83-88 Ranger dash board in a 2006+ Ranger

[Mike Tonon]

Can it be done? What would have to be modified?

The Newer dash boards are kinda boring, the older ones had more character, in my opinion. But pretty much everything else on the 06+ Rangers I like. Except for the plastic exterior door handles (found what appear to be metal ones if anyones interested) -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tailgate-Ha...ome-Finish-20012011-Ford-Ranger-/111162872155

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Outside-Out...-Zinc-Metal-with-Chrome-Finish-/400568990802?

 

[adsm08]

That is going to be a hard one. Different shape, different mountings, most of the pieces behind the dash on the 06 are important modules that can't be replaced by the older stuff, notably the instrument cluster. You will have trouble making the wiring work, but I agree with you about the looks.

 

[Mike Tonon]

As much as I like the 06+ Rangers, I would change the following:

-As mentioned above, metal exterior door handles
-add cargo light
-add under-hood lamp
-some models look better with a chrome rear bumper
-stainless screws in that black plastic strip below the door panel, the stock screws rust
-fill the stick shift knob indicator etching with white epoxy filler, A) it makes it more visible and B) it prevents grime from filling up in there
-plug the hole in the driver side floor mat (the rubber mats, not carpet) and cut the hook off at the floor
-somehow, block any opening into the guage cluster so dust can't get in. I did that on my 87 Ranger, but my 07 and can't figure out a reasonable way to


Just sharing some thoughts.

 

[1986fordranger]

well all the generations of ranger's have similar dash mounts for the most part, like you can swap a 83 to 88 dash into a 89 to 92 and vise versa, which is the same dash and dash mounts as the 93 and 94's, which use similar dash mounts as the 95 to 2010's, wiring and the speedo are gunna be the hard part, but it could be done by either using the 07 cluster or I believe there is some companies that will make a custom cluster for you

 

[Mike Tonon]

Let me ask you this... Could I modify an 06+ dash to look more like an 83-88 modernized?

ie. Guage cluster more like the 83-88 Rangers, panel vents on dash matching with some chrome (maybe like the newer Ford truck vents on the Explorer and F-series), red interior?, wood grain dash bezel/s, etc.

At least the newer dashes have those two extra vents that clear the door glass. The new steering wheels are a much better design. The newer seats taper in on the sides rather than being dome shaped on the sides, like in the 80's, if anyone remembers, which was a literal PITA. I actually cut the foam in my seats on my 87 Ranger and that made them more comfortable... Anyways, all in all, the newer Rangers are nice, but the dash is a bit plain and cheap looking.

 

[adsm08]

At least the newer dashes have those two extra vents that clear the door glass. The new steering wheels are a much better design. The newer seats taper in on the sides rather than being dome shaped on the sides, like in the 80's, if anyone remembers, which was a literal PITA. I actually cut the foam in my seats on my 87 Ranger and that made them more comfortable... Anyways, all in all, the newer Rangers are nice, but the dash is a bit plain and cheap looking.

The window demisters on were available as a very rare option in the 80s.

And I know what you mean with the seats. I replaced mine with Explorer seats, much nicer.

 

[Mike Tonon]

The window demisters on were available as a very rare option in the 80s.

And I know what you mean with the seats. I replaced mine with Explorer seats, much nicer.

I liked the 80's bucketseats though, that checkered pattern had character. The 05+ Ranger FX4's have blue or red in the middle with black squares, similar to the 80's bucket seats. I thought about making my Ranger more like a modernized version of my 87 and swapping in a set of the Red FX4 seats.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The window demisters on were available as a very rare option in the 80s.

Do you have any pics of one, I have never seen anything like that.

Switching from dash (with the outside vents pointed at the windows) to defrost once in awhile works pretty decent in my truck though.

I tried Explorer buckets, now I have EB BII buckets... can't swear it won't get the bench put back in it.

Factory Ranger low back buckets would be nice but I haven't found any that don't look like they haven't been attacked by a pack of rabid racoons. I think they still cut in on the standard cab legroom too.

 

[Mark_88]

At one point I was looking at using the 92 dash for the demisters...then I pulled things apart only to find that they were dummies...there were no hose lines on the demister vents in that particular truck...

The 96 has a plastic tube about 2" in diameter running directly to the demisters though...so I was going to either use the 96 dash (much more complicated than the 88)...or rework the 88 dash somehow...also considered removing the speaker grill and putting something from there to the side windows...

I do the vent/defrost flip quite a bit on my truck on really cold days...especially if I happen to work up a bit of a sweat before jumping in the truck...which is actually quite frequent...