· 2.3 Litre 4 Cylinder
· 3 Speed Automatic
· 3.43:1 7.5 inch Trac-Lok Rear Axle
Factory Options
· None
Modifications
· None
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Wilit: The Man, The Myth, His '83 Ford Ranger
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1983 Ford Ranger · 2.3 Litre 4 Cylinder · 3 Speed Automatic · 3.43:1 7.5 inch Trac-Lok Rear Axle Factory Options Modifications |
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The Ranger made its debut in 1983 in a bid to battle the flood of small Japanese pickups. Though Ford already had a compact truck, the Courier, all it was really was a re-badged Mazda. Engine options for 1983 included the 2.0 litre 4 cylinder, the 2.3 litre 4 cyclinder, or the 2.8 litre V6. Transmission options included either a 3 speed automatic, a 4 speed manual, or a 5 speed manual. Late in the 1983 model year, a 4x4 version was also offered. | ||
| After working at Wal-Mart night recieving full-time, and going to school during the day full-time, I realized I had no time. A friend of my dad's has an exotic car repair shop in San Francisco, and told me to go to Skyline college to get my AA in automotive repair. When I was done, he'd see what he could do about a job. Only problem was, Skyline college is in San Bruno, and I was living in Tracy at the time, almost a 65 mile distance. So I decided to quit school, quit Wal-Mart and take a "summer" job at All-Star Telecom. I would earn enough money to not have to work during the school year. Unfortunately, All-Star's office was in Hayward, 48 miles away from home, and the Mustang was definately not reliable enough to get me out there. So, my dad had purchased a retired work truck from his former employer, which was also a retired PG&E truck. The thing had about a half a million miles on it, but it still ran (barely). |
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| I would often "borrow" the truck when the Mustang was out of commission for some reason or another, or if I had to drive further than 20 miles. When he first brought it home, it still had the yellow beacon light on the roof. Also, if you looked at the doors at the right angle, you could still see the Price Technical which had been hastely painted over with white spray paint. This truck also taught me two valuable lessons. 1. 2wd vehicles do not good "muddin" trucks. 2. When you have no brakes at the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, you can infact drive safely home to Tracy using engine braking and the E-brake. When my parents decided to move to Arizona, I was left without a reliable car, so I agreed to trade my computer for the truck. I was still left without a reliable car. | |||
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