86' STX (FREE truck!)

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Wooooooooooooo! I love learning new crap!

 

[Pepsibottle1]

Went out last night to start cleaning up the junk.

Good eye on the gauges...that seem to not even be wired up

Sitting on the driver's seat. Sure looks forboding

Radiator looks recent. Pulled cap. Will need to be flushed a few times over after truck get running

Speaking of which, the engine has oil (halfway on the line, good) and the crank did turn. Oil wasn't milky and did not smell coolant. Nothing crazy underneath of the oil capr

Power steering pump has been sitting without a cap

Needs a battery cable. Shouldn't there be another cable on the opposite post?

Nest removed

75a parts store reman alternator dated to 2007

Everything is all there for the most part. Couldn't do a whole lot but fill trash bags before the sun went down. Remember saying that I needed some gloves, a shop vac, rug doctor, cleaning wipes and a prayer.

I'm up and about now, might get out and gather some supplies and parts. Battery, cable, key/ignition switch and some fresh fuel to see where I stand?

 

[racsan]

Also, fairly certain that's a 89-92 tailgate.

Aftermarket gauges under the dash tells me you're going to have some mechanical issues.

I may be incorrect, but it looks as if it's lifted a little more than the factory high rider package.

‘88 tailgate at “newest”. ‘89 started the emblem on the gate instead of the FORD letters. I had a ‘88, that sheet of aluminum trim hides the original embossing, bad thing is if you were to remove it , you’d have (8) 1/2” holes to fill in.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

‘88 tailgate at “newest”. ‘89 started the emblem on the gate instead of the FORD letters. I had a ‘88, that sheet of aluminum trim hides the original embossing, bad thing is if you were to remove it , you’d have (8) 1/2” holes to fill in.

Yeah, have my spare in the "to do" pile. I HATE the tailgate trim on mine.

 

[adsm08]

Needs a battery cable. Shouldn't there be another cable on the opposite post?

View attachment 29855

There should be one set of cables for each post. One set has the cable to the battery positive, and everything thing else that needs power. The other is just the starter and ONLY the starter.

 

[Pepsibottle1]

There should be one set of cables for each post. One set has the cable to the battery positive, and everything thing else that needs power. The other is just the starter and ONLY the starter.

Thank you for confirming that, I was thinking the same thing. The wire underneath of the battery cable on that post (appears) to be going down into the starter. I remember seeing this setup on the old Bronco I had, and I suspect that solenoid is bad and they decided to wire straight to positive (?). I don't know what else has been done, I see wires with butt connectors coming off of that as well. My guess would be that it would have something to do with the amp that is mounted behind the bench seat. I suppose that it would be in my best interest to buy a new solenoid, cables, and have the wiring done properly back to stock

 

[adsm08]

My guess would be that it would have something to do with the amp that is mounted behind the bench seat. I suppose that it would be in my best interest to buy a new solenoid, cables, and have the wiring done properly back to stock

Can't hurt, they are cheap enough.

The way it looks right now I'm surprised anything works at all. It certainly shouldn't crank the way it is.

 

[wildbill23c]

Nice...(maybe) save. Body looks to be in decent condition though and if the frame is good can't be too bad, other question is why/where is the driveshaft...something isn't right if they've pulled a driveshaft and why its not with the truck is another good question.

Ok remind me to never go to Virginia if all you gotta do is go down and claim a vehicle is abandoned...well ok maybe in some cases could be a good thing if the process you described works, sadly I've seen so many vehicles just sit in fields and rot away because the owner's are too dumb to take what little cash people want to offer...a 1959 Ford F250 that sat and rotted completely away that the owner was offered money for on several occasions didn't want to sell it, then the property was sold, vehicle was left there, new property owners never did anything about it, then finally I drove by one day and they were out with torches cutting it up...well what was left of it anyhow....when it was first spotted out in the field it had most of its paint left, and looked like in pretty good condition too. Don't understand why people do that stuff to a vehicle like that especially when they have people offering them cash to get it off the property for them. I'm assuming that I couldn't just walk up to a property and say oh hey cool car, I'll just go down and tell them its abandoned and get the title in my name and take it type thing couldn't happen? Or could it?

I had aftermarket gauges in my 84 Bronco 2, because the gauges in the dash were as everyone knows extremely inaccurate.

 

[Dirtman]

I would HOPE if the vehicle was on private property it wouldn't be so easy to just claim it like that. If i wanna leave cars abandoned on my property for decades thats my god given right as an american.

 

[wildbill23c]

I would HOPE if the vehicle was on private property it wouldn't be so easy to just claim it like that. If i wanna leave cars abandoned on my property for decades thats my god given right as an american.

I'd rather not start a junk yard on my property LOL, but at the same time if I have a vehicle that needs some work that I have to park till I have time to fix it when there's good weather I shouldn't have to worry about someone just claiming it to be there's because it hasn't moved in a couple months wouldn't be acceptable, but in the case of the OP I could see where that would be nice to be able to implement...as is vehicles left on property after the property is sold too would be nice to be able to get them titled in your name to either be able to use, resell or scrap, etc.

 

[Dirtman]

If you buy property I would assume whatever is on it becomes yours, be it a barn, truck, or meth lab.

 

[Pepsibottle1]

Can't hurt, they are cheap enough.

The way it looks right now I'm surprised anything works at all. It certainly shouldn't crank the way it is.

No, it shouldn't. I don't know how they have it rigged up but it does not look ideal. I would like to get that squared away first. A younger and more brazen me would have gone in with a battery, and condemned the starter upon the impending no crank

Nice...(maybe) save. Body looks to be in decent condition though and if the frame is good can't be too bad, other question is why/where is the driveshaft...something isn't right if they've pulled a driveshaft and why its not with the truck is another good question.

That's the million dollar question! The driveshaft is MIA and nowhere to be found. I highly doubt it was removed to get the truck towed, and I approach this with doubt as to the integrity of the drivetrain. I wouldn't exactly be too bummed out to find the rear end to be bad, it would give me all the reason to swap an 8.8 (4.10, limited slip as originally equipped per the VIN of course)

Underneath of the truck as far as I can see, it is absolutely solid. Frame and bed underneath look golden. Besides the one rust spot shown in the pictures on the passenger side rear fender, the body is also straight. That would be the biggest thing going for it right now and is what makes it worth all of the future time and effort. I want to say that this truck appears to have been taken care of for a good portion of its early life.

I am doing as much due diligence and prior research as I possibly can before diving in. Although it is tempting to go right in and buy a ton of parts off the bat, I feel that taking my time will save me a lot of grief down the road. I really appreciate all of the tech sections on the website and the vast array of prior posts because it makes life a lot easier. With that said, I am in a bit of a holding pattern as I plan out the best strategy to proceed forward. I would like to

1.) continue to clean, especially the interior as it needs jesus (moldy, gross, nasty)
2.) get engine running to see where I stand with the 2.9
3.) drive truck to the garage so that I can make a complete assessment from there

Hang in there. I am both very excited to see where this takes me, and prepared to be humbled during said process

 

[Dirtman]

For a practically free truck, a solid frame and body is more than enough to be thankful for.

 

[wildbill23c]

No, it shouldn't. I don't know how they have it rigged up but it does not look ideal. I would like to get that squared away first. A younger and more brazen me would have gone in with a battery, and condemned the starter upon the impending no crank



That's the million dollar question! The driveshaft is MIA and nowhere to be found. I highly doubt it was removed to get the truck towed, and I approach this with doubt as to the integrity of the drivetrain. I wouldn't exactly be too bummed out to find the rear end to be bad, it would give me all the reason to swap an 8.8 (4.10, limited slip as originally equipped per the VIN of course)

Underneath of the truck as far as I can see, it is absolutely solid. Frame and bed underneath look golden. Besides the one rust spot shown in the pictures on the passenger side rear fender, the body is also straight. That would be the biggest thing going for it right now and is what makes it worth all of the future time and effort. I want to say that this truck appears to have been taken care of for a good portion of its early life.

I am doing as much due diligence and prior research as I possibly can before diving in. Although it is tempting to go right in and buy a ton of parts off the bat, I feel that taking my time will save me a lot of grief down the road. I really appreciate all of the tech sections on the website and the vast array of prior posts because it makes life a lot easier. With that said, I am in a bit of a holding pattern as I plan out the best strategy to proceed forward. I would like to

1.) continue to clean, especially the interior as it needs jesus (moldy, gross, nasty)
2.) get engine running to see where I stand with the 2.9
3.) drive truck to the garage so that I can make a complete assessment from there

Hang in there. I am both very excited to see where this takes me, and prepared to be humbled during said process

I'd love to get another 80's Ranger at some point, I really miss my 84, although it wasn't 4WD I have 2 other 4WD's now so if I found another 2WD 84 I'd be fine with it...I'd really love to find my 84 ranger though, I know its highly doubtful and probably long gone by now and obviously no way to find out anyways. I loved the 80's trucks. I have an 88 Bronco 2 that I have put a lot of money into and to me it is worth it since its sticking around for a long time...rebuilt crate engine transmission rebuild....about $13k tied up in it between the engine, transmission and other work done including having the rusted missing paint hood repainted and the tan lower body paint redone all around...still needs the rest painted at some point but right now its my DD and enjoy driving it.

Many of the older trucks are either long gone, rusted to pieces, or in a scrap yard somewhere unfortunately.

 

[Pepsibottle1]

I'd love to get another 80's Ranger at some point, I really miss my 84, although it wasn't 4WD I have 2 other 4WD's now so if I found another 2WD 84 I'd be fine with it...I'd really love to find my 84 ranger though, I know its highly doubtful and probably long gone by now and obviously no way to find out anyways. I loved the 80's trucks. I have an 88 Bronco 2 that I have put a lot of money into and to me it is worth it since its sticking around for a long time...rebuilt crate engine transmission rebuild....about $13k tied up in it between the engine, transmission and other work done including having the rusted missing paint hood repainted and the tan lower body paint redone all around...still needs the rest painted at some point but right now its my DD and enjoy driving it.

Many of the older trucks are either long gone, rusted to pieces, or in a scrap yard somewhere unfortunately.

No doubt, it's impossible to find one of these body style Rangers in good shape around here, let alone a 4 wheel drive one. This generation Ranger is my favorite. Everything on this truck seems to be very well built and sturdy. They truly don't make em' like they used to. When I was in school a few years ago, I really wanted a Bronco 2. That was when I used to see them on Craigslist frequently and they went dirt cheap. Don't know what happened, but stock in those has started to creep up.