So my daughter is getting her license soon, and she's been saying that she wants a Ranger (specifically, she's been saying she want's MY Ranger!).

So we've been searching for something in her price range that we can clean up and fix. I ended up driving around with a trailing this weekend (over 500 miles in total) and picked up these two. Total cost of the weekend, including trailer and gas was about $800. I'm feeling like we did quite well.

The navy blue one is an 03 with an 05 4.0 SOHC in it. The frame is junk, and the body is fugly, but it runs and drives great.

The red one is a 98 and the motor is blown, but the frame, body, and the rest of it are in excellent shape. Just some cosmetic work needed. So this one is getting the 4.0 SOHC, along with a few other items, like the sterero, the rear bumper and the mirrors.

Since I blew the pinion gear in the rear end of mine, and my front end is getting a little noisy, I figured I'll take the axles from the navy one while I'm at it. I'm also going to swap the powerdome hood, and maybe the grill. I haven't decided.

Anyway, I'm not on here all that often these days, but I wanted to share my scores with the R-F community.

 

Nice finds...
You'll be busy. :)

 

Very nice!

Got a good bit of work ahead of you, but considering the cost and what you'll end up with, it will be well worth it.

 

Yes, we've got a bit of work ahead of us, but it'l be worth it. I've already talked to a friend of mine about blasting the frame. I may to mine at the same time.

 

You're doing coilovers too, right?

 

Possibly, but not immediately.

 

Not to mention she will learn a lot about her truck in the process. Information like that is invaluable.

 

So here's how it sits after the first day of work.

The engine is just about ready to come out. My daughter started stripping and cleaning the interior. I swapped the wheels and gave the bars a little crank to level out the stance.

After the engine is out, I'm going to blast and POR15 the frame. Going to repaint the hood (lots of chipping), and color match the grill and bumper while I'm at it. After the truck is road worthy, I'm going to strip and paint the wheels silver.

 

That truck will mean more to her than anything you could have ever went a bought brand new off the lot. Good job, I can't wait to see it once you get it all fixed up.