I have a 1996 2WD XLT Stepside. I am looking for ideas to give it that mean machine look. It currently has a 2.3 which i am looking to upgrade. I would like to upgrade the front end of the truck to give it sportier look. I bought the truck about 3 years ago because i needed a reliable truck for a good solid commuter. Well it has definitely been all that. Now I want to bump it up and make it a stand out. I am not into low riders I just want to give it a mean look and some more kick without breaking the bank. Can't wait to start browsing the forums for ideas and advice on getting where I want to go with look. I will post pics tomorrow to show you what we are starting with.

Paul

 

Welcome to RF

 

welcome fellow Mainer

 

welcome man! another mainer here. me and scott, live in the same area

 

Welcome from Massachusetts.

 

Always good to see more New Englanders involved, even if they are not flat landers.

 

Well it was nice to see so many peeps in the area are active on this forum. I also joined a motorcycle forum for the bike I am working on and got a good response so I have been lucky in picking good forums. Well let me elaborate more on what I want to do. I don't have the funds for two projects right now so I am going to invest the funds in the Motorcycle repairs ( that project has been on going longer...lol) but in the mean time i am looking at getting all the research and planning done for the ranger makeover. The truck is running fine now and so is not in need of immediate attention. I will do the budget analysis and planning using the advice and ideas gathered from here. Of course i will post the progress as I go. I will post more pictures here in a little while after i find my shoes and go outside. It is kind of wet today.

Paul

 

welcome to R-F, Paul!

 

Read through the “How-To” Section, you will see a lot of the simpler things to upgrade your Ranger Based Vehicle (RBV) and based on Junk Yard (JY) parts.
i.e. White or Silver Gauges and HVAC Panel and Bezels, Bucket Seats, Center Consoles and different color Dash and Interior Pieces and of course the V-8 Swap.
There is so much knowledge on this site it isn’t stupid to say, “You won’t have to go anywhere else”, except to see what others are doing.
A lot of the guys that write for this site do the others too so ask away but try the search function first just to save on the abuse you MIGHT get.

Good Luck on the project vehicle both the Ranger and the Bike been there done that, (Skirters when it was the big Bike and I am now looking at an ’89 Fully Dress).

ltr

 

As you can see I have a good base to work with. The tailgate latch is broken so i took it off, the back window is leaking around the seal and the dome light is broke, other than that she is in great shape.

 

Nice base to start from, Black is always a good color.
The interior light can be replaced with one from an Explorer, I guess it is bigger and gives more light also you can add LEDs and the Interior can be mod’d with just OEM stuff.
The rear window, IMHO, should be removed, cleaned up and resealed but check the 3rd Brake Light Gasket first, they always leak.
The Tailgate Latches go bad on a lot of Rangers, so you are not alone, if you decide that you can’t find one in the JY then there is a On-Line Ford Parts Shop, TascaParts.com, not sure if they have stuff for a ’96 but the Steppie Bed is the same as it always has been so it shouldn’t be too hard to locate the parts needed.

Luck,

 

Thanks for the advice, a larger light might not be bad. I would like to LED the dash and I saw the Led HVAC that looked sick. I have a glass pace in town that does good work so I will check the third tail light first. Thanks for the advice...off to supper and puruse the How to section later.