I just picked up a 1985 Ranger single cab, short bed, 4x4, manual trans. How rare is this truck. I can't seem to find too many pictures of them. It is a rust free truck that has been in Arizona its whole life. Just want to know if it is rare so I know what direction to go with it. Thanks

 

No, not too rare
If it had the 4 cyl turbo-diesel engine it would be rare, 1985/86

You can get the 1985 ranger brochure here: https://www.therangerstation.com/res...r_brochure.pdf

Reason it wouldn't be rare is that there were no supercabs(extended cabs) from 1983 to 1985, just regular cabs with 2WD or 4x4
1986 was first year for extended cabs

Rangers didn't have "short bed" models, the regular cab had 6ft bed, used on all Rangers until 2011, when extended cabs were added they used the same 6ft bed
Regular cabs could be ordered with a Long Bed, 7ft bed, it used a different frame, so beds can't be swapped
Long bed 4x4s in any year are rare

In 1985 247,042 Rangers were sold
1999 was highest year 348,358 sold
1994 was next with 344,744 sold

 

Thank you for the response. I checked out the link for the 1985 Ranger brochure and it clearly states that there were 6 foot and 7 foot beds in 1985. I was wondering if the six foot bed with V6 A/C and 5 speed was harder to find? I see a lot of the long beds, but not the short wheel base short beds.

 

???

Long beds(7ft) are rarer, the 6ft bed was the standard on regular cabs from 1983 to 2011. 7ft was a pay extra option
So there is no "short bed" Ranger, there is regular Ranger and long bed Ranger in all years

In full size trucks there were short, regular and long bed models, but not in Rangers
A long bed is 8 feet long, a standard bed is 6 feet 5 inches long, and a short bed is roughly 5 feet 8 inches long, generally

In AZ I would think vehicles with AC would be more common in any year
V6 was a pay extra option and in 1985 I think gas prices were climbing, so 4cyl may have been more common, but most wanted pickups to haul stuff so would pay a bit more for the V6

A running 1985 pickup is in itself rare, lol, pickups just get beat to heck
Rangers were/are just not "collector" type vehicles
A 1985 4cyl turbo diesel, 4x4, long bed, dual tank would be rarest Ranger of that year, but still not worth much to most, even Ranger fans

 

Ok, thanks. Just wanted to get an idea what I bought. I was told it would be a great trail rig, but I'm not really into that. I think I will clean it up and just enjoy driving it around town.

 

bro.
I just got a manual 4x4 1984 ranger and it was ALSO from AZ
what in the hell
maybe AZ is the spot for these
1984 and 85 have super specific parts that you are going to have a harass time finding, and pretty much you won't find certain parts and have to rig up something to make it work

 

I live in Arizona. Early Rangers are pretty common around here. They don't rust so they last a lot longer. Check out sites like Craigslist or Offerup in Arizona and you will see what I mean.

 

This got me wondering. I ordered and bought a new Ranger in 1985. It was an XLS 2.8 V6 long bed 4x4 automatic in Dark Charcoal metalic, with traction lock front and rear, duel fuel tanks and the snow plow package. Last I knew it was owned by someone in Virginia. Just wondering how rare this truck was and about how mush it would be worth in good condition. Will try to find a picture of it when it wasn't covered in mud, to post here.

 

Rangers have never been "collector" type vehicles, the older Broncos and Bronco II's have a bit of a fan base, but the Rangers never had that,I doubt they ever will

What any vehicle is worth is what you can SELL it for, lol, I see alot of high ASKING prices for pretty much any vehicle ever made, well maybe not Pintos, lol

There are three things that "drive" the older used car market for trucks
1. is use, someone wants a cheap pickup to haul stuff
2. "I had one when I was in high school".........these people would pay a bit more for a clean Ranger than was like the one they had, but only up to a point
3. investors, they buy already resorted iconic trucks(not Rangers) and hold on to them hoping price will go up faster than 15%/year
OR they buy a restore-able truck to fix it up and Flip it, these people do look for as many options as possible, but they won't pay extra for them, lol

I bet your 1985 was maybe 1 of 50 with those options, maybe 1 of 20, but who would care about those options unless they wanted it as a daily driver and off-roader, and those people don't pay much

I like when people have older restored Rangers, but its a labor of love, not value
IMO