Some of my photos are missing, especially of stereo things. If I can find them, I'll come back and edit them in later.
In May 2009, I got a completely stock 2006 Ranger Sport. 4.0L, Automatic, and basically stripped other than that. Crank windows, Basic AM/FM/1CD radio, Vinyl floors, and a Bench seat.
I drove it like that for a few months before I decided it needed a canopy. I went looking on Craigslist, and as luck would have it I found an ad with a canopy for a 6' bed Ranger. Free.
I called the guy, and he said it was free if I could get it off the roof at his Ex-Wife's place (She was sick of storing it, and he didn't have a Ranger any more).
It was in terrible shape, but I taped up the holes and drove it like that for the better part of a year before realizing that I needed some more light on backroads. I fixed this with a pair of Hella 500 Driving lights. I wired them to be relayed from the high beam switch, and only come on together.
I also swapped the Head Unit to a Pioneer DEH-2100 BT, and the speakers to Crutchfield brand 2-ways. Somewhere between here and July I also added a Sound Ordnance (Crutchfield) 8” Band-pass powered subwoofer.
That gave me the first taste of the modding bug, and in April 2011 I switched the (Terrible) stock 255/70R16 Wrangler RTSes for 265/75R16 Kumho KL78 AT tires.
(My canopy is off, the rot got bad enough that I started a months-long strip/rebuild/paint)
Those gave me an excuse to finally get out on a trail, and I went out on a stock-friendly run that summer.
This taught me a few lessons.
1.Rangers flex like crazy (In the rear).
2.Swaybars don't flex (In the front).
3.I need more clearance.
4.I need armour.
So I saved for a few months, and cranked my T-Bars. I installed Rancho RS5000 extended shocks, and pulled the swaybar at the same time. It didn't hurt the ride at all, I think because of the swaybar being gone, and the extra bit of droop travel.
I wheeled it like that for another few months, adding a radiator skid from Joshp767 on here (And discovering FRF through that), as well as adding a ford stock transfer case skid. After a while of that, I decided it was worth putting a shackle lift on the rear. I put belltech 6400 shackles and more Rancho shocks on the rear, and was happy that way, other than the lack of traction from the open rear end.
December 2011 I got a rebuildable Eaton LSD installed, but there's no pictures of that (I had a shop do it)
May? 2012 I did a brake job with new rotors. Hawk LTS pads and Powerslot rotors.
I took it out 4x4ing at Hale Creek a few months later, after adding a gas tank skid.
I went to the same area as my first trip had been, and smashed up my steps. I ordered sliders after, but also I learned the hard way about Belltech 6400 shackles not working with stock exhausts. I crushed the exhaust down to about 1” tall at the tip, and didn't have anything to cut it off with until I got home (120km from the trail!)
I also slashed a sidewall on my way into the trail, clipping a rock on my way up the fire road.
The tires were all worn down to 7/32” from the 13/32” that the P-Rated KL78 tires came with, so it wasn't worth getting one new tire. I'd cook the LSD that way, and I'd be on new tires by that fall at the rate they were wearing.
So I got a set of E-Range 235/85R16 KL71 Mud tires.
I also ordered and installed a set of Rocky Road sliders.
I also, sometime around this, won a $100 gift card for Bestbuy. I used that to get a set of Pioneer 6x8 3-way speakers for my front doors.
I moved, and wheeled it unchanged from that for a while longer.
I also took it to a 4x4 show to meet some people in my new city. Not many people there expected an IFS ranger to flex this well.
I also took it out for a bit of a backroads drive, and found a little bit of a lip.
I also updated the Headunit to a JVC KD-730BT for the bluetooth audio and handsfree calling abilities.
I wheeled the local trails a few times between August 2012 and January 2013, and then was accepted into the reason I moved. I got into a Sheet metal foundations program, and got access to a huge, well stocked sheet metal shop.
I used this to make brackets to mount an OBA tank on the subwoofer. I opened up the valves in the MV50 compressor, and drilled and tapped the head for a 1/4” NPT thread. I plumbed it all together with a cheap 5gal tank.
And that's where I am, as of Feb 2013.