I'm just dropping by to say what's up? and heres a little about me and Ole Betty, I am mechanically inclined and I have been very successful finding friends who are the best in what they do(Truck Mechanics, welders and people who own machine shops and junk yards) who have given me advise on this purchase and they have been helping me out with removing the bed and cab.
When I bought my first Ranger she was a 2wd back in 1987, I bought her new at the dealership.
After having a lot of fun with that one. I always said that as I got older(I am 43 now) I would buy another Ranger, but she had to be a 4wd and I would work her up from scratch.
When I found Ole Betty she had been abused by 5 previous owners, the 4th owner whom I met at another forum had told me she had a hard life and they thought nobody could ever bring her back from the dead. She was completely submerged in a River up to the roof but they managed to tow her out.
Well I care about older Trucks and I enjoy restoring them even if I have to dump a ton of money on her.
So I bought her from the last owner for $650, I removed the cab, bed and nose clip and decided to evaluate what I have. She was totally neglected and her frame was rusted out pretty bad, but not to the point where I couldn't fix her up. So this begins my newly found relationship with Ole Betty. I will post Photos of my project from time to time to show you some progress. Heres the first Photo of her before any work is done.
I have removed the bed to access the damage.
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