Ugly, But Cheap My 87 Ford Ranger

I bought a 1987 Ford Ranger a couple of months ago for $400 from a friend who bought it new. He beat the hell out of it, but took care of the engine. I had to give it a tune-up, but now it starts right up and runs smoothly.

It appears that it has

Here are the basic specs:
2.3 L engine 4 cylinder
7 ft bed
Regular cab
2 wheel drive
198,000 miles (yes it has 198,000 miles)

Junk Trucks have Advantages
Costs less to buy
Less to insure
In Iowa - much less to license each year
Throw in gravel, scratch it, dent it overload it - I don't care

It's rusty and dented but runs good
My six-year old son was helping me load it with the cabinets I tore out of our kitchen and he some how threw a piece of wood hard enough to break the back sliding window. As a consequence, I told him that he needs to go with me to the junk yard and look for a replacement window after he helps me unload the material at the dump.

I think every kid needs to see a junk yard and a dump. At the dump, a kid learns about the amount of garbage that we produce and gets to see the wastefulnesses first hand. The first time my son saw the dump he had a lot of great questions and observations. He knows that our garbage doesn't just magically disappear.

This will probably be his first memorable trip to an auto junk yard that he will remember. I write later about how it went.

Our shoping list includes:
4 Tires (205/75/R15) I am looking forward to seeing if he can find those
Side mirror
Sliding rear window panel
(Maybe a bed liner to dress up the truck some)