It's a 94 Ranger with ye old 2.3 and a 5 speed. I sold the BMW project car so I could save up $$ for fun racing activities and so this is my new cheap transportation. It's slow, loud, unrefined, surprisingly fun, and I don't have to care about keeping it nice. 2wd will be interesting in the snow but with some good winter tires and weight in the back it will do just fine.
Hard to see here but there's a bit of a lean going on in back. Nothing is visibly broken in the driver side rear suspension so it could just be worn out. The rear suspension in these is not known for it's durability.
The worst rust. The important parts of the truck are solid. It's just a bit ugly.
STM317
HalfDork
10/21/16 11:44 a.m.
The lean you see is most likely 'the Ranger lean'. It's omnipresent. Nobody really knows the exact cause, but it's assumed that it comes from having all of the weight from the driver, fuel tank and battery on the same side.
I wouldn't sweat the winter stuff. I've driven a 2wd Ranger for all but 2 of the last 12 Indiana winters and I've never gotten stuck. Decent tires and sensible driving go a long way.
Look at the leaf spring mounting brackets that bolt to the frame. They're notorious for rusting out. At a quick glance it may look fine, but there's a chance that the spring has pushed its way through that bracket and it resting on the bed.
bluej
UltraDork
10/21/16 11:58 a.m.
My father rocked about 15 years worth of NH winters in his almost identical truck. Decent snows and a few sand bags in the bed made a big difference. He had a wood frame that dropped in and kept the bags centered over the axle.
STM317 wrote:
The lean you see is most likely 'the Ranger lean'. It's omnipresent. Nobody really knows the exact cause, but it's assumed that it comes from having all of the weight from the driver, fuel tank and battery on the same side.
Similar to the Samurai lean, caused by having the battery, most of the engine, TC, and on RHD models, driver's weight, all on the same side. The Willys GP and CJ would've had the same lean if they hadn't given it an extra leaf in the spring packs on the heavy side.
What Spool said.
And welcome to the '94 Ranger club! Mine was 2wd last winter (crappy factory hubs) and the tires are old, so about 500 lbs of firewood was helpful.
BlueInGreen44 wrote:
so I could save up $$ for fun racing activities
Add turbo and slicks. Bring to the Challenge. Cheap fun racing activities.
einy
Reader
10/21/16 3:56 p.m.
Nice! My buddy has pretty much the same truck in red, picked up in great shape from a little old man for a song. It's been great for him and is actually pretty fun to drive. Hope yours fares as well as his.
Agreed on the winter driving. The '88 I had was 2wd and a 5spd and the first vehicle I ever drove in the snow.
I didn't know any better but I honestly had zero trouble in the snow. In fact, it was my ride home during a Park and Ride to NYC that the bus company almost put us up for the night due to the blizzard conditions. Got back to the truck and unburried it and drove home.
Funny: I drove a 4x4 S-10 Blazer in rwd automatic on that same trip back in the snow years later and it was an absolute nightmare comparatively.
KyAllroad wrote:
What Spool said.
And welcome to the '94 Ranger club! Mine was 2wd last winter (crappy factory hubs) and the tires are old, so about 500 lbs of firewood was helpful.
Thanks! It's a good club to be in so far.
Stampie wrote:
BlueInGreen44 wrote:
so I could save up $$ for fun racing activities
Add turbo and slicks. Bring to the Challenge. Cheap fun racing activities.
That's already crossed my mind. My hypothetical plan would involve a turbo Tbird engine donor, a bit of lowering, and then rallycross fun 
Love the tiny rangers. I had pulled the Lima out of mine and replaced it with an identical motor for $250. I was going to rebuild the old and add a turbo, but someone fell asleep at the wheel and creamed it in front of my house.
A bit of advice. A stage 3 clutch is hella fun, but plan to take turns sideways in wet weather. Yes. Even with 110 hp.
