The Ford Ranger America’s favorite Small Pickup Truck

[@gilabear11]

Out of college, first teaching job, so first brand new vehicle was a 1986 Ford Ranger "S". Super plain jane - white with no options. The dealer did throw in a chrome rear bumper. $6000 was my out the door price. I loved that truck! I eventually put in a stereo and speakers, a sliding rear window for airflow since it did not have a/c, and a Cannondale bed mount bicycle rack, an aluminum camper shell to secure my mountain bike. I was living/working on the Navajo Nation in NM, many road trips to Moab, Durango, Crested Butte, etc. to go meet up with friends and ride. Loved that truck! It opened up whole new opportunities for me.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Ranger. I drove several roads out that way a couple of years ago. Beautiful!

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

@@TonysFordsandMustangs Ford Ranger is best truck. 85-88 is my favorites

[@timgenz2849]

I have a Ranger as my daily, it’s been flawless

[@Wooley689]

Ahh, memory lane. I bought a new 1984 Ranger longbed with 2.0 and drove the wheels off of it. It was bare bones and I had to put a stereo in it and a Hercules rear bumper because it was not included. Hauled my dirt bikes all over with it, sipped fuel and was very dependable. Next, I bought a new 1992 XLT 4X4 model extended cab with the 4.0 V6 with 5-speed. Here again, that truck gave me years and years of dependable service.

[@SunnynPhilly]

My grandpa had a 1989 4x4 ranger in dark blue. That thing was like a little mountain goat climbing up the steep winding mountain roads in West Virginia. The smaller size was good for when he’d approach another car on the one and a half lane roads going the other way he’d pull onto the shoulder to let em by. Gramps is 91 now, he has a Ford Maverick.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for sharing!

[@bartjones6180]

My around-town pickup is a 1983 Ranger XLT with the V6, automatic transmission with factory T-handle floor shifter, still has the factory AM-FM-Cassette radio, but manual crank windows, manual brakes, and manual steering. No Air Conditioning. I didn't realize it was the first model year of the Ranger until watching this video.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for watching and for your comment. Glad to be a source of information.

[@tonywestvirginia]

I bought a new Ranger in 85. 2.3 auto 7ft bed 2wd. When the 2.3 was wore out, In went a 302 V8. Fun!

[@michaelmartin2276]

I drove a Courier when I worked part time at a Ford dealership while in Highschool. Delivered parts all over southeast N.C.

[@osagejon8972]

I miss the old ranger. Dad says he would still be happy with his old '88 supercab 2.9L with the ultra rare dual tanks. It was approaching 300,000 miles on it when he sold it.

[@bretthibbs6083]

Now that you mentioned this I remember that the 85 ranger I saw back in high school in the early 90's did have that option.

[@osagejon8972]

@@bretthibbs6083 So rare in fact that when dad got hit just behind the cab the body shop was told by Ford that there was no such option... they eventually found a bed in a wrecking yard to put the truck back together. A few years ago I searched for a Ranger to buy dad because he was so fond of that truck and I found one with the dual tanks but it needed to much work. So with your memory I know that Ford made at least 4 with that option!

[@83rsturbo]

Had a 88 supercab xlt with the 2.9 and 5 speed.

[@EricAkins-le9jj]

I had the 88 STARCRAFT edition silver/ blue stripes ground effects.. 2.9 auto..crush blue velour..LOVED IT

[@darbymoyer1725]

Your channel should be more famous these videos are good as hell man

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you very much! Spread the word 😉

[@sombra6153]

I remember test driving a new 84 or 85 with the V6/five speed. It was probably the XL. Had the long bed and no AC.

[@commandertopgun]

beautiful fantastic informative video on my favorite small sport truck 1st generation ford ranger. thank you for posting I totally savor & enjoyed every minute of it, Tony's Fords and Mustangs. great job.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@P_RO_]

I've had 2, an 83 and a 85. Both had the 2.0 and a 5-speed and were base model short beds. The 85 was first, given to me in 92 by the contractor I worked for in great shape with 160K miles, except it had a sometimes-no-start-when-warm condition nobody could figure out; let it cool down and it would start again. I eventually figured that out and drove it 125K more miles till someone totalled it for me. The 83 was a cheap beater work truck with a bad 4-speed. I bought it after locating a cheap wrecked 5-speed model and put the best of the 2 trucks together. Sold it to a friend with 295K miles on it after putting a valve cover gasket on it and seeing the cam lobes worn to nearly round, yet it still ran kind of smooth and still had decent power. No major issues with either one, tough as nails and great fuel mileage. 1st gen Rangers are some of the best trucks ever built.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I too had a very good one. A 2.9 liter 88 Supercab 4x4. paid $800 for it in 2002 and ran that one for 4 years.

[@mikeg0802]

My first 2 vehicles were 1988 and 1990 Rangers. Also had an 03 model later on. Thanks for the video!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for watching! I have owned a couple fo Rangers a 88 and a 2007. I put 238K on the 07 and sold to someone who drove it over 300k before totaling it on a patch of ice.

[@JamesAndersen-w2y]

I owned an 83 with a 2.3 it was a good little truck

[@bruceabbott3941]

I'm now on Ranger number 4, after a 2L 1984, a 1988 2.9L, and a second-gen 1996 2.3L, all 2WD. This one is the 1987 extended cab with the 2.9L. I had some ignition issues, which I fixed by moving the TFI module from the distributor to a home-made heat sink on the air cleaner box. Absolutely love it, and parts are dirt cheap!

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

That's a common issue with that distributor. Your fix is now common practice and one that Ford eventually adopted themselves. Thanks for sharing!

[@Vampirebear13]

I miss my 86 Ranger. It was dark blue with the 2.3 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual trans. What made it bad though, it was 2WD but was built like a 4WD. It had a firm, rough suspension & a 4.10 rear gear with an open diff. It was basic everything, except a cloth bench seat & a AM/FM radio with 2 dash speakers.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Those trucks like yours were not a lot of money back then. I wish I could buy something for half the price of an F150 today.

[@tonybrown6775]

My cousin and a 1986 long bed his dad had a extended cab short bed. My other cousin had a 1997 reg cab short bed.

[@Dr.Claw_M.A.D.]

I had a 87 XLT trim extended cab. 2wd V6. Ended up helping several people move. Had to replace the linkage as unfortunately a family borrowed it and couldn't figure out the floor shift. The Ford on the Auto trans had to be pulled sideways to get down from park. Comfortable plush seating, good ground clearance in the XLT it had bigger wheels and sat higher than the Custom or XL. Handles snow fine. Got a might treacherous on the highways in winter.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I had a RWD pick up. In the winter I would fill the bed with snow. That helped traction quite a bit.

[@Dr.Claw_M.A.D.]

It helped but it was still sketchy

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

@@Dr.Claw_M.A.D. I ran all season tires and yes it did matter if it was a wet snow or powder. :)

[@861-k1t]

1993. 4.0 5 speed manual supper cab. The best vehicle that i have ever had. I loved it for over 15 years.gave it to my son and he has it today . For the people that had the 3.0 life wasn't good. In 93 the 4 banger couldn't get out of it's own way even with a 5 speed stick.. maybe i just got lucky who knows but i wish i could buy it all over again just as it was then.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@jimlafreeda43]

You bring back such good memories all the time. My best friend had an 85 Ranger 4wd. Great little truck. Like my Escort buddy he beat the heck out of it and never had an issue. Built Ford Tough was an accurate slogan!

[@bretthibbs6083]

I saw a 85 ford ranger back in the early 90's when I was looking for a first car when I was in high school and it looked really cool and I remember the color too it was dark brown. Fast forward a few years I think in 93 or 94 I bought a 92 ranger and boy I loved it but I got royally screwed by the dealer as they sold me the truck with bald tires and the next day everything went haywire and I had to have 3 transmissions put in fortunately I had the extended warranty but I did drive that truck a lot I drove to deliver pizzas back in the day and after I got most of the things fixed it was a reliable truck heck I think the fall of the same year I bought it I drove it from Minnesota to Florida and back and it had no cruise control either. Yes I had to do some repairs to it but overall it was a great truck and even though I love chevys I loved that truck and it actually held up well considering the hell I put it through. The 92 ranger was an XLT model.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@kc0lif]

the ranger is back.

[@williamsinger4124]

Had a few of these over te years. They were good to me. I still have a 91 4.0 5 speed 4x4 as a property truck since it wont pass ny state inspection due to rust. But the damn thing always does what I ask of it, so ill repair the frame (3rd time) and keep using it. A kid here in own ha a really cean 87 2wd long bed that he swapped a 302 into as his cheap hot rod. That lil thing runs good too.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

Thanks for sharing your experience with these trucks

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

Surprisingly I have yet to see a Model Kit of a Ranger... I have built a couple of Bronco Kits,a Chevy S10,GMC Sonoma,Dodge D50 and Toyota Hilux 4x4 kit..

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

That is surprising!

[@alxf66]

Back in the day, I had hopes an SVO Ranger would arrive. Seemed like such an obvious thing to do. Probably would have sold too few to justify, but it's not my company. 😂

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

That would have been awesome!

[@billnorris3305]

Not sure about SVO, but they did look into SHOs in 1985/86. Three were built. One was white and I believe the other two were red. 265 horsepower Lincoln mark VII air ride suspension and a five speed out of a Mustang. They also had sport tuned dual exhaust. The box was made out of plastic the forerunner to the ranger splash. My dad was one of the development engineers. He brought home the red one frequently. One of the other engineers wound up totaling on the Ford test track.

[@FullTimeGT]

In my opinion, up to gen3 Rangers, Ford had the perfect recipe to deliver affordable Utility Small Work Trucks for the mass. They were not complicated, they had 7ft beds, they were simple to fix. They had a Ranger for all budgets. Now, Rangers are way too big, the size of the F150 in early 2000's, they all have 4 doors, bed are ridicously small, too much gadgets and luxury, and prices are absolutely insane. No way I would buy a new 2024 Ranger. Instead, go buy an old one, it will cost you a fraction of the price of a new one and you will have a way better utility truck than the new one.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I agree with on many of your points. I was in the market for a truck a few weeks ago. I considered a Ranger however I have no interest in a 4 door and the new/used Ranger is still a big truck. I looked at a used older Ranger but nice ones are bringing big money. I ended up with a used 2018 F150.

[@levyoliver5363]

I had seen a 1st generation Ford Ranger maybe 1984 or 86 year model some where in Manila in the year 2018..it was a red colored with white side trimings. I believed its a 4X4 model long bed single cab with a diesel engine...😂😅

[@dennisgoodnight2029]

I had a 83 Ranger with a V6 and a 4 speed manual. Loved that truck until someone ran a red light and t boned me. Sure miss that truck.

[@kensingletary5694]

Wish the Ranger would've came with the 5.0

[@ManuaLiberty]

I still see plenty on the road, some of the most popular trucks. And by all accounts, atleast from what I’ve seen the 4.0 V6 is a stout motor.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I put 238,000 on my 4.0 and it was running well when I sold it.

[@jongilles4199]

Had a 90 model and hated it back to full size

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

To each their own I guess. Thanks for watching.

[@paulyokoyama7162]

Should have mentioned the 3.0 Vulcan engine used first used in '90.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I believe I mentioned all the driveline options that were available for the years I covered. If I didn't it was an oversite.

[@paulyokoyama7162]

@@TonysFordsandMustangs The ad shown at 10:13 shows the 3.0 for 4x2 only.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

@@paulyokoyama7162 I'm pretty sure that was in my script as well.

[@michaelatkins9780]

I'm no stranger, I'm a Ford Ranger......

[@saleen367]

IMO the original generation Rangers were the best. Not a lot of bells and whistles and that was okay by me.

[@TonysFordsandMustangs]

I can't say I disagree.

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

First..

[@mirisch64]

Who else from cs188?