Restoration Build

[JoeLeFou]

I really like old Rangers. Someday (maybe when people don't take them for granted) they will be considered classics. I enjoyed watching Sarah-in-Tune because she treated that little truck exactly that way.

She didn't try to raise it or lower it, didn't make it into a flat bed or a tow truck, a mudder or a rock climber, didn't lower it, or put in a V8, didn't modify it in any special way, except maybe a Hellwig sway bar and Billstein shocks. didn't paint flames on the sides. She respected its original sense of purpose: an all-around good and practical courier or delivery truck , a versatile, economic daily driver which spent most of its time on paved roads, did its job, and did it very well

didn't she try and keep it as original as possible in honor/memory of her grandma who owned that ranger?

 

[BlackBII]

Some of the best wheels came on the 89-92 trucks, and they are still available

American Racing Outlaw II

 

[Lefty]

didn't she try and keep it as original as possible in honor/memory of her grandma who owned that ranger?

Yup. even used the same nuts and bolts whenever she could. There were some exceptions, however. The biggest was that the original frame was rotten. She had to find another.

Perhaps that should serve as something of a warning to those of us who are snow belt guys. Frame rust is not just superficial. A friend of mine had the very same problem. It's rather common after 20 or 25 years. Ford painted those old frames with a substandard coating.

Check the frame and also look for soft spots in the bed if you're shopping for an old Ranger. And, if you find one in pretty good shape, take the time to remove the bed and repaint the underside.