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Spott
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2010
- Messages
- 964
- City
- SE Idaho
- Vehicle Year
- 2000
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
Hello, my name is Scott. After my beloved 1986 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon was brutally slaughtered while innocently traveling down the highway a couple of months ago, (see http://danni.blogsite.org/?p=301 ) I decided to replace it with a domestic compact pickup truck (parts are a lot cheaper). After digging through lots of craigslist listings of Chevy S-10's, Dodge Dakota's, Ford Ranger's, and the occasional Toyota, Nissan, or Mazda, I finally found a truck in good shape that I could afford.
I got a 1988 Ford Ranger, 4x4, 2.9L manual, with dual gas tanks. The guy I got it from said the engine and transmission were replaced about 10k miles ago, and it got new tires about 3k miles ago. I paid $2100 for it.
I have no idea the mileage, the clock read 15k. I think it was originally gold w/tan interior, but now it's burgundy with a red interior. The paint was not applied especially well, indicating a cheap spray job. The woodgrain dash bezel did not match the warning lamps behind; I think the bezel was from an early 80's truck. It has two sets of cruise control buttons, one set on the wheel and one set on the turn-signal lever. Neither works. The horn does not work. The knob is broken off the end of the headlight switch shaft. The PO claimed the gas tanks switch over automatically, but that's not true...the rear tank automatically dumps the fuel on the ground after you fill it, instead. The electrical wiring in the truck is "interesting", leading me to think that a previous owner (during either the interior re-painting, or the engine swap) had no idea what they were doing with the wiring.
On the plus side, the engine is strong, the tranny seems good, the 4WD works properly, the interior is clean, it has a plastic bedliner, the heater works great, and all the operating essentials are in place and reliable.
So, I'll spend the next few months/years repairing it to proper operating condition.
I got a 1988 Ford Ranger, 4x4, 2.9L manual, with dual gas tanks. The guy I got it from said the engine and transmission were replaced about 10k miles ago, and it got new tires about 3k miles ago. I paid $2100 for it.
I have no idea the mileage, the clock read 15k. I think it was originally gold w/tan interior, but now it's burgundy with a red interior. The paint was not applied especially well, indicating a cheap spray job. The woodgrain dash bezel did not match the warning lamps behind; I think the bezel was from an early 80's truck. It has two sets of cruise control buttons, one set on the wheel and one set on the turn-signal lever. Neither works. The horn does not work. The knob is broken off the end of the headlight switch shaft. The PO claimed the gas tanks switch over automatically, but that's not true...the rear tank automatically dumps the fuel on the ground after you fill it, instead. The electrical wiring in the truck is "interesting", leading me to think that a previous owner (during either the interior re-painting, or the engine swap) had no idea what they were doing with the wiring.
On the plus side, the engine is strong, the tranny seems good, the 4WD works properly, the interior is clean, it has a plastic bedliner, the heater works great, and all the operating essentials are in place and reliable.
So, I'll spend the next few months/years repairing it to proper operating condition.
