While some of the add-on parts on today’s Nice Price or No Dice Ranger are aftermarket, the rocker and bumper extensions are part of the factory GT package. Let’s see if this rare truck’s price means it’s raring to go.
When spending five figures or more on a vehicle, you don’t want to have to pause and think about it for a minute when someone asks you what you drive. That was one of the problems with the 2006 Lexus GX 470 we looked at yesterday. Anonymous and unlikely to set hearts racing, it didn’t make many friends among us. At $16,000, it wasn’t memorably priced either, as evidenced by the 66 percent No Dice drubbing it received in the voting.
In case you haven’t noticed, older Ford Rangers, and mini trucks in general, seem to be having a moment right now. This appeal hasn’t been lost on the fine folks at FoMoCo, who just a couple of years ago reentered the mini truck market with the Escape-based Maverick, a smaller, cheaper option to the now mid-sized Ranger. Evidencing the size’s appeal, the smaller truck presently outsells its bigger brother two to one.
That’s all well and good, but we’re here to look at an older and, arguably, bolder truck: a 1988 Ranger GT. It rocks a rare factory package and sports some aftermarket pieces to elevate its uniqueness over even those official parts.
Let’s start with the GT bits. Ford offered the Ranger with this add-on package for the 1987 through 1989 model years. Putting the Grand in the GT’s Touring is a fuel-injected 2.9-liter edition of the Cologne V6, making 140 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque. That could be mated to a standard five-speed manual or, optionally, an A4LD four-speed automatic. Regardless of the gearbox, all GTs were fitted with a Traction-Lok rear diff with 3.73 gearing. Other changes included fatter anti-sway bars front and rear and 14-inch aluminum wheels. Beginning with the 1988 model year, the GT also received a ground effects body kit that caps each end and runs down the bottom of the cab and bed.
This truck has all that, plus an aftermarket grille, eliminated side markers and turn signals, hood appliqués, and side vents that look like they came from a late-’70s Pontiac Trans Am. According to the ad, the white paint covering most of the truck is a respray and isn’t in the best of shape. It’s at least in the original color, as evidenced by the door jambs and bed. Other things to note on the outside include the apparent absence of the original Marchal fog lights in the front bumper and the odd placement of the radio antenna on one side of the bed wall.
There seems to be no weirdness in the cabin, although being an automatic means this truck features a split bench and column shift rather than the standard manual’s buckets and a console. It does have power windows and locks, cruise control, and old-school Air-Con, so it’s pretty posh in there. It also looks to be in remarkably good shape for its age and era.
Per the ad, the truck “runs and drives excellent,” has a rebuilt transmission, and rolls on new tires. It’s a three-owner rig, and while the odometer reads 33K, the seller says it has rolled over, so add a one in there. The title is clean, and the truck wears Virginia antique plates.
With just under 3,000 built, the Ranger GT is an appreciably rare classic mini truck. This one has had some mods that are now long in the tooth, but the basics are there, and it shouldn’t be too much of a chore to remove those and make it right again. Or, a new owner could leave it as-is and just enjoy the added weirdness. The truck seems a solid enough base either way. The only question then, is whether or not it’s worth the $6,000 asked for it to turn those hypotheticals into reality.
What do you say? Is this custom Ranger GT worth that $6,000 as it sits? Or is that too much for this over-the-top truck?
You decide!
Washington DC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Paul Warner for the hookup!
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