I do not follow model changes religiously. But I went to a huge salvage yard today, where there were about 1/2 million Rangers of various generation. Interesting that most were stick.

My questions are:

Will a 1st gen Ranger , "Ford-stamped" tailgate (80's Rangers, not Ranger-edition F-series) fit into a ...2nd gen (96) truck?

Why did they change to a-arms? IDK which is better, but I-beams were always Ford, whilst A-arms were the "other guys". Now it's all just "other guys", including 2 companies that may be out-of-business by year's end.

What was the purpose of an F-100? I own a 79 F100 Ranger stepside, 4.9/300 six 2wd. I also had an 83 F100 full-size 4x4, 4.9/300.

But today I saw an 83 (last year of them) F-100, short bed, with the baby v-6 in it, from the factory. Why was this truck even made? That motor can barely push the Ranger, let alone a full-sizer.

Is the F100 supposed to be between a Ranger and an F150? If so, why was it available with so many different motors? I've seen some with very large v8's in them. It was quite possible to own an F100 with a larger motor than an F250, so what was the reasoning behind the numerical designation? Towing capacity?

And lastly...Has anyone ever put a straight six in a Ranger? I have a few, but I saw the smaller one (3.3?) in a Falcon today.


ANswering any one of these will be greatly appreciated. Thanx!

 

arents gen 2's from 89-92?

sorry i cant answer your questions

 

yes... you'll just have to change out the mounting hardware.

 

All i found for the f-100 was the F-100 Super Saber. It was designed to chase Soviet MIGs. Not much for towing capacity.

 

I can answer some of this... being an older Fseries fanatic.

The F100 was originally the F150. Ford introduced the F150 in if I recal '77, and kept the F100 around as an 1/8th ton truck (which is what a present day Ranger is). In 1983, Ford released the Ranger off the Courier platform, and because of its popularity dropped the F100 line. In the F100's later years, it really wasn't much to shake a fist at, more of a fleet truck if you will.

You say the smaller V-6, well the F100's never had a V6, rather the 300/I6, which is a hell of a motor. Doesn't boast a HP rating like the V8's did, but good lord was that motor a torque monster, and a well built motor at that... you can't kill em!

 

Here's some 6 cyl info...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Straight-6_engine

 

Ok guys
I believed the same thing as you've stated, that v6's were not offered. Both of my F100s had straight 300/6's. I am well aware of the power the 300 possesses. I also have one in my E150. But the F100 I saw this weekend actually had a small v-6.
If visual confirmation was not enough, (since it is impossible to mistake a straight for a v) on the radiator support grill, it also designated it as a v-6. Which means it came like that from the factory.
Anyway, speaking of the 300/6, has anyone heard of stuffing one into a Ranger?

 

the V6 was a 3.8L v6 designed for fuel economy and offered from 82-83.

the F-100 was initally ford only half ton offering until 1974 when the F-150 was introducted. after 78 it was 2wd only. the F100 remained as a light duty half ton. several differences came about on the early 80s F-100s like manual brakes/steering when power was being made standard. also, some came equipped with the same bolt patterns the rangers had. other minor differences also appeared but it seemed Ford wanted to make the F100 its fuel economy truck. the 3.8L v6 was the same being offered on the fox body t-bird/cougars, and wasnt a very good engine. usually it was mated to an overdrive transmission with high gearing (2.47 or 2.73).

the inline six in a falcon was probably a 200 or 250ci. the largest engine offered in a F-150 was indeed a 460, but that are very rare and that was for a short time in the mid to late 70s. generally the largest engine offered in a half ton was 400, and on the F-100 a 351 before the F-150 debuted. not to say an F100 didnt come off the line with anything larger after, but ford generally saved the bigger brutes for the F-150. in the 80s u couldnt get anything larger than a 351 in a F150 (except for the 80-81 which was offered with a 400 but rare).

i have a pretty good knowledge of F-series, ask soundmaster as he is a member of my forum.

a 300 can be put into a ranger as a few memebers on fordsix forums (they are having forum issues right now) have done it but it requires firewall modifications due to its lenght.

 

Gen 2 rangers are 89-92 gen 3 is 93-97. The tailgate might fit but it will like ****e.

 

Thank you Optikal for clearing up so much of that.
As I suspected, the small v-6 was a waste of time.

I don't remember which, cuz my computer keeps freezing, but one member had mentioned that the Rangers and F100's were "1/8 ton trucks."
The only 1/8 ton (250 lb payload) truck I can think of, is a motorcycle with a flatbed side-car attached. I'm pretty sure Rangers carry more than that.

Yes, my F100s were very lacking in creature comforts, no powered anything. Stopping was a lot of fun and luck. My 78 came with the 4sp OD, with a 1st gear that was more like 2 1/2. After "teaching" someone to drive stick on it, I put the "dump truck " tranny with granny 1st in there. Awesome.
I've amassed a collection of these motors, and I can't wait to find the perfect 2wd Ranger to stick one into.

I have no problem with cut and paste. Lotsa metal experience.

Thanks for all who corrected me on my "2nd gen" error. What I really meant was old-type vs Jap type.

Like I said, I don't follow every model and year, so for me there are only 3 kinds. The square ones, the new jap-look ones, and the newer jap-look ones.
I was never crazy about the look, but my "new" '96 2.3 blows away my Square 83.

 

no problem, its what i do :-D