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Super70ty
New Member
Hey folks,
I have a 85 Ranger, 2.3, 2wd, 5 spd. Its been put together or modified with parts from my old 83. My 83 was a 2.3 4spd. I bought it from my coworker and drove it like crazy. It was pretty bad floor patched badly, one working wiper, etc but it was fun. I drove it til the passenger side rear wheel bearing went out.
I then decided to find a Ranger with a better body. I found a one owner locally that the guy bought new in 85 in Cali. EFI 2.3 locked up. So I started my first major project by switching from EFI to Carb. Not that bad did some research on this site and got a remaned 78 carb for a pinto(which took forever), switched to manual steering from the 83 truck and my buddy made some radiator supports since they were not the same. Got it all put together and got it to run with the EFI distributor.
Well the the truck had no power and was slower than a turtle. I drove it that way for a yr or so and hauled lots of scrap with it til it quit running. Then we put the orig distributor back in and did some wiring to get it running again. It runs but still slow, I think the motor that I put in was from a mustang/capri(so I was told) as I had to change fuel pumps due to some issues.
But overall I love it, still needs some work or a engine overhaul(compression 100, 110, 60, 100). I did put in the sliding window from the 83 in. Rangers are fun to work on as they are so easy to play with. In fact I got my friend to buy a 83 Ranger, it smoked like hell but ran for $100 before I got mine. He is busy doing a 2.9 swap.
A little long winded but thats my story and I am sticking to it. Cheers
I have a 85 Ranger, 2.3, 2wd, 5 spd. Its been put together or modified with parts from my old 83. My 83 was a 2.3 4spd. I bought it from my coworker and drove it like crazy. It was pretty bad floor patched badly, one working wiper, etc but it was fun. I drove it til the passenger side rear wheel bearing went out.
I then decided to find a Ranger with a better body. I found a one owner locally that the guy bought new in 85 in Cali. EFI 2.3 locked up. So I started my first major project by switching from EFI to Carb. Not that bad did some research on this site and got a remaned 78 carb for a pinto(which took forever), switched to manual steering from the 83 truck and my buddy made some radiator supports since they were not the same. Got it all put together and got it to run with the EFI distributor.
Well the the truck had no power and was slower than a turtle. I drove it that way for a yr or so and hauled lots of scrap with it til it quit running. Then we put the orig distributor back in and did some wiring to get it running again. It runs but still slow, I think the motor that I put in was from a mustang/capri(so I was told) as I had to change fuel pumps due to some issues.But overall I love it, still needs some work or a engine overhaul(compression 100, 110, 60, 100). I did put in the sliding window from the 83 in. Rangers are fun to work on as they are so easy to play with. In fact I got my friend to buy a 83 Ranger, it smoked like hell but ran for $100 before I got mine. He is busy doing a 2.9 swap.
A little long winded but thats my story and I am sticking to it. Cheers
