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  #1  
Old 12-07-2013, 02:10 PM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

and so it began- 1997 ranger, 4 cyl, stick...he just got his temps, bought it with his own savings- not expensive, but needed some rust repairs... as we got into it found much more. a few little patches needed to the underside of bed, easiest just to pop it off...


rear sheetmetal crossmember/spare tire support was swiss cheese after hitting with wirewheel, made a 'origami version' just bent up from flat sheetmetal:





cut out a few thin spots from the bed, fresh eastwood rust ncapsulator (ospho/POR15/tie coat primer first for welded areas)



then upon dropping the tank, pulled handfuls of frame out...had no idea rangers c-channel frames would rust like this, usually the fate of salted box style frames. the front crossmember where front tank strap hooks had roadgrime built up in it, just pulled the thing out along with frame bottom. this and the rear shock mounts are a really idiotic design, as they are open on top/blocked at the bottom- built to collect salt/no way to rinse out without pulling the bed. I drilled holes in the shock mount bottoms so at least now water can flow thru at car washings






replaced fuel/brake lines, exh hangers, painted floorpan underside...hes spent near two months messing around underneath. next is a rusty radius arm, inspect/redo brakes, replace core support.


just cleaned up rear bumper last night(por-15 backside) and remounted it and the bed... looks like a truck again. My best friend had a extra set of forged ranger wheels off his sons truck, gave them to Mike...new 15" tires came today. will get some before/after pics in the coming days.
A note of caution to salt belt folks with rangers- suggest drilling at least 1/2" holes in the bottom/inside corners of those shock mount stampings so you can wash the crap out of them- reading, see quite a few having rust/crack issues from inside-out corrosion... the way they are made they simply cannot be flushed out.

Worst part about all the repairs, told him up front the truck is never to be sold- has to be scrapped or cut up if he ever gets rid of it...extensive frame repairs will eventually give way to rust too, if we have it, we can keep a eye on it, if sold liabilities are too much these days...we built a new frame for a 65 galaxie 500 ten yrs ago, told kids same thing- if anything ever happens to me the car is to be cut/not sold out of the family I figure as a first vehicle if he gets a few years out of it, we'll go from there. Hope with all the work hes put in it, he will take better care of it than most kids who are just given a car to drive. He and my 17 yr old spent all summer last year rebuilding a mark VII Lincoln, turned out a very nice car for very little money- and the older son is really taking great care of his vehicles. He has been working enough to also buy a 99 expedition from California, he spent all summer under it POR-ing the frame, filling seams, getting it ready for a minimal damage winter...its seriously one of the cleanest vehicles Ive ever seen, and was dirt cheap- but its killing him in gas

anyone interested in more rust/repair/projects, heres a few other things weve messed with:
http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/gala...ong-story.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8323217...7634916492409/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8323217...7632965570909/
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Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics

Last edited by ford4v429; 12-08-2013 at 10:12 PM.
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  #2  
Old 12-08-2013, 08:53 PM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

Son got his tires on tonight, before/after pics:




btw- if anyone has a hard time seating tires late on a Sunday night, 'pool noodles' can make a bead donut in a pinch
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Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics
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  #3  
Old 12-08-2013, 08:55 PM
ford4thot ford4thot is offline
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Very nice! Rims look good on that truck
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  #4  
Old 12-08-2013, 08:59 PM
Eman125 Eman125 is offline
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That is a hell of a garage!! Is that at your house? And nice job on the truck!
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  #5  
Old 12-09-2013, 04:54 AM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

ha- yeah, so full of unfinished projects we're changing tires in the snow...never have enough room
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Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics
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  #6  
Old 12-10-2013, 02:13 PM
mudbogger mudbogger is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

Thats my ford ranger, glad to have it put back together .

----------

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Originally Posted by ford4thot View Post
Very nice! Rims look good on that truck
Thank you.
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  #7  
Old 01-19-2014, 04:20 AM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

replaced a front fender- it had been replaced before Mike got it with a aftermarket one, paint was way different, and getting rusty...got a decent one from pullapart, used paint from automotivetouchup.com- they are very reasonable and color matches as good or better than the local paint supply stuff- and way way less expensive. paint for my mustangs hood ran me 600 bucks, his fender, about 50, and the color is closer. could have blended the door/hood to hide the color, but took the easy way and think its pretty close anyway...a lot better than it was- before and after:


didnt stay together long...backends done, time to take care of the front- rusty core support, radius arm and clean/seal up the frame.

core support has a bunch of spot welds attaching the inner fender structure, ones near the battery tray are hard to see to drill out, other than that pretty straightforward



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Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics
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  #8  
Old 01-19-2014, 10:08 PM
mudbogger mudbogger is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

It ain't a secret my ford ranger needs work(its a old ohio truck)... One thing is for sure though, that truck won't be scrapped unless its 100% dead.

It might not look like much, but its what I wanted. As far as repairs go- I'll save what I can, and fix whatever needs fixed. If you go to my profile, there are progress-pictures of the truck from how it started to how it is now. The truck has come a long way already, just gotta git-r-done. I've got plans for my ford ranger .
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  #9  
Old 01-20-2014, 05:16 AM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

Quote:
Originally Posted by mudbogger View Post
It ain't a secret my ford ranger needs work(its a old ohio truck)... One thing is for sure though, that truck won't be scrapped unless its 100% dead.

It might not look like much, but its what I wanted. As far as repairs go- I'll save what I can, and fix whatever needs fixed. If you go to my profile, there are progress-pictures of the truck from how it started to how it is now. The truck has come a long way already, just gotta git-r-done. I've got plans for my ford ranger .
guaranteed there arent many more 15 yr olds out there that have put this much effort into their ride... you'll have something to be proud of putting all that elbow grease in soon- plus any skills picked up along the way will outlast anything on the road

dealing with rust in ohio is just par for the course... theres a lot of decent looking cars and trucks out there that are in worse shape underneath than this one was- most folks just dont see under there. the way the ranger front gas tank strap/crossmember and rear shock mounts are designed, you will never see problems till its too late unless the bed is removed. the spring hangers are probably a good indicator of those areas though- most ranger owners ive known had spring hanger rust issues (f-series too), bet its likely the crossmember and/or shock mounts are full of road grime/salt on any of this vintage in ohio- the way they are made there is simply no way to clean them out without taking the bed off or drilling holes in the pockets they form to allow flushing/draining...tops of the rear spring hagers/bottoms of the front spring hangers are pretty easy to rinse off, yet a lot of them rot thru...those other spots are impossible to rinse out- and guaranteed will be a achilles heel for these trucks that run on salted roads.
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CONFIDENCE: that feeling you have just before you realize the mess you got yourself into...
Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics
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  #10  
Old 01-26-2014, 10:09 PM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

front suspension, all shocks/brakes/hoses/lines hooked up and brakes bled... just underbody paint and the core support- moving right along...
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CONFIDENCE: that feeling you have just before you realize the mess you got yourself into...
Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics

Last edited by ford4v429; 01-26-2014 at 10:23 PM.
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  #11  
Old 01-30-2014, 09:33 PM
ford4v429 ford4v429 is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

repaired one rusty front frame mount, reused the original rubber mounts, re-spotwelded/bolted the new core support(poured paint/taped holes/seams/rolled support around to seal the hollow areas from inside- then bedlinered the whole thing, grinding where necessary for welding), fenders on and aligned...

still to do:
touchup paint on pass fender, under header panel (treat surface rust)
por15 backside of front bumper
por15 center support/hoodlatch bracket
install center support/header panel/grille/bumper/lights
retouchup any missed spots underneath truck with bedliner
pull door panels, pour/brush bedliner inside to seal lower hem(drains will be kept open)
wirewheel/ospho/bedliner under doors
pop stereo in
replace sticky ignition switch
touchup paint on tailgate(clearcoat peeling in spots- feather/scuff/reclear)


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CONFIDENCE: that feeling you have just before you realize the mess you got yourself into...
Son's project- derusting a 97 stepside- pics here: Ranger pics

Last edited by ford4v429; 01-30-2014 at 09:38 PM.
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  #12  
Old 03-01-2014, 11:43 AM
mudbogger mudbogger is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

Here are some more recent pictures...











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  #13  
Old 03-01-2014, 11:48 AM
GreatDane GreatDane is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mudbogger View Post
Here are some more recent pictures...
Gotta love 3rd gen Rangers
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Old 03-01-2014, 11:54 AM
mudbogger mudbogger is offline
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Default Re: Sons first vehicle- 97 ranger 2.3 stick

Quote:
Originally Posted by GreatDane View Post
Gotta love 3rd gen Rangers
Agreed 100%.
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  #15  
Old 03-01-2014, 11:57 AM
GreatDane GreatDane is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mudbogger View Post
Agreed 100%.
So what's the plan with it ?
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