Nomad's 2000 Ford Ranger Project

 I had to ditch the useless 60/40 seats that came stock in the '00 Ranger. The armrests always break, and when folded up are still in the way. Going with individual seats makes more sense for this little truck and being a 5 speed means the center spot is needed for shifting.  Enter the 2000+ Ford Explorer center console. Many have done this swap. The hardest part about it is the console is in about 10 pieces and is help together with a bunch of tiny screws and bolts. Removing one takes a good bit of time.  Benefits: Armrest with more room for storage needed in the small regular cab. Cup holders, at least one should work around the shifter, place for phone etc.  The front of the console bolts right up to the factory dash with existing holes. as the Explorers used the same exact dash and same floor structures. Once I install new carpet I'll sink self tapping screws through the tunnel for the frame.  As I remove the carpet I'll be prepping the floors and all holes ...

1 '98 Explorer seats on '00 Ranger rails   Typical Ranger interior wear The driver seat was in typical Ranger condition, shredded, dirty and uncomfortable. The back foam was beat down and the cloth was failed. The 60/40 seat setup was not ideal and I want to bring the interior back to comfortable and clean. I also wanted to do it for the least amount of money. I considered cheap covers and hacking the stock driver seat into a single bucket, or using a passenger seat to re-skin a converted driver but that would still be nearly the cost of whole seats. I looked at a bunch of other options for seats while in the junkyard that I could custom fit (Mazda 3 sport, Subaru WRX, Ford Focus) but when I came across these seats in a '98 Ford Explorer Sport 2 door I decided to try this route. These will look factory and clean and the foam is firm and dare I say basically new looking in most regards, especially from a '98. Looks like I'll still be doing some custom work to the Ran...

 Welcome to a simple blog detailing my 2000 Ford Ranger, 5 speed, 4 cylinder build. Free to me from family,  but as we all know, nothing is ever really free. If I were to try and run it as is just because it starts up, it'd be dead in short order. I want to bring it back correctly. If I spent $4000 on a used Ranger near me I'd still be looking at replacing brakes, suspension components, doing all maintenance items and fixing random interior items as these trucks are notoriously beat on. It's so hard to find owners who keep up let alone keep track of the maintenance they do. So "free" still means hundreds of dollars in parts a lots of work still. Let's see how solid we can make it.  It does "run and drive", in fact, it made it from Las Vegas to SoCal in 2022. I'll detail what it takes to make this truck not just move but, hopefully, make it a solid, reliable, comfortable truck that I feel confident giving to my 16 yr old daughter to get her throug...