Aoresteen
Well-Known Member
I've been working on my 1990 XL Ranger Super cab for two years now. My wife finally took her first ride in it today
!
I found the truck on Craig's List Atlanta back in June 2015 for $2300. It will be my HAM radio truck as I am an ARES member. My call is W1AJO - it's my license plate as well.
At first I wanted to stretch the frame and have a longer bed. Advice here was it's a big hill to climb. I decided to leave it as is. Not a hill I could take.
I did a lot of mechanical work to the truck. Installed a rebuilt 8.8" rear end with 3.73 gears. New Areostar rear brake drums, front brakes serviced. New Poly body bushings. Swapped out the bed. Found a white camper top for it. Bought new 15" rims and 235/75R15 Goodyear Wranglers Silent Armor tires. New bumpers, grill parts, tracked down used bumper brackets, and a rear hitch. Found a pair of '89 Bronco II bucket seats for it in Knoxville.
Got it out of the paint shop in May - it had a lot of body work to be done! Had a new JVC stereo head & speakers installed - finally. Had a 4" suspension lift put in. It just came back from the upholstery shop - new carpet, dash cap, seats re-covered and a new headliner. Yesterday had the AC re-charged - hope it lasts
! With new paint, upholstery, and AC my wife finally rode in it.
The color is the original factory color Graphite Metallic. Cab, bed, camper cover & bumpers were painted Graphite Metalic. The chrome was removed & mirrors , window trim etc were painted black blackout. The bed was sprayed with a black liner. B&B Body Shop in Sharpsburg GA did the paint work. They did a fantastic job making this old girl shine again.
The tailgate trim plate is still being painted black - tracking down the right Ford oval is taking longer than expected. Next up is figuring out a spare tire carrier on the bumper, installing ham radios, a new alternator etc. It will have a bunch of antennas on it as well.
At some point the 2.9L will be pulled and a 5.0L & an auto tranny will be dropped in. All in due time.
I got a lot of help from members on this forum so thank you all!

I found the truck on Craig's List Atlanta back in June 2015 for $2300. It will be my HAM radio truck as I am an ARES member. My call is W1AJO - it's my license plate as well.


At first I wanted to stretch the frame and have a longer bed. Advice here was it's a big hill to climb. I decided to leave it as is. Not a hill I could take.
I did a lot of mechanical work to the truck. Installed a rebuilt 8.8" rear end with 3.73 gears. New Areostar rear brake drums, front brakes serviced. New Poly body bushings. Swapped out the bed. Found a white camper top for it. Bought new 15" rims and 235/75R15 Goodyear Wranglers Silent Armor tires. New bumpers, grill parts, tracked down used bumper brackets, and a rear hitch. Found a pair of '89 Bronco II bucket seats for it in Knoxville.




Got it out of the paint shop in May - it had a lot of body work to be done! Had a new JVC stereo head & speakers installed - finally. Had a 4" suspension lift put in. It just came back from the upholstery shop - new carpet, dash cap, seats re-covered and a new headliner. Yesterday had the AC re-charged - hope it lasts

The color is the original factory color Graphite Metallic. Cab, bed, camper cover & bumpers were painted Graphite Metalic. The chrome was removed & mirrors , window trim etc were painted black blackout. The bed was sprayed with a black liner. B&B Body Shop in Sharpsburg GA did the paint work. They did a fantastic job making this old girl shine again.



The tailgate trim plate is still being painted black - tracking down the right Ford oval is taking longer than expected. Next up is figuring out a spare tire carrier on the bumper, installing ham radios, a new alternator etc. It will have a bunch of antennas on it as well.
At some point the 2.9L will be pulled and a 5.0L & an auto tranny will be dropped in. All in due time.
I got a lot of help from members on this forum so thank you all!
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