ranger step side not splash

[jovibuilt]

Yes I hope they get put to use I would love to put one of those beds on a ranger I love the look of them.

I hope to make a couple this spring.

 

[jovibuilt]

These trucks are NOT shadow rangers.Notice how there is no step behind the fender.And the flares on the shadow are different.

I think this ones for sale!!

 

[Divh]

really where ?

 

[PetesPonies]

And updated info on the Ranger Flareside ( stepside ) beds?

 

[drppdyllwrngr]

Jovi, I believe this is the one you have seen in western nc. I bought it back in april. Would love to talk to you about the molds. I pm'd you my number.

 

[PetesPonies]

So I guess the whole "mold" deal went nowhere?

 

[Rang3rz]

updates?

 

[LeftHander]

photoshopped?

So, no one else noticed the photos on page #1 and page #4 are the same, just one is photoshopped to make it look different? (the one in the parking lot, with the white truck behind it)

I'm not sure which is the original. What's different is the front grill and bumper colors, and the missing rear double tube bumper in black. Also, the side graphics/stripe.

***********************
I've got one of these original Rangers. It's an '88. Black with silver trim paint, and aluminum diamond plate accents. Name on the tailgate says "Southern Coach".

Originally bought from a dealer in NJ, by a girl. Dad was a Ranger aficionado, and he chased after her for years to sell it to him. Transmission went bad (auto), and it sat in a shed for some years until a barn collapsed on the shed, and she decided to sell it to him. Couple dents from that incident that he never fixed.

He had it changed to a stick, and drove it for some years until he blew the 5spd case open. I never got the details as to how that happened. He used it as a toad behind motorhomes or trucks he was delivering or picking up. Had a towbar permanently mounted on a brushguard, but it was all steel, and heavy. I swapped it out for an aluminum one, to better match all the aluminum trim it has.

He got a new 4x4 supercab, and I got this from him. Put a just rebuilt auto trans from an '87 BII in it, which lasted until I got back to CA. Been sitting since '05. I move it around once or twice a year. I'm planning on having the trans rebuilt, but I have a couple other Rangers in the queue ahead of it. I've got a stick trans that could go in it. Haven't decided.
I'll probably sell it when I get the trans situation sorted out.

My truck has that same double tube rear bumper, which I gather from a comment by dad is the original one.
It also has that large moon roof, and sliding rear window. They also appear to be original. Has a hood scoop with Southern Coach lettering. Non-functional scoop, I think.

These trucks have the cab/chassis partial build plate from Ford. The story I got is that the bed builder company got them from Ford sans bed, added their dress-up bits, and then sold them through any Ford Dealer that would order them.

Unfortunately, Ford decided they could sell more of them, and copied them to make their "Splash" model. That put a hurt on the bed maker, as Ford stopped letting them compete directly, but Ford never sold enough of the Splash to make it worth their while, so they dropped it after a year or two. (A car manufacturer has to sell a LOT of a particular model, or price it very high if sold in small numbers. Cost a lot to stamp out bodywork and fab the associated parts to match. They couldn't do either with the Splash, so it went away.)

In the meantime, the bed maker started dealing with GM to do the same thing. No idea how that went. I think they were also doing van conversions/hightops and other add-on body parts, but I don't have any details.

No idea how many were built. Dad only saw a couple others over the following years, and he traveled a lot in the PA/DE/MD/NJ and FL/east coast area. Also out to AZ/CA a lot in the 80's-90's. He ran a Ford dealer's bodyshop in the 70'-80's, and worked on the Rangers when they were newly issued. He liked them, and specialized in them in his own shop until he had to retire. Besides this truck, his preference was the diesel models. The Mazda 2.2 and the 2.3 turbo Mitsubishi versions. He started collecting them in the 80's, along with the Dodge/Mitsubishi D50 diesel models. There was even a 4x4 diesel Ranger.

I'm surprised he never put a diesel in this custom truck. He had a virtually new Mits/turbo engine mounted on a pallet for many years. Never in a truck, just a training aid for Mitsubishi Importer.
He died in '07.

 

[shadetreebronco]

There is a shadow eddition stepside bed listed on Allentown PA craigslist.
Says its 1 of 15.

 

[Jim Oaks]

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/ultra-rare-ford-ranger-shadow-bed-emerges-on-craigslist

 

[88stepside]

Looking at all the different pictures and hearing different stories, my thought is that there were different folks doing close to the same thing in different locations. There are slight differences in some of the boxes, some have steps behind the fender and some don't, gas caps are most often on a flat surface but some are on an angled surface. My guess is that a regional company, maybe a topper company, would be selling these at the dealer level. I've seen a sales brochure a few years back illustrating a red truck matching the paint scheme like mine but the brochure didn't list a company name that I remember.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I got a message from a guy that said:

More then likely the bed on the Ranger Shadow was manufactured by Delta III Corp, of Sturgis, Michigan. I was one of the owners of Delta III and we manufactured step side bed conversions for S-10s, Rangers and Dakotas. In fact, I'm the guy that drew blueprints for all the steel parts on the bed. We built several hundred for each brand and generally sold them to van and truck conversion companies.

and...

Hi Jim,

There were a few companies at the time trying to get into this step-side conversion business (one was called California Stepsides) and maybe there was one who specifically made 15 for Ford, etc. We made hundreds. Southern Coach was a good customer located in Greenville NC. and probably purchased 300 - 400 beds from us. My wife and I delivered the first bed to them mounted sideways on the bed of my full-sized Ford pickup.

This was the issue: Van conversion companies were made to take the little trucks from GM, Ford and Dodge if they wanted to get the vans they wanted. The little trucks were not selling well. The conversion companies needed a way to add value to the little trucks and that's where these beds came in.

If you ever see a Dodge Dakota step side with "Lil red express Dakota" on the side, we made that bed. The beds we made were better built then the original equipment beds, by the way.

finally...

And sorry, I can't read what's under the word SHADOW. We had a couple of dozen customers, some even Canada. We build them for a few years before the factories saw enough of a market that they began to make them.

I asked him about some beds having the little step behind the fender, and some missing it. I'm waiting on a reply. He sent me a photo of a Dodge Dakota with one of these beds, and it's missing the little step.

88stepside, you said the dealer had to drive yours back from Sturgis, Michigan, so some of this makes sense. When the guy sent me the pic of their bed on a Dakota, he said that they made the bumper as well.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Maybe they modified the bed and ditched the rear step so they could add the wrap around style tube bumper?

 

[19Walt93]

I've never seen a pre-93 flareside before,we sold a few that weren't Splashes but not many.When I ordered my 04 Ranger the flareside box was a no cost option because they were trying to get rid of the remaining stock.Worked out good for me because that's what I wanted,when you look in the mirror on a truck with a styleside box and a cap you see the side of the cap,with a flareside you see what's behind you.The only space you lose is the width of the inner fenders.My 2011 is a styleside and it's easier to wash but I like the looks of a flareside better.Fiberglass side panels that don't rust are good to have in NH.

 

[88stepside]

Stepside

Jim, alot of this does make sense. I was able to purchase alot of the production patterns and actual molds probably five years ago. There were at least three different side molds, a tailgate mold, steel parts and lots of paperwork. The double tube bumper was also included. Not sure if the molds were with or without the rear step. Jovibuilt could answer to that. I sent it all off with him!