Hello from St. Louis, MO

RayInStl · #1 10-26-2015, 08:31 PM

Hey guys, just picked up a 1983 Ranger 4x4. I needed something less thirsty than my v10 Ram and wanted something with 4 wheel drive and a stick. After some hunting on Craigslist, I found this gem.

It was running pretty rough during the test drive, so on the way home (an hour and a half drive!) we stopped at an O'Reilly's and bought a socket set to adjust the timing. Even doing it "by ear" made the truck much more streetable.

She still needs a lot of work to be a reliable driver, but she did get me home! We lost 2 and a half quarts of oil along the way though. So far, I don't think I've done too much damage, but I don't think that was good for it. I might be putting a rear main seal in her shortly. Either that or the very back of the pan is leaking. I'm not that lucky though.

The vacuum lines are all but disintegrating, so I'll be going through those as well. You so much as breath on them and they start falling off!

Anyway, I'm Ray and she's a 1983 Ranger 4x4 with the 2.3L and 4 speed manual.

Welcome Bot · #2 10-26-2015, 08:45 PM

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STL · #3 10-27-2015, 02:46 AM

Welcome to FRF, from Springfield, Mo.

smokinAMD · #4 10-27-2015, 04:23 AM

I'm no expert on St. Louis, but I'd be willing to bet you are on the south side.

I'm a few blocks north of the Ted Drews on Chippewa.

If you need any wrenching help or a once over on what you will need in order to get it to pass state inspection to get it legal, let me know. I'm a state inspector, I can help you avoid any surprises once it comes inspection time.

Mike69 · #5 10-27-2015, 09:54 AM

Ray, welcome to FRF.

RayInStl · #6 11-01-2015, 06:33 PM

Hey guys, thanks for the welcome.

I thought I'd get an email when new posts were made, so I hadn't checked back till just now.

I do live on the south side, mainly because I enjoy being alive. lol. I'm on Minnesota south of Loughborough. I'm just a few blocks from the Schnucks.

I got the truck running a bit better than it was. I had some pretty major vacuum leaks. I did some timing-by-ear and think I'm close. I need to pick up my timing light from my brother's place. I drove it over to NTB for some new tires and it felt like the advance wasn't working. She idles pretty good, but under load it feels like the timing is retarded some and it's a bit rough. That dizzy is just so hard to get to though! What a mess.

At least she stops in the rain now thanks to the Cooper Discoverer RTX's. I nearly slid through 2 different stop signs on the way there. It was scarey slippery. She's very sure footed now.

On the down side, the driver side wiper stopped working as I drove to NTB in the rain.

I can tell the linkage came off at the wiper arm cause you can here it flopping around while the passenger side continues to operate. Bet THAT's going to be a fun fix.

I might take you up on your offer to inspect it ahead of time for me. I know it won't pass in it's current state. The wiper alone would fail it, but it also needs an exhaust put on. The muffler is peeling apart!

She's a work in progress to say the least. And this is supposed to be my daily driver so I can stop putting gas in my 10MPG Ram v10!

STL · #7 11-01-2015, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayInStl

Hey guys, thanks for the welcome.

I thought I'd get an email when new posts were made, so I hadn't checked back till just now.

You can go to the top of your first post, where it says thread tools and click subscribe to thread.

smokinAMD · #8 11-01-2015, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayInStl

Hey guys, thanks for the welcome.

I thought I'd get an email when new posts were made, so I hadn't checked back till just now.

I do live on the south side, mainly because I enjoy being alive. lol. I'm on Minnesota south of Loughborough. I'm just a few blocks from the Schnucks.

I got the truck running a bit better than it was. I had some pretty major vacuum leaks. I did some timing-by-ear and think I'm close. I need to pick up my timing light from my brother's place. I drove it over to NTB for some new tires and it felt like the advance wasn't working. She idles pretty good, but under load it feels like the timing is retarded some and it's a bit rough. That dizzy is just so hard to get to though! What a mess.

At least she stops in the rain now thanks to the Cooper Discoverer RTX's. I nearly slid through 2 different stop signs on the way there. It was scarey slippery. She's very sure footed now.

On the down side, the driver side wiper stopped working as I drove to NTB in the rain.

I can tell the linkage came off at the wiper arm cause you can here it flopping around while the passenger side continues to operate. Bet THAT's going to be a fun fix.

I might take you up on your offer to inspect it ahead of time for me. I know it won't pass in it's current state. The wiper alone would fail it, but it also needs an exhaust put on. The muffler is peeling apart!

She's a work in progress to say the least. And this is supposed to be my daily driver so I can stop putting gas in my 10MPG Ram v10!

Thought so...one of my former coworkers lived off Virginia south of Loughborough. Area looked reaaaaal familiar.

The wiper is actually probably just a plastic bushing, more than likely an easy fix.

shovelhead · #9 11-02-2015, 03:35 PM

Welcome and good luck

RayInStl · #10 11-04-2015, 02:31 PM

Yep. I picked up the plastic bushing at AutoZone yesterday. This is the first time I've ever bought anything from their "Help!" section. Apparently I can buy half of my truck there! lol. I always wondered what cars all of those parts fit on. Picked up a new driver side mirror at the same time. Pretty much an exact match to the original, only made cheaper (chromed plastic instead of metal for the "head").

After working on my mid-60's Ramblers, it's nice to be able to drive to an auto parts store and have my part in stock!