not really a new idea for my truck but i just bought a 2007 ranger new about a year ago. truth is, i miss my 87 ford ranger. if i could find one like the one i had in very good condition but supercab id consider selling my new 07. my old truck was getting tired so i bought a new one, which is nice, but my 87 i knew how to work on it, it was cheaper and it takes me back. my dad bought the 87 when it was new, it was a good, simple little truck just the cab didnt have alot of leg room, a supercab would take care of that. my new truck is a regular cab, but i think its 2-4 inches deeper than my old truck. which i like, but sometimes it seems like theirs 4 of us and a regular cab just doesnt work too well.

sorry for rambling on, just thinking, what do you guys think?

 

Sometimes I feel the same way about my truck. Like when I was replacing the tie rod ends (15000km) or the thermostat housing (200000km).

A lot of times I'll see an 80s s10 (my old truck was a dimer don't hate me!) and start to miss that old 4cyl reg cab 2wd truck. That thing gave every last bit that it had and rarely had to do anything other than normal maitenance, had it for almost from 80000k to around 220000km or so. I bought my new truck to avoid doing all the maitenance involved with driving old junk....

 

I know how you feel. My dad had a 90 Ranger which we haven't had since '03 (also 2.9 manual). I am now in the process of getting a new one, but I wish I still had that truck. I only drove it for about 2 years, it was my learning vehicle.

I think it'd be a good idea to jump on one if you found a clean one. I do like the new Rangers too, so I don't know about getting rid of the 07. Any pics of your trucks?

 

I know what you mean. I kinda wish I still had my old red beater Ranger (83 [i believe] with the 2.3 and a 4 speed that I got for free). However, I really like my Ranger. I don't have any plans on getting rid of it.

 

I know how you feel, but instead of buying a new one, I bought another old one :-p

 

Right now I feel I should have bought a used truck and worked on it in the driveway. Don't get me wrong I love my new truck but it's a pig on gas, and the build quality is really cheap.

This is my first 4x4 and I'm in love with the switch. There's trails all around here and the truck will fit most anywhere a wheeler will go without trouble. I even got yelled at by snowmobilers to stay off their trails in the winter.

 

thats what i wanted to do but alot of people talked me out of it.

 

i dont know if i put any up of the new one, but im "tonon" on cardomain.com, you know what, i have pictures of my new truck here: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...9398&albumId=0

 

yea, the 2.9l with the TK5 transmission was a cool setup. nothing fancy, just the engine had a nice rugged sound and the transmission had its own sound. both were pretty well built. one thing i noticed on my new truck is there is so much plastic, but my old truck had chrome window cranks, ignition, solid chrome handles, aluminum upper intake, ect.

if anyone knows of one for sale like the one in my signature but super cab in good shape, let me know.

 

its the past...just move on. You will learn how to work on this truck. I think you will regret it if you sell your 07. You can also mod the crap out of it, just cause it is new does not mean you can't work or do stuff on it.

 

Yea, keep the '07 and just look for another older one somewhere. There's plenty still to be found. I just kept my old one when I bought the new one. Besides, with 335,000 miles on it I wasn't going to get anything for it anyway, so I kept it and now it's my toy.

 

i have to be careful of the warrantee though.

 

i still have my old one, it just sits though. i know i probably should sell it, but i cant get much for it anyways, its pretty beat. i could fix it up and have fun with it, but why do i need 2 rangers, you know.

but i remember going to get stone one time, we weighed out at like 1,300 lbs in stone, plus me and my dad, but that was about 2 years ago and the thing handled it. we used to load it with all kinds of stuff, it has the long bed, so moving someones furniture and stuff was pretty easy for a small truck. i used to load it with top soil, fire wood, manure, all kinds of stuff. i must admit, i cant wait to see how the new truck handles the load of manure i get for the garden this year.

 

I miss my 94 f-150 then going to my 99 ranger. It was a step back for sure. Actually I'm trying to get back into an older 150 again. Newer rangers are too cheaply built IMO.

 

yes, they are a little cheap, but so are alot of new vehicles. my old ranger was nothing fancy either, but alot of the parts seem stronger and heavier built. im going to keep my options open, my new truck is expensive when it comes to insurence, taxes, ect. i think the taxes on my old truck were like $42, lol. not to mention the new truck gets like 15 miles per gallen, which isnt bad for a truck, though its not as powerful of an engine as i thought it would be, the 4.0l on my new truck, which is a bulkier truck and has 4wd and ac seems to ride like my old 2.9l ranger without 4wd and ac. i guess its not bad, i had my 2.9l getting around 20 mpg though.

 

My 4.0 is a turd and gets the same MPG as my 302 did stock. The tranny and rearend keep blowing and I cant seem to keep the front end together either. It's too bad because I really like the truck, just cant justify the money it beats me for.

 

I went from my 92 ranger to my 03 and i think the quality is better and i really like the new truck better. still loved the 92 though.

rangers have never been known for great fuel mileage, not the 4.0 thats for sure.

 

i know what you mean. i loved my 96 ranger. it was under powered, stuff was going bad, it had a bunch of stuff that wasn't right, but i loved it and enjoyed working on it. granted i love my new truck and i love having 4wd but i wish i never traded it in. they only gave me $950 for it. that kind of insulted me cause i feel it was worth more. but then i look at it from their eyes and see wat a p.o.s. it really was and understand. haha

 

No we aint going to hate you dude. I had a 96 dimer myself. It was the only light truck that gave the Ranger a run for its money. After I let a so called friend borrow it and he came back in a cop car, I wanted to choke him. I bought a 97 Ranger and sometimes I still miss it. It was alot easier to work on those older models than todays due to the amount of CPUs located in the newer models. But in respects, that older model I had it was super easy to do a V8 swap in the 96 dimer I had than an 05. The older ranger parts are super easy to find and restore as compared to the newer models. here's a couple of links for anyone to use in restoring an Old Ranger: www.usbody.com , www.lmctruck.com . The LMC Truck link carries everything except the cab. The U.S. Body source carries the entire body, including tilt front ends.

 

That's how I felt about my 97 XLT myself. I loved it but couldn't keep it out of any shop to save my life. It was bought from a chevy dealer to, Maybe that's what was wrong with it. I do miss it from time to time.

 

I dread the day when cars and trucks get so complicated with electronics that you can't work on them in your garage or diagnose a problem without a masters degree in electronics.

 

Oh so very true.

BTW I didn't get the 4.0 for milage, hell my old truck only got 10, so 11 would have been fine for me.

But the fact that it's a turd AND sucks gas? ty

 

yea, 92 was like an older version of your 03. my 87 was almost a different vehicle other than some of the frame, which i noticed some parts are actually still the same on my 07 ranger. the ranger, i dont think was ever considered a "high quality" vehicle, but the price for it and to keep it running and the simplicity of it, on the older ones, i think out weighed the quality. 1-10 quality wise id give my old one a high 5 and my new one a low 5, for different reasons.

 

yea, lol, ever see that king of the hill episode where hanks ranger gets hit by the train?

 

and thats why i was going to keep and fix up my old truck, i even have alot of new parts saved up for it still. i would need bed sides, as i dont think it would be worth fixing rust holes that will come back anyways, but even still, if i could just find my old ranger in supercab form and in good condition.