What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[lil_Blue_Ford]

what’s the issues with the red doner truck? Doesn’t look too bad.

It’s totaled in the front. Like the frame is beyond straightening in the front. It was a beautiful truck, 170k miles or so, it was garage kept and all highway miles when dad got it with the crank snapped off at the front of the block. That was a Father/Son project and we did the 5.0/auto/AWD in it. I was trying to do dad a favor and get it inspected during lunch one day back in 2014, after getting it inspected and stopping at Home Depot, I was headed back to work when the second person to run a red light got me. Totaled the truck, damaged my hip and gave me a concussion. Rear frame is about perfect, so I’m going to be careful not to damage it. I need about 3’ of frame coming forward on the drivers side and that doesn’t get far enough forward to get to the damaged area. I did have two sections cut and prepped, but damn if I can find them. So this is a last resort, front of the frame is bent to scrap anyway so the worst part of it is having to cut it out.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

It all relative my friend. Here in the rust belt that’s nice. Down south and west it’s beyond repair.

It’s definitely nice for rust belt, but the problem is the frame damage from a wreck, lol

 

[SenorNoob]

A little body work.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@Roert42 @tw205

Here is a look at the front of that red Ranger. I pulled the bumper out to get the fender and some of the other broken stuff off years ago.

 

[sgtsandman]

I kind of thought that but also wondered if the ext. cab had mounts where the single cab does and then a rear set. Frame contour shouldn't matter. What I want to do is an RV conversion. There was a coach builder that took Chevy 3500 trucks with single wheel rear axle, long bed, std. cab, 4x4 and turned them into class B RVs. They only did 2001-04 trucks and only around 50 were made from my understanding. I'm thinking of doing something similar for overlanding.

The front sets should be the same, only the rear corners would be different.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Well on Monday I towed a 99 explorer into our wrecking yard. I let the guys know what I wanted. So I got the rear driveline, and e brake cables for the 8.8 swap onto the 89. 40 bucks isn't bad the guy from the driveline shop wanted 55$ just for the d.l. to rear end yoke.

 

[Rick W]

@Roert42 @tw205

Here is a look at the front of that red Ranger. I pulled the bumper out to get the fender and some of the other broken stuff off years ago.

View attachment 97104

A little bondo, 80 grit, it’ll be like new!!!

(& of course Rustoleum)

 

[Rick W]

A little body work.

Looks great!

 

[SenorNoob]

Looks great!

As long as nobody pokes the driver's rear wheel well. It's painter's tape with paint on top...
My uncles idea. It does look better till I can get a junkyard bed tho.

 

[Rick W]

As long as nobody pokes the driver's rear wheel well. It's painter's tape with paint on top...
My uncles idea. It does look better till I can get a junkyard bed tho.

Hahaha, I see it when I explode the picture view. My 87 Ranger, the “The Missing Linc“ had about a 4 inch rust spot above the right rear wheel well (Otherwise totally rust free (southern truck). I ran a wire brush over it, adjusted the surface level with a ballpien hammer, and used about a half a coffee cup full of Bondo. And I’m not kidding about the 80 grit and rust oleum.

Two years later, parked outside, still looks Cherry (except the brushstrokes),

EDIT: I also cleaned out behind the hole really well with a combination of a pressure washer, just running some tools through there to knock anything free, and then, when it dried, I made up a rag on the end of a clothes hanger, and stripped it all up so it looked like a tiny mop, mixed rust, oleum 50-50 with mineral spirits and slopped it all up in there.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Well I crawled under the truck in the dark and got my newish lol parking brake cables installed, and slightly adjusted.and started looking at my options for the driveline. I'll make a post in the correct place this time maybe

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

A little bondo, 80 grit, it’ll be like new!!!

(& of course Rustoleum)

I wish it was that easy. Dad wants the truck fixed. I have an entire frame donor for it. I lack time, money and help to do it though.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

As long as nobody pokes the driver's rear wheel well. It's painter's tape with paint on top...
My uncles idea. It does look better till I can get a junkyard bed tho.

In PA, duct tape with paint over it is considered legal rust repair. Duct tape by itself is not. As the inspection garage explained to me, the paint makes it class as a “permanent“ repair.

 

[Rick W]

My heart really goes out to you guys who have to suffer through such things. I was a car nut before I even got my drivers license. When I moved to Georgia in 79, I was astounded by all the old cars with zero rust in excellent condition. Since the weather doesn’t beat up the roads like up north, mechanically they were in much better condition. When Frito-Lay “promoted me“ to Dallas, a lot of my reason for staying were the rules and laws and insurance cost etc. here. Dallas of course would be rust free too, but I need a lot more green and a few rolling hills in my life than Dallas provides.

Since I’ve gotten involved with TRS, I have thought of setting up a pipeline for rust free stuff down here, but with my injuries and blood problems, I can’t really take care of my own stuff!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Carshow with @r-hindl71