Old School 1986

[Louisville86]

I don't have a problem with clean air, but the unspoken goal of the program in Colorado (the six-county Denver metro area where it's in effect) is to get older vehicles off the road. It's one thing to have an old beater car and not take care of it, but for those of us who enjoy and take care of our older cars/trucks, it's a bit intrusive.

 

[ranger_mclaren]

That one of the bestthings I lije about living here no emission test or anything. working lights, insured and registered you can drive it. (Within reason)

 

[BigJohn76]

That one of the bestthings I lije about living here no emission test or anything. working lights, insured and registered you can drive it. (Within reason)

if you live in Iowa you just need a title for a vehicle you can drive on the street and you get your plates. you can put insurance on it later. no inspections or checks.

 

[Louisville86]

Just a little two-hour project: refinishing the rear bumper.

Before (it's a MasterGuard by Flex-n-Gate of Veedersburg, Indiana):

Sanded and masked off, after the primer and first shot of paint (rattle-can, of course). I considered removing the bumper to work on it, but the bolts were pretty gnarly and they wouldn't budge even after I applied penetrating oil for several days:

All done with new no-slip tape applied. It's semi-gloss black (the reflection makes the finish look uneven, but it actually looks pretty smooth):

My favorite kind of project: easy, quick and good bang-for-the-buck.

 

[Louisville86]

I replaced a burned out tail light, which gave me a photo op in the late dusk.

Looks like she's waiting for a getaway after knocking over a liquor store.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

nice work on the bumper.

and that picture looks really nice

 

[Louisville86]

Enjoying the nice fall weather in Denver. Old '86 is running well; I drove over to the Richards-Hart Estate in Wheat Ridge today.

Coming straight at you!

Almost hibernation time again.

 

[Louisville86]

Yeah, we got some snow in Denver . . .

 

[lil'_big_truck]

I'm at a loss for words. that is such a nice truck. I want to find a gen 1 to restore and end looking pretty much like that. I hope she continues to serve you well.

 

[getrdone52]

Yeah, we got some snow in Denver . . .

Ya we did, and it was awesome! Supposed to snow again on Tuesday and Wednesday, but not that much

I like your truck. That bumper looks brand new nice job.

 

[Louisville86]

Had a cracked headlight with water in it, so I replaced it. My repair manual: "NOTE: Due to the stiffness of the rubber around the headlight rim, we found it necessary to first remove the grille to replace the headlight." Luckily, it's not too hard hard to get that grille off.

Since headlights only cost $7.48 at Walmart, I replaced both of them. Interesting factlet: the headlight buckets are the same ones as the '78 Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr, as the part number starts with "D8." Those cars were the first Fords to use twin, rectangular headlights, if I'm not mistaken. Not sure where that runny black spray paint came from.

 

[DannyG]

This makes me miss my '87! Don't get me wrong I love my '92 but the first Gens had a classic look.

 

[Louisville86]

It's been forever since I posted, but not much has changed with the old '86. I don't drive her much during the winter (don't want that salt exposure and any rust). The battery gets run down but she starts right up with a bit of a charge.

I had to get my smog test for new tags last week (we have to get one every other year in metro Denver); I put in half a tank of premium and drove for several miles on the freeway to warm up the catalytic converter. Results:

HC: 1.5389 (limit 4.0)
CO: 13.0429 (limit 40.0)
NOx: 4.1623 (limit 6.0)

So she did pretty well.

 

[doorgunner]

Supposed to snow again on Tuesday and Wednesday, but not that much

Good timing by getrdone for a previous post that's a year old.....did you see any flakes while you were getting it inspected?

I haven't been to Denver area in thirty years.....I'd like to drive the Ranger up there.

 

[Louisville86]

I think we're done with the snow for the year now. We got about six inches last week (May snow, yay!), but it melted very quickly.