Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and wesleypipesyo
Active Member
Hey folks, I picked up a Ranger this past Sunday. I have been searching for this truck for about 3 months. When they pop up on the CL, they go fast. And they are never cheap. Paid $700 for it!!! It is an '89 2.3l 4cyl, 5spd, 7' bed. It is a crapily painted, banged up, rusted out beater truck.
But, she runs like a top. I have a few things to fix. The HVAC control panel lost the fan knob. And the sliders are difficult to move, so that will get swapped out. The previous owner wired the stereo, which is a POS, to a always hot source and put in a kill switch. Also the stereo is not hooked to the antenna. It gets no FM/AM. The gas and Temp gauge are no joy. Those will need looking at. The passenger side door is a little loose when the door is fully closed. The driver side seat has zero support. The body has a number of spots of surface rust and the bed has some rust holes all the way through.
The plans as of now, Swap out some stuff: The gauge cluster, the truck bed, the sending unit in the gas tank, driver seat, HVAC control panel, and the front grill. I am going to try to find a smaller truck bed to throw on instead of fixing the one on there. I am going to make the doors removable, and get some tube doors made up. I really like the '88 and older grill with the Ford logo on the driver side. I am going to an Explorer bucket seat. Tomorrow I am getting a new head unit. Something with an iPod cable on the back of it. Rewire that bad boy so it is only hot when the when the key is on.
The plans in the next 2 years or so, the wife is pregnant so I have to wait till that is done and the kid is a little grown: Pull the truck bed, swap the axles to a 9'' rear and a high pinion 44 front with some RCV's. 37'' hmmvv take offs. A 302 with C6 tranny and np205, and some form of a doubler. Stretch the front out about 4-6'' and go with a 4 link front. Cut the rear frame a little and do a 4 link. Throw some tube at the cab and beat the piss out of it. But I have time before that happens.
The most awesome part, I am getting close to double the mileage out of this as I get in my jeep. I have put 160 miles on the truck in 2 days. And from a completely full tank of gas I only needed 7 gallons to fill back up. And that was full up through the filler neck. 160 miles in my Jeep is about a 12-13 gallon fill up if I am lucky. I am basically learning to drive a stick with this truck. I have had one manual before, but that was a torquey 304 v8 and I never drove it in traffic. So today was a big learning curve sitting in DC rush out traffic.
Sorry for the long intro post. I have been sitting here for about an hour. I keep getting distracted with other shiny web sites and the wife asking me questions.
Here is a picture of my baby. She is uglier than sin, but she gets the job done.
But, she runs like a top. I have a few things to fix. The HVAC control panel lost the fan knob. And the sliders are difficult to move, so that will get swapped out. The previous owner wired the stereo, which is a POS, to a always hot source and put in a kill switch. Also the stereo is not hooked to the antenna. It gets no FM/AM. The gas and Temp gauge are no joy. Those will need looking at. The passenger side door is a little loose when the door is fully closed. The driver side seat has zero support. The body has a number of spots of surface rust and the bed has some rust holes all the way through.
The plans as of now, Swap out some stuff: The gauge cluster, the truck bed, the sending unit in the gas tank, driver seat, HVAC control panel, and the front grill. I am going to try to find a smaller truck bed to throw on instead of fixing the one on there. I am going to make the doors removable, and get some tube doors made up. I really like the '88 and older grill with the Ford logo on the driver side. I am going to an Explorer bucket seat. Tomorrow I am getting a new head unit. Something with an iPod cable on the back of it. Rewire that bad boy so it is only hot when the when the key is on.
The plans in the next 2 years or so, the wife is pregnant so I have to wait till that is done and the kid is a little grown: Pull the truck bed, swap the axles to a 9'' rear and a high pinion 44 front with some RCV's. 37'' hmmvv take offs. A 302 with C6 tranny and np205, and some form of a doubler. Stretch the front out about 4-6'' and go with a 4 link front. Cut the rear frame a little and do a 4 link. Throw some tube at the cab and beat the piss out of it. But I have time before that happens.
The most awesome part, I am getting close to double the mileage out of this as I get in my jeep. I have put 160 miles on the truck in 2 days. And from a completely full tank of gas I only needed 7 gallons to fill back up. And that was full up through the filler neck. 160 miles in my Jeep is about a 12-13 gallon fill up if I am lucky. I am basically learning to drive a stick with this truck. I have had one manual before, but that was a torquey 304 v8 and I never drove it in traffic. So today was a big learning curve sitting in DC rush out traffic.
Sorry for the long intro post. I have been sitting here for about an hour. I keep getting distracted with other shiny web sites and the wife asking me questions.
Here is a picture of my baby. She is uglier than sin, but she gets the job done.
