couple bucks on (on Fords part)

I wish his looked like yours, it looks like it has won several wars... and I guess in some ways it kinda has.
Thanks man! It means a lot. :)

And you are right, my truck did not come with A/C from the factory. Ford in this time had two different dash panels, those with A/C vents, and those without. The strange thing is, this truck is from Los Angeles, California, so you would imagine the original owner would have opted or the A/C. However the truck does have a rear slider so he may have been old fashioned and figured the slider was enough.

And mine looks good from a distance, but up close she's got her scars too. I've fixed many of them, so it's better than it was. My truck's real scars are within the drive train. She was rode hard and put away broke.

If you have any pics of your dad's F350, i'd love to see them, especially interior pics. I'm a real fan of the 80-81 Ranger-Ranger Lariat trim level trucks.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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What is so special about the Ranger or Ranger Lariat interiors? Our "Ranger" is pretty generic, red interior, woodgrain dash, crank windows, manual locks, A/C, steel roof, rubber floor.

His is a company service truck, it has been largely replaced by a '04 F-250 in that role but still finds quite a bit to do. He got it from a farmer in the early 90's, had the heavy rear bumper with an integrated hitch and air tank, and the gooseneck plate in it. The guy had a couple of friends that hauled livestock together, one had a mildly built 454, one had a Cummins Dodge and this thing, the Cummins would run side by side with this truck but wouldn't show it a thing. The 454 would make either look stupid when it would hang together. The front bumper was dented from herding cattle and finding a culvert. Personally I kinda like the angled back look... Original grille was busted when the three point arm of a tractor that was parked in the shop overnight in front of it crept down and busted out a section. I found an incorrect but much better condition 82-86 grille on craigslist for $10. He picked up the grille guard at some point too.

He switched engines out of another beater farm truck somewhere in the mid to late 90's, and although it needs it again he redid the body at some point too. It says just shy of 80k, so I am guessing it is on its third time around...

It runs alright, oil pressure gets low when it gets hot and is all around getting tired. Clutch is shot. We have a '76 400 out of a car sitting on a stand to put in it, just haven't gotten around to it yet.





 
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tbirdsps

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That sure is a nice truck. And you are an exceptional deal finder. Restoration on a budget that is looking very sucessfull. Those wheels are great looking and the interior is definately improved over the original.:icon_thumby:

Good work.:icon_cheers:

My dad had a brand new 79 XLT with the 351. The first week he got sideswiped and had that fixed. A couple of months later it was hammered with a baseball sized hail and had that fixed. He sold it at a profit to a freind after having it six months. He thought it was jinxed. It was his first new truck and he never had another new truck after that. It was gorgeous but it attracted bad things to the body. A body damage magnet. 1979 was the second coming of the gas crisis and he got it for $6500 new and sold it for $7100 six months later.
 

Fordtruckman80

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What is so special about the Ranger or Ranger Lariat interiors? Our "Ranger" is pretty generic, red interior, woodgrain dash, crank windows, manual locks, A/C, steel roof, rubber floor.

His is a company service truck, it has been largely replaced by a '04 F-250 in that role but still finds quite a bit to do. He got it from a farmer in the early 90's, had the heavy rear bumper with an integrated hitch and air tank, and the gooseneck plate in it. The guy had a couple of friends that hauled livestock together, one had a mildly built 454, one had a Cummins Dodge and this thing, the Cummins would run side by side with this truck but wouldn't show it a thing. The 454 would make either look stupid when it would hang together. The front bumper was dented from herding cattle and finding a culvert. Personally I kinda like the angled back look... Original grille was busted when the three point arm of a tractor that was parked in the shop overnight in front of it crept down and busted out a section. I found an incorrect but much better condition 82-86 grille on craigslist for $10. He picked up the grille guard at some point too.

He switched engines out of another beater farm truck somewhere in the mid to late 90's, and although it needs it again he redid the body at some point too. It says just shy of 80k, so I am guessing it is on its third time around...

It runs alright, oil pressure gets low when it gets hot and is all around getting tired. Clutch is shot. We have a '76 400 out of a car sitting on a stand to put in it, just haven't gotten around to it yet.
Awesome story man! Sounds like she was used just like a truck should be! Judging by that little square emblem on the fender, it looks like the truck is either a Trailer Special, or a Camper Special truck. Pretty cool deal there.

The only thing that is really special about the Ranger-Ranger Lariat trims is the script on the radio bezel. That script and the Ranger name were only used in 1980 and 1981 for that body style, so it's kind of rare. It took me 7 months to find a decent condition Ranger Lariat radio bezel for my truck. The Ranger Lariats are pretty rare in themselves as they were only offered from 1978-1981. I mainly like the trim names because I've always found XL and XLT to be really bland. I loved the Ranger insignias. Also, the Ranger Lariat seat trim is specific to 78-81 Ranger Lariat trucks as well. It's mainly small stuff, but to me, it's big stuff.


-------

That sure is a nice truck. And you are an exceptional deal finder. Restoration on a budget that is looking very sucessfull. Those wheels are great looking and the interior is definately improved over the original.:icon_thumby:

Good work.:icon_cheers:

My dad had a brand new 79 XLT with the 351. The first week he got sideswiped and had that fixed. A couple of months later it was hammered with a baseball sized hail and had that fixed. He sold it at a profit to a freind after having it six months. He thought it was jinxed. It was his first new truck and he never had another new truck after that. It was gorgeous but it attracted bad things to the body. A body damage magnet. 1979 was the second coming of the gas crisis and he got it for $6500 new and sold it for $7100 six months later.
Thanks man! I've been very lucky on the deals I've gotten. It really helps to know the right people.

Cool story on your dad's truck! This truck has quite a few stories to tell as to where some of it's dents came from.lol. I hear you on the gas crisis, this truck was built in December of 1979, so it was equipped with 2.75 rear gears and P205/75 tires, most likely for gas mileage. I don't know why they bothered though, the 300 I6 and the C6 automatic in a single cab long bed isn't necessarily the best for gas mileage.
 
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85_Ranger4x4

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Awesome story man! Sounds like she was used just like a truck should be! Judging by that little square emblem on the fender, it looks like the truck is either a Trailer Special, or a Camper Special truck. Pretty cool deal there.

The only thing that is really special about the Ranger-Ranger Lariat trims is the script on the radio bezel. That script and the Ranger name were only used in 1980 and 1981 for that body style, so it's kind of rare. It took me 7 months to find a decent condition Ranger Lariat radio bezel for my truck. The Ranger Lariats are pretty rare in themselves as they were only offered from 1978-1981. I mainly like the trim names because I've always found XL and XLT to be really bland. I loved the Ranger insignias. Also, the Ranger Lariat seat trim is specific to 78-81 Ranger Lariat trucks as well. It's mainly small stuff, but to me, it's big stuff.
Actually that little badge thing was a deal that held a sticker that had the company info on it, the same sticker that we put on our new equipment that we sell.

It had a neat seat in it, kinda had these round disk things that were like fish scales sort of. Dunno if it was original or not, one of the guys that works there is too stupid to realize that the screwdrivers sticking out of his pockets is hard on seats and tore the crap out of it. Now it is sporting a vinyl seat with a cover out of a more boring truck that went thru CFC.
 

Fordtruckman80

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Actually that little badge thing was a deal that held a sticker that had the company info on it, the same sticker that we put on our new equipment that we sell.

It had a neat seat in it, kinda had these round disk things that were like fish scales sort of. Dunno if it was original or not, one of the guys that works there is too stupid to realize that the screwdrivers sticking out of his pockets is hard on seats and tore the crap out of it. Now it is sporting a vinyl seat with a cover out of a more boring truck that went thru CFC.
No, I was referring to the thing on the left front fender. The little tiny badge that is only half the size of a normal sized hand, right under where the words Ranger F350 should be. lol.

Hmm, i'm not sure on the seat. It kinda sounds like my original seat, but I don't recall the little round things. It did feel like there were scales though.

But yea the seat I got from my Ranger Lariat parts truck is in pretty good shape, aside from a few entry tears in the outer material. I just wish it wasn't blue.lol. I'm eventually gonna have the seat recovered with the factory material and design that it has now, but with black and silver instead.
 

Fordtruckman80

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Well, it looks like my pictures are gone, so I'll reupload a couple.

When I first bought it:



It's now a 4x4, and it'll be powered by a 6.6 400 V8 with a C6 automatic and an NP208 transfer case.





Both of my trucks together:

 

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