Old School 1986

[Louisville86]

Hey Ranger People:

Just thought I'd share my new (to me) Ranger. It's a 1986 that I bought off of ebay last month. It was a work truck from Albany, Oregon, that I bought through the Oregon State University surplus property office in Corvallis. I paid $680. Amazingly, it's a lot nicer than I expected for such a measly amount.

My Ranger is Colonial White with a blue, vinyl interior. It's got a 2.9 V-6, 4-speed automatic transmission, 3.73 limited-slip rear end, air conditioning, power steering and power brakes. It's completely stock, right down to the spare tire. Mileage is just a bit over 116,000. Besides a few nicks and chips, the truck is rust-free and shined up nicely (it was a bit oxidized).

I drove it back from Oregon, a trip of just over 1,300 miles, and had absolutely no problems (I did visit Sears first thing for some new BF Goodrich "Revelation" tires [P195 75R 14] as the tires on it were in bad shape and pretty dry-rotted). Drove 75-80 the whole way, except when I crossed the Cascades in a spring blizzard. I got about 22 mpg.

So far I've snagged a few bits from a local salvage yard, including a chrome grille ($15), some nicer sun visors and some dog dish wheel covers (another ebay find at $3.99 for the set). The tool box was one I had leftover from years ago ('78 Toyota Hilux that I loved but had to sell for college money) that fits pretty well. The trim rings were leftovers, too, from my old 1984 Celica.

My only worry so far was a failed emission test, but new spark plugs, an air filter and letting it warm all the way up (to heat up the catalytic converter) and I sailed right through.

I'm surprised how tight and rattle-free this truck is - I just bought it to do chores around the house, but I've been driving it a little bit extra just because it's kind of fun. Hope you like it!

 

[mjonesjr]

Welcome.

I would assume it is a safe bet that your screen name means you are in Louisville, KY, but your licenses plates don't look like KY plates.

 

[Louisville86]

I chose Louisville because that's where my truck was built (5/86).

 

[ranger_mclaren]

wow!! I'm jealous very nice find, very clean Great price too something that nice usually can't get for under $1500.00+. what plans do you have for it? I love the dog dishes too.

 

[dhinch279]

I love clean looking Rangers... Great Find

 

[Louisville86]

I'm getting the A/C charged this week (I'd do it myself but I prefer the real R-12 even though it's pricey nowadays). Maybe a stereo but the AM radio works fine. I might get an '83-'84 dashboard trim piece with three radio holes as I have an old (1977 Lincoln Mark V) AM/FM stereo that would fit perfectly in there and I'm cheap! Lucky for me there are two speakers in the dashboard.

I'd like to get a new floor covering or maybe carpet. Maybe a chrome front bumper, and I might paint the bed with some of that roll-on bedliner. Other than that I guess I'll just keep it stock and use it for a while.

 

[Louisville86]

One question I have for you guys: how much could I realistically tow with this truck? I've got a 1986 Ranger brochure that reads: "A Ranger Regular Cab Pickup can tow a boat or trailer weighing up to 5,400 pounds. For towing applications, power your Ranger with the 2.9L EFI V-6 engine and A4LD Automatic Overdrive transmission, and equip it with the specified higher rear axle ratio, the Super Engine Cooling Package, and the Payload Package #2."

My truck has a hitch and a transmission cooler, so can I assume it has some sort of payload package? I wouldn't want to tow anything close to 5K lbs, but I've heard that the 2.9 is prone to problems if it overheats, so I'm trying to be careful.

 

[cocoasranger]

That is one great find. Not many 86 Rangers look that good. If you plan on towing you may want to add the heavy duty double row radiator from a 4.0L Explorer and a larger after market trans cooler since the stock one is fairly small.

The early 2.9L heads were prone to cracking if overheated, so anything you can do to add cooling capacity is a good idea.

 

[baxtej44]

i want your tailgate


yeah if i were you i'd get on the bed liner
looks great man...
if you need help replacing the dash speakers let me know, it's hard if you don't know what you're doing (how i learned lol)

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

Nice truck! My dad's 86' is a work horse, I think it has like 300k + on it. Score man.

 

[RobbieD]

Nice truck, man! And welcome to TRS and the addiction; you'll be driving it more than you think.

 

[Louisville86]

Thanks for your interest, everyone. I'm a Ford guy as I've owned a '66 Mustang for almost 20 years and have had a few Fords over the years ('69 Fairlane, '67 Cougar, two other '66 Mustangs, that '77 Lincoln; my Dad has a '01 F-150 and had a '71 F-150 4x4 that I should have bought when I had the chance, and the car I learned to drive on was a '70 Country Squire with 429 that I still miss). I drive a late-model Honda Civic that is fine, dependable and boring (and doesn't hold much in the trunk).

It's funny since my brother had a '83 Ranger that he drove in high school. It was a 2.3 longbed with a 4-speed and no accessories, not even power steering or power brakes. It was yellow with a beige interior and I didn't like driving it much because it was bog slow. My '86 isn't speedy but is much smoother with the V-6/automatic.

I like stock but I must confess that I love to look at the photos of Rangers in the mud. It's cool that you can buy an old Ranger for not a lot of money and modify the hell out of it and go wild offroad.

 

[Will]

Other than that I guess I'll just keep it stock and use it for a while.

+1

I love seeing stock 1st Gen Rangers.

 

[wrecking-crew]

+1

I love seeing stock 1st Gen Rangers.

i always thought fully stock 1st gens were extinct

 

[Mechanickid]

Man 1st gens.'s are alive and well in W.V. Though most of them went to the junkyard a few people here actually respect them and keep them running. My dad took good care of his (garage kept workhorse) and he worked at the ford garage and kept it running really good. And it has over 315.K. We still use it for errands.