- Joined
- Feb 16, 2026
- Messages
- 5
- Points
- 1
- City
- Austin
- State - Country
- TX - USA
- Other
- 1997 Custom Built 85" Evo Big bore Softail style Chopper
- Vehicle Year
- 1997
- Vehicle
- Ford Ranger
- Drive
- 2WD
- Engine
- 2.3 (4 Cylinder)
- Transmission
- Manual
- Total Lift
- None
- Total Drop
- None
- Tire Size
- 235/75R15
New member, Ford Certified Master Technician Here and US ARMY combat vet here.
I just went and grabbed myself another Ford ranger. 
These things are an addiction for me, between Rangers and my custom Chopper builds I stay very busy.
So, i picked myself up ANOTHER ranger. (This will be the 11th ranger I've owned since I was 16 that I purchased specifically as a personal vehicle to keep, I have bought and flipped countless numbers of rangers though. Buying fixing and selling them out of my shop at home is my hobby, as well as building custom choppers, as I just stated) My son also Buys and builds Rangers and he is also a Ford Certified Master Technician like me. I am very proud of him. He's a great man.
I Got this one for $1000 cash from a widow who's husband died recently. He kept it in a climate controlled garage here in Texas and seldomly drove it ever. He was also the original owner who bought it brand new at the dealership. It is a 1997 XLT extended cab with only 87K original miles on it. It's got the 2.3 and 5 speed, and It's a 2 wheel drive. I'm very pleased with this recent truck purchase, the body is straight as an arrow and as solid as the day is long. No rust on it whatsoever (Texas is awesome) and the interior is exceptionally clean. Nothing to complain about on my end.
I have been a Ford Certified Master Technician for a long time now, I swear by these little trucks, as do many other mechanics that I know. For the best bang for your buck these are hands down the BEST Compact truck on the market still to this day.
I am here on the forum and if anyone has questions feel free to message me or add me on here if you're able to do that. I just recently found out about this forum from a customer of mine and figured I'd check it out. I have one 40x45 Garage beside my main shop (my main shop is 60x50) that is completely full of brand new, NOS and aftermarket Ford ranger parts that I've amassed over the years. This past year I went through it all and organized it into sections for different types of parts. I never realized just how much stuff was in my two ranger garages until we went through it all and cleaned it up. I've got a few 5" I-beam lifts for pre runners, multiple drop kits, cowl hoods, countless sets of rims for days, I've got enough interior parts to completely outfit 7 whole trucks with every interior part needed. I've got another smaller (25x35) garage that is nothing but motors, transmissions and rear ends for rangers. I've even got a total of five professionally Built 2.3L engines for race cars. Two of them are turbo builds, three are N/A. After going through the garages and organizing everything I've realized that I've got way too many parts, most of which I'll probably never get to using, so I've decided to go through it all again, see what I want to keep, and I'm selling the rest of my parts collection on eBay and on marketplace. I'm retired now, and I still have four Rangers (the newest one makes five) that I've built over the years, one of them is a dropped truck on air ride that has been featured in more than one Magazine and has over 35 Show trophies to its name. I'm trying to slow down and enjoy life, and I've been focusing more on my custom chopper builds so I am liquidating my ranger parts collection and getting rid of most of it. I'll keep the stuff I also need or just want, but 85% of it is getting sold off. I also have 8 Ranger parts trucks of different years that I'm getting rid of as well. It's time to get rid of my collection and enjoy my life. Even though I am a Ford master mechanic, I am humble enough to know that even I run into situations where I may need to ask a question so hopefully I'm able to learn some new stuff from other Ranger Addicts on here. Even a master mechanic has questions from time to time. Only a fool thinks they know everything there is to know. Looking forward to meeting y'all and talking. Take care, and God Bless.
So, i picked myself up ANOTHER ranger. (This will be the 11th ranger I've owned since I was 16 that I purchased specifically as a personal vehicle to keep, I have bought and flipped countless numbers of rangers though. Buying fixing and selling them out of my shop at home is my hobby, as well as building custom choppers, as I just stated) My son also Buys and builds Rangers and he is also a Ford Certified Master Technician like me. I am very proud of him. He's a great man.
I Got this one for $1000 cash from a widow who's husband died recently. He kept it in a climate controlled garage here in Texas and seldomly drove it ever. He was also the original owner who bought it brand new at the dealership. It is a 1997 XLT extended cab with only 87K original miles on it. It's got the 2.3 and 5 speed, and It's a 2 wheel drive. I'm very pleased with this recent truck purchase, the body is straight as an arrow and as solid as the day is long. No rust on it whatsoever (Texas is awesome) and the interior is exceptionally clean. Nothing to complain about on my end.
I have been a Ford Certified Master Technician for a long time now, I swear by these little trucks, as do many other mechanics that I know. For the best bang for your buck these are hands down the BEST Compact truck on the market still to this day.
I am here on the forum and if anyone has questions feel free to message me or add me on here if you're able to do that. I just recently found out about this forum from a customer of mine and figured I'd check it out. I have one 40x45 Garage beside my main shop (my main shop is 60x50) that is completely full of brand new, NOS and aftermarket Ford ranger parts that I've amassed over the years. This past year I went through it all and organized it into sections for different types of parts. I never realized just how much stuff was in my two ranger garages until we went through it all and cleaned it up. I've got a few 5" I-beam lifts for pre runners, multiple drop kits, cowl hoods, countless sets of rims for days, I've got enough interior parts to completely outfit 7 whole trucks with every interior part needed. I've got another smaller (25x35) garage that is nothing but motors, transmissions and rear ends for rangers. I've even got a total of five professionally Built 2.3L engines for race cars. Two of them are turbo builds, three are N/A. After going through the garages and organizing everything I've realized that I've got way too many parts, most of which I'll probably never get to using, so I've decided to go through it all again, see what I want to keep, and I'm selling the rest of my parts collection on eBay and on marketplace. I'm retired now, and I still have four Rangers (the newest one makes five) that I've built over the years, one of them is a dropped truck on air ride that has been featured in more than one Magazine and has over 35 Show trophies to its name. I'm trying to slow down and enjoy life, and I've been focusing more on my custom chopper builds so I am liquidating my ranger parts collection and getting rid of most of it. I'll keep the stuff I also need or just want, but 85% of it is getting sold off. I also have 8 Ranger parts trucks of different years that I'm getting rid of as well. It's time to get rid of my collection and enjoy my life. Even though I am a Ford master mechanic, I am humble enough to know that even I run into situations where I may need to ask a question so hopefully I'm able to learn some new stuff from other Ranger Addicts on here. Even a master mechanic has questions from time to time. Only a fool thinks they know everything there is to know. Looking forward to meeting y'all and talking. Take care, and God Bless.
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