Is a 1992 ford ranger worth fixing up

[fastpakr]

There's that, for sure. It's not likely to be an investment you'll get money out of directly. But you can definitely keep yourself from spending lots of money along the way by driving older vehicles. Usually.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Plus....this truck is a "known enemy" so to speak, you know whats wrong and what needs to be fixed. You might spend 5k on a different one that needs more.

 

[sgtsandman]

Just about any vehicle you buy, with rare exceptions, is a money pit. You will almost never get out of it what you put into it.

Whether it’s worth it is a personal call each person has to make. One person’s maintenance nightmare is another's well worth the time and money.

Tacking the issues while they are small and doing preventative maintenance goes a long way but in the end, worth it or not, they are money pits.

 

[97RangerXLT]

this is a no brainer.... 60k miles, frame is in great condition, and you have a good start on it already. Fix it, drive it, enjoy it. my 97 has 196 k on it and I would definitely put what you have done into it and are planning to put into it to keep it on the road.

AJ

 

[wildbill23c]

As long as they're not asking a ridiculous amount of money for it like everyone is these days with over-bloated used vehicle prices it might be ok...depends on how horrible the body and frame are. If its in the Ohio area where you are, I'd not walk I'd run away...the salt on the roads destroys vehicles from the inside out...get water/salt into all the holes and stuff in the frame, rocker panels, etc. and it all just rots from the inside out. No thanks, had an 84 Bronco 2 that was in Utah for several too many winters, you could watch the road go by under your feet as you were driving. Way too much $$$$ involved to fix stuff like that, in a vehicle worth only a couple thousand bucks in reality.

 

[wildbill23c]

Just about any vehicle you buy, with rare exceptions, is a money pit. You will almost never get out of it what you put into it.

Whether it’s worth it is a personal call each person has to make. One person’s maintenance nightmare is another's well worth the time and money.

Tacking the issues while they are small and doing preventative maintenance goes a long way but in the end, worth it or not, they are money pits.

That's a 100% accurate statement. Between the engine/transmission replacement/rebuild in my 88 Bronco 2, brakes, tires, wheels, shocks, front end rebuild, I could have bought a new one...if they still made them. Its fun to drive that's about it. They're not really worth anything, ignoring the current bloated selling market right now....they're not worth much in reality. So all the money, and its going to be a lot of it, is really up to you as the buyer/owner how much money you want to throw at a vehicle that's destined for the crusher...1 wreck and its all done for...doesn't matter that you have put $10k or whatever into a $1k vehicle your insurance company is totaling it out.

If I were to do it over again I wouldn't have bought my Bronco 2 that I have now, I would have waited and got something else, most likely a Ranger or a Bronco 2 in better mechanical condition (they're out there, and they're pricy). It really depends on if you want to spend $10k on something that's already been fixed, or $20k on fixing something up that's been abused and neglected for 30+ years.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

With my '90, I asked three questions:

1. What will it cost to fix?
2. How much is it worth in its present condition?
3. How much is it worth repaired?

Mine needed a lot of work:

1. it had a leak in the brakes at the left rear wheel
2. it needed a fuel pump
3. the gas gauge didn't work
4. the transmission blew something
   1. It had been on the highway, and started to smoke so bad traffic following couldn't see. My friend that was driving it limped it to his farm, pulled the transmission dipstick and found it dry.

Replacing the fuel pump would have also solved the gas gauge. It probably would have cost just under $1,000.00. The leak in the brakes would have meant a new brake line or a new rear wheel cylinder. Ballpark probably $500.00. The transmission would have been over $2,000.00, probably. So, to fix all of that would have been about $3,500.00 on a truck that I wouldn't get more than $1,500.00 for if I sold it after the repairs were done.

The rear wheel cylinder and the fuel pump together would have been just barely in there, but I'd only paid $1,000.00 for the truck when I bought it.

The repairs didn't get done, and won't get done. I'm driving something else.

 

[scotts90ranger]

It all depends on the user and how handy they are and how they value their time... For 1990RangerinSK everything but the transmission sounds like a slow weekend job to me... but I'm above average in capability...

That said I found my '97 daily driver Ranger on Facebook Marketplace for I think $450, from the pictures I could tell the drivers side I beam was bent (I even guessed right when I asked how it happened...) and the drivers side door was white on a red truck... towed it home (drove it on the trailer), waited until a sale weekend at the local junkyard then spent $150 I think on a door, I beam and drivers seat (found a better one...), replaced those in a day then sold the white door for what I paid for the red one... When I got the Ranger they even threw in a fairly complete '88 2.3L since they had it sitting around... Something isn't quite right with the thing so it's getting around 22mpg but even at that I've made my money back in fuel savings over driving the '00 Explorer V8 I was commuting with...

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

As far as insurance, i believe there are companies that will do declared value on older stuff.

 

[bobbywalter]

That's a 100% accurate statement. Between the engine/transmission replacement/rebuild in my 88 Bronco 2, brakes, tires, wheels, shocks, front end rebuild, I could have bought a new one...if they still made them. Its fun to drive that's about it. They're not really worth anything, ignoring the current bloated selling market right now....they're not worth much in reality. So all the money, and its going to be a lot of it, is really up to you as the buyer/owner how much money you want to throw at a vehicle that's destined for the crusher...1 wreck and its all done for...doesn't matter that you have put $10k or whatever into a $1k vehicle your insurance company is totaling it out.

If I were to do it over again I wouldn't have bought my Bronco 2 that I have now, I would have waited and got something else, most likely a Ranger or a Bronco 2 in better mechanical condition (they're out there, and they're pricy). It really depends on if you want to spend $10k on something that's already been fixed, or $20k on fixing something up that's been abused and neglected for 30+ years.

My truck has been totalled twice .. and I like watching the ground under my feet when crawling on stuff.....no need for cameras ... Like the cool kids all use.

 

[bobbywalter]

With my '90, I asked three questions:

1. What will it cost to fix?
2. How much is it worth in its present condition?
3. How much is it worth repaired?

Mine needed a lot of work:

1. it had a leak in the brakes at the left rear wheel
2. it needed a fuel pump
3. the gas gauge didn't work
4. the transmission blew something
   1. It had been on the highway, and started to smoke so bad traffic following couldn't see. My friend that was driving it limped it to his farm, pulled the transmission dipstick and found it dry.

Replacing the fuel pump would have also solved the gas gauge. It probably would have cost just under $1,000.00. The leak in the brakes would have meant a new brake line or a new rear wheel cylinder. Ballpark probably $500.00. The transmission would have been over $2,000.00, probably. So, to fix all of that would have been about $3,500.00 on a truck that I wouldn't get more than $1,500.00 for if I sold it after the repairs were done.

The rear wheel cylinder and the fuel pump together would have been just barely in there, but I'd only paid $1,000.00 for the truck when I bought it.

The repairs didn't get done, and won't get done. I'm driving something else.

Ahhhhhh......



I see now.

That is 350 to 500 and a day or so for me.

So...par.


Yeah.....

If I had to pay 500 for rear brakes on a commuter rbv....I wouldn't buy one for 1000....hell you couldn't give it to me ...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Also, this goes probably without saying, but when buying 25-30yr old+ vehicles i usually try to find one thats not been all hacked up and "fixed" by others.

Learned my lesson the hard way a few times on that. I would rather pop the hood and see 40 year old original stuff then see a bunch of wire splices, zip ties, capped hoses, etc etc.

Also dont be swayed by a clean, straight, rust free body and nice interior. Ive bought and worked on quite a few older trucks where someone was great about washing and vacuuming, but never heard of an oil change.

Its much less headache to fix the stuff the factory put there, rather then trying to figure out jimbobs backyard engineering.

 

[wildbill23c]

Also, this goes probably without saying, but when buying 25-30yr old+ vehicles i usually try to find one thats not been all hacked up and "fixed" by others.

Learned my lesson the hard way a few times on that. I would rather pop the hood and see 40 year old original stuff then see a bunch of wire splices, zip ties, capped hoses, etc etc.

Also dont be swayed by a clean, straight, rust free body and nice interior. Ive bought and worked on quite a few older trucks where someone was great about washing and vacuuming, but never heard of an oil change.

Its much less headache to fix the stuff the factory put there, rather then trying to figure out jimbobs backyard engineering.

^^^THIS^^^

 

[Eddo Rogue]

When you said "fixing up" I thought you meant restore/modify....but realized you mean "fixing" lol.

Anyways that's not such a bad laundry list, if you like the truck I say go for it. They're relatively easy to wrench on. Get a manual.

 

[bobbywalter]

Also, this goes probably without saying, but when buying 25-30yr old+ vehicles i usually try to find one thats not been all hacked up and "fixed" by others.

Learned my lesson the hard way a few times on that. I would rather pop the hood and see 40 year old original stuff then see a bunch of wire splices, zip ties, capped hoses, etc etc.

Also dont be swayed by a clean, straight, rust free body and nice interior. Ive bought and worked on quite a few older trucks where someone was great about washing and vacuuming, but never heard of an oil change.

Its much less headache to fix the stuff the factory put there, rather then trying to figure out jimbobs backyard engineering.

The good thing about being jimbob....


I don't have any of the issues you poor fawkers have ... ...