My '87 Ford Ranger 4x2

Name: Matthew Tait
Age: 21
Clubs I belong to: Rough Rangers Off Road Club & BC4X4.com
Home Location: Abbotsford BC Canada
Professional Job: O.T.R. driver for Mercury Express LTD of Surrey, BC.

"THE BEAST" is a Dark Brown 1987 Ford Ranger 4x2 single cab long box. Life is breathed to the drivetrain via a rebuilt 2.9L V6 with a K&N filter and 2¼" mufflerless exhaust; gearing is provided by a Mazda/Toyo Koygo 5 spd tranny , and rolls on 30x9.50R15 Cooper Discoverer AT tires and a soon to be Ford 7.5" 3.73 limited slip rearend. It's lifted with a 2.5" spring spacer kit in the front and 3" lifted half ton suspension in the back, for now. He's cooled by a HD aluminum radiator from a 2.3L turbo.


The interior sports a set of black vinyl bucket seats from a Bronco II; full gauges including water temp, oil pressure, ammeter, fuel level, volt meter and tach. For sound, I have a 40w x 4 Pioneer CD deck with 3 way 5¼" Koss speakers in the dash, 5¼" Kenwood mids with seperate tweeters in the doors, and 2 300w 8" Clarion subs driven by a 300w Jensen amp. For a CB radio, I currently have a Radio Shack 2½ watt handheld radio hooked up to an 18' cord and 8½' whip fiberglass antenna or a 3' Firestik Firefly for the bush. As soon as I finally buy a Cobra 25NWSTLTD Nightwatch CB radio (and tweek it) for my big truck and get the Firestik 5' 5/8 wave antennas, I'm putting my 4½w tuned Radio Shack model TRC-483 radio back in, including the amplified mic, dual 9' cords and mounts with the Firestik© Firefly 3' fiber whips, Paradynamics 10w external speaker and 30w PA all-weather speaker that are currently in my big-shack International.


I have done extensive mods on my truck, most too minor to mention, but I will mention some of the major ones:
-3.0L Aerostar intake hose attached to intake plenum, 3" cone K&N filter on other end. Filter sits in rear passenger side engine compartment with splash guard.
-HD Aluminum radiator from a 2.3L turbo w/ a Stant "Super-stat" 180° thermostat.
-4" diameter hole in hood with rear-facing hood scoop directly over filter.
-Dual batteries; the one under the hood is an Eveready 950 CCA Industrial, and the secondary battery is an Energizer 800 CCA battery in the box.
-Completely stripped interior, only essentials left (sterio, subs, CB, interior light, center consol box and seats).
-Installed volt meter and 8000 rpm tach.
-"Sportsman" fiberglass canopy, with light.
-Hood painted flat black, with 18" Maple Leaf painted on. Light under hood.
-Fully box-sectioned radius arm crossmember with skid bar.
-2 x 33w backup light on rear bumper, 4 x 55 watt driving lights up front. -Soon to get a Cobra 300 w power inverter which is in my big-shack International now.


I am actively involved with 3 off-highway driving clubs: Rough Rangers Off Road Club, BC4X4.com and the 4 Wheel Drive Association of British Columbia.


The Rough Rangers is the club I am the most active with by far. I spend a lot of time on their message board, as well as hanging out just shooting the breeze or tinkering with with friends' trucks from various boards and clubs North America wide. One thing about my job taking my abroad, I meet a lot of new 'wheelers from all sorts of places.


If I can't be found around my house working on my truck, I can usually be found wandering around the backwoods in my local area wandering endlessly looking for new areas to explore, or the west coast of the united States and Canada running freight like mad to and from places you'd be veeeeeery surprised a truck could fit into. I guess it keeps me sharp for trail driving ;).

BC4X4.com, BC's Largest 4WD and Off Road site, this site kicks some serious dirt!

Canadian 4wd Magazine, Canada's Primier Off
Road Magazine, It's a wonderful change to see
some of Our Rigs being featured on Our Land!!!

Last but for sure not least, the CA-W regional board for
the Rough Rangers Off Road Club. Other members truck,
stupid tricks, and more! This page is loaded.

Any questions, e-mail me @ my87ranger@hotmail.com