My newest project (Beware: High levels of redneck inside)

It has begun.

For those of you who require filling in, recently I acquired a 1983 Ford Ranger, completely beat to hell, but with a 2.2L Perkins diesel engine and Toyo Kogyo TK4 transmission. Translation for the non-automotive saavy: A vehicle that, fixed up, should be getting around 30-40 miles per gallon. A pickup truck getting 30-40 miles per gallon, which is extremely rare to find. The most fuel-efficient 2008 Rangers are barely pushing 28, and those are the most fuel-efficient trucks on the market today, and cost thousands.

This one? Technically free. For those who don't remember "Operation Blazer," I recieved two free Chevy S-10 Blazers; a 94 and a 93. The 94 was turned into a demolition derby vehicle and later turned into a convertable before being sent to the scrapyard. The 93 I was saving to sell, and ended up with a better deal: Trading it for the Ranger, and about $500 worth of new parts included with it. So so far, my investment into this vehicle is zero dollars.

Here's the "before" shot:




Anyways, it was finally brought to my house last night, and work has begun on it.

First major change was the complete removal of the pickup bed box, as it was rusted through. Eventually a wooden flatbed is going on, but for now it has nothing so there's easy access to all the rear-end components.

New tires/rims. Complete front-end tune-up (new brakes, rotors, calipers and wheel bearings). New muffler (a tractor muffler; soon enough an exhaust stack is going behind the cab) The interior is rotted to hell, so most of that was torn out today. The floorpans are rotted through, so I have to order a new set, as well as soundproofing and a floormat. (In the meantime, it's being driven with a piece of plywood over the gaping hole in the floor.) Replaced a headlight and a broken rearview mirror.


Anyways, stripped down it:






Next on the list: Fuel system needs to be cleaned out. Rear brakes still need to be taken care of. Parking brake, too. Engine block heater needs to be rewired. Plus, the issue of the interior. Once that's all done, its getting sanded down and painted. Oh, and a small body lift is definitely in the plans, too. (Nothing extravagant, just a few inches to give the front tires some more breathing space.)

First priority is getting it on the road. It's going to be saving me a good $250 a month over my other truck in gas alone, and with a predicted costs of $800 (which isn't counting the $500 of parts that came with it in the trade) it'll pay for itself in a few mere months.

Updates as they come!

So, how many different cars have you owned now? Four?

Originally Posted by Asskey

So, how many different cars have you destroyed now? Four?

Fix'd

The current tally is:

87 Chevy Celebrity - Destroyed and sold for scrap
89 Chevy Celebrity - Destroyed and sold for scrap
93 Chevy S-10 Blazer - Traded for Ranger
94 Chevy S-10 Blazer - Destroyed and sold for scrap
98 Ford F-150 - Still in possession, drive and use it every day
83 Ford Ranger - THIS THREAD

Counting the 4 vehicles of my dad's that I was insured to drive before I got my own:

96 Ford F-350 - Still in possession; parked in driveway due to HORRIBLE gas milage. Plow the driveway with it in the wintertime.
97 Ford Aerostar - Car accident
02 Ford Taurus - Traded for Explorer (below)
05 Ford Explorer - Still in possession; dad's everyday vehicle.

Originally Posted by Captain "Shannon Hoon" Cornflake

The current tally is:
97 Ford Aerostar[/url] - Car accident
02 Ford Taurus - Traded for Explorer (below)

I read that as:

97 Ford Aerostar-Car accident (explosion)

When you're done Cap, what will you do next?

Man, that Aerostar looks awesome.

Shame about that accident.

I can't say I miss the Aerostar. God, I hate minivans.

Are you going to make a thread every time you do this, Capn'?

*Reads post.*

Oh, I meant the 96 Ford F-350. Thought the truck was the Aerostar.

Silly.

ah, ha. Connecticut. I'll bet you like to wear crew neck sweaters!

While I know next to nothing about cars myself, I've always respected a man that can work on a car and fix it or turn it around.

Kudos to you, Captain. I'll be following this thread.

So what color are you going to paint it?

Oh yeah. The F-350 is mint. If it got better than 10mpg, I'd probably drive it around more often.


Oh, and I'm painting the Ranger red, with a silver/grey border along the bottom 6 inches. Nothing fancy; just some roll-on Krylon outdoor paint with a spray-on glossy clear coat. Perhaps down the road I'll have it painted professionally at a shop, but I don't have the money for that, haha.

My F-150 looks exactly the same. I love it.

Anyways, sweet project. I wish I knew cars. I'll definitely be checking back to this thread to see how the finished project turns out.

YouTube - 83 Ranger Progress

Latest progress. Muffler is mounted and hooked up. Exhaust stack is assembled, so we decided to test that out a bit. (Not mounting it until after the painting is done.)

Started to paint it. Painting over black is a pain in the ass because the black shows through after 4 coats. I think is what I'm going to do is just keep rolling cheap red paint over it to cover the black, sand that smooth, use a good cherry red spray paint over that and clear coat over that.

The rear frame I used a rusty metal primer and just slathered that on. I'm not done yet (ran out, need a second can) and I'm just painting the frame black.

So, Capn, if it breaks down and is beyond repair/very costly repair and such, what will you do with it? Sell it for scrap?

I'd probably list it on Craigslist. The engine alone is worth $400 at the very least, considering how uncommon this particular truck is.

The transmission and clutch are on their way out, just by the feel of them. I'm already looking for a new transmission It has a Mazda Toyo Kogyo TK4, a 4 speed manual, but for a brief time they also had a TK5, which was the same thing but with a 5th gear, so I'm hoping I can find one of those since it should just bolt right in with minor hassle.

I doubt it'll break down anytime soon, unless the engine somehow blows, which is doubtful. The rest of the truck will rot away long before that Perkins dies.