My 87 Ranger I will be restoring soon I want to keep track of my progress and add information as I find it.

[Terrys87]

I went to the bone yard. Last time I was there they had an Instrument Cluster I had to pass on due to funds. Today someone beat me to it. They had three 89 or newer trucks but not what I needed.

I did get the factory stereo harness. Previous Owner hacked mine up. I like all factory plugs and buy the kits that connect stereos. I have a different year plug in mine currently but two wires don’t match. This come out if an 88 so hoping all wire colors match.
Also got complete Steering Kit except for Pitman Arm. Just could not swing it due to cost. If mine is bad I will replace it.

I am hoping to see if I can afford Front End Alighnment and two front tires. I will have to wait and see how the weekend goes. I really want to finish the front end up as it does vibrate at 60 mph

 

[Terrys87]

Im getting ready to clean my Evaporator as it still has leaves and debris inside it. It was originally so bad I could not operate the vent door. Removing Inner Fender makes pulling a Transmission and replacing Evaporator so much easier. First remove the Air filter box.

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Leave this piece on. On 87 the Air Filter box sits on another box called a Vacuum Resivoir. You can only find these at a boneyard No longer available from my research.

Next remove front Blinker and soak these two bolts that hold Inner Fender. Otherwise they will most likely just break.

Remove the two 8mm bolts up front. There are two more 8mm bolts at top of fender. Then work out the Inner Fender. Inner Fender is attached to Fender with 6 small screws.

 

[Terrys87]

6 small Inner Fender screws I was mentioning.

This is a major ground. Usually corroded awful bad. Easily over looked as Inner Fender hides it. Get a wire brush and give it a hood cleaning. I think I got a new original replacement from Parts Geek if I recall correctly.

One 87 and 88 do NOT try and remove these 3 nuts. They will snap. If you find one in a boneyard just buy the whole Inner Fender.

One of my next projects is to clean the Evaporator. Eventually I will do a complete overhaul on entire AC system. Only way to get acces to nuts and bolts holding cover on.

 

[Terrys87]

Here you can see I need to wrap harness better. I could not finish this project as something came up. You do t even need to remove tire to get Inner Fender out but removing tire will help.

Here is a back side view to the bolts that should be soaked in penetrating fluid before removing them.

These two caps cover the 8mm bolts sticking thru fender from bottom side. They do protect harness.
Like I mentioned I was unable to get Evaporator cover off to clean as I had something to come up. I will get back on this soon.

 

[RobbieD]

Very good write up.

Thank you covering the frame ground. It IS often overlooked, and in some cases a truck will have a universal battery ground cable installed in he past, and the frame point was skipped. This will cause problems later, as the alternative ground paths succumb to rust.

 

[Terrys87]

Thanks Robbie D.. It was about 10 years ago that I learned the importance of ground wires. Earlier in my thread,I try to show where some I am aware of. Even the computers have a ground wire attached to them. Eventually I want to do the "Big 3" upgrade https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204374080-The-Big-3-Wiring-Upgrade that I learned recently.

Eventhough this is an older Ranger maybe showing the one hidden might help someone.

 

[Terrys87]

This is for an 87 Ranger This part is no longer available. Do not try and unbolt it jyst buy the whole inner fender.

It replaces the flat part that 88 trucks have. Has a different style Air Filter box. I am planning on making my 87 Ranger set up like an 88. It removes the EGR and a better setup. Ford calls this a Vacuum Reservoir.

This is my 87 auto want to finish after the 88. It needs a motor.

 

[Terrys87]

My shop was in bad shape. 2 hours worth of cleaning. Between body work and mechanic work it was a mess. Going to spend some more time getting it back in shape. Glad what I got done.

 

[Terrys87]

I used some cheap masking tape to do some priming. It may sound scary, but 00 Steel Wool can make glass smooth. It won’t remove deep scratches but can clean up windows and back glass. Do not use on windshield.

This spot on the hood has been giving me fits trying to get it level. Some have gone right the first time the I get some that just do not want to cooperate with me. This is one of them.

Then there is the door. Let’s see how difficult I can be to fix. I think I got this one finally. I use more primer than most. This is my daily driver so I have to cover my work as body filler will absorb moisture. If it was sitting in shop all the time it would not be an issue.

I prefer the silver bezel. I found this in the boneyard. I think I have one or two wood grain if anybody wants to just swap straight across.

 

[Terrys87]

jballard81…. Here is my original dash. It is in bad shape. The one I have now is not perfect but far better. I use kitty hair fiberglass and sand it down. Then coat it with LMR interior paint. Made for foxbody Mustangs but still same color for trucks.
I have tried Marine Grade Vinyl. It does not stretch easily. I am going to look for some other material. The glue recommend on YouTube is not strong enough and by myself with clamps just are not enough strength to hold material. Later on I will get back on dash. With my new to me it will work for now. Eventually I will want this truck nearly flawless and a cracked dash will bug me.

 

[Terrys87]

This dent reminds me of the very first time I ever did bodywork. An old man hired me at very cheap wages for a part time job. It was on a 89 square body S10. Same side and spot only a lot harder hit. Nearly 20 years ago.

 

[RobbieD]

I think I have one or two wood grain if anybody wants to just swap straight across

Just a "heads up". Check if your spares have DIN or "3 hole" openings for the radio.

1985 through 1988 dash instrument bezels have the rectangular DIN openings.

1983 and 1984 dash instrument bezels have the "3 hole" openings for the old-school radios with knobs on either side of the face. There were less of these made, and a lot of them got hacked up back in the day when a DIN radio was installed.

The "3 hole" bezels are hard to find, and a good uncut one is usually pricey. If you happen to have one, don't cut it, and maybe even consider selling for what it is.

 

[Terrys87]

Thanks Robbie D. I did not on I w about the 3 hole bezel. I had an 83 in 1985 but so long ago I don’t remember what it looked like. I am curios now.

Any time I can get some parts no longer available I get if funds allow.

 

[Terrys87]

One small improvement. I did get my bad mirror replaced. I am really trying to get something accomplished on a daily basis. Even if small steps. Today I had bed off to troubleshoot Fuel Gauge and body filler on cab corners

Passenger side. I got filler over the fiberglass. Hoping in the next week to get truck completely in primer for a month or two to allow for shrinkage.

Second coating and same for other side.

 

[Terrys87]

While bed was off I tried to troubleshoot my guage. It always reads Full or Empty.

I moved the float to various positions and seemed correct. Now it seems to be halfway working now. Starting think I have a loose wire or connection at plug or within a foot of the plug.