Ford offered Courier-badged Mazda B-Sequence/Proceed pickups from 1972 by 1982, however the want for a real Detroit-developed small pickup impressed Ford to design the Ranger (to not be confused with the Edsel Ranger or varied F-Sequence pickup trim packages of the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies) for the 1983 mannequin yr. The angular little first-generation Ranger offered very effectively throughout its 1983-1992 run, however the early examples have develop into very tough to seek out. This is a well-optioned ’85 with the uncommon V6/5-speed powertrain mixture, present in a Phoenix, Arizona self-service yard final winter.
The 1985 Ranger might be bought as a super-stripped-down Ranger S for simply $5,993 ($14,780 in 2020 {dollars}), however most consumers opted for the XL, XLS, or XLT possibility packages. The XL acquired you stuff like flooring mats and wheel moldings.
The bottom engine in ’85 was the 73-horsepower 2.0-liter “Pinto” four-cylinder, although the optionally available 80-horse 2.3-liter model of that engine was much more frequent. This truck has probably the most highly effective engine obtainable in a Ranger that yr: the two.8-liter Cologne V6 of Capri fame. Mustangs, Pintos, Aerostars and the Ranger-sibling Bronco IIs additionally acquired the Cologne 2.8 throughout the Seventies and Eighties. This one was rated at 115 horsepower when new. This being an Arizona truck, it has manufacturing unit air-con— uncommon for small vehicles of this period in areas missing 120°F summer time days.
The rear-wheel-drive Ranger with V6 and 5-speed ended up being respectably fast by mid-Eighties small-truck requirements, with a curb weight effectively beneath 3,000 kilos.
The five-digit odometer means we now have no approach of realizing this truck’s true last mileage, however the not-too-bad seat put on suggests it could be beneath 200,000 miles.
You may be on the street once more with the Ranger!
Parachute it off a tall cliff. The Ranger will not thoughts.
