OWNER: Richard Thompson
RIDE: '92 Ford Ranger
LOCATION: Jacksonville, Florida
CLUB: Acrophobia
If Mr. Clean was a minitrucker, what would he drive? In our opinion, it would probably look a lot like Richard Thompson's '92 Ford Ranger. Why? Because it's clean, easy to look at, and spotless. Minitruckin', as a hobby and lifestyle, has changed a lot over the years, but one thing is certain. No matter what style is popular today or what was popular the last few years, the simple and clean trucks will always be priceless and in demand.
Richard is 38 years old, and he's one of those guys who likes a sleek truck. To Richard, the best minitrucks are those square and clean ones. So, when he decided to build a mini of his own, he looked no further than his dad's backyard. His dad was the proud owner of a '92 Ford Ranger, so Richard decided that he would keep that truck in the family but tweak it a bit to make it more his own. At first, he rolled the truck around static-dropped, but like most minitruckers he soon realized that stock just doesn't cut it.
He started by 'bagging the truck, which is more complicated than most realize. Richard now says he should have put a Mustang II front clip and body-dropped to save him time. When he 'bagged the truck, he picked up some lowered Belltech I-beams. "The lowered I-beams are awesome, but I had to cut and modify them twice to work," Richard said. "What a nightmare." When he got to the back, it was another mission for him. So this time, he called up his buddy Jason at Suicidedoors.com and got some much-needed help. "I got my parallel four-link setup from Jason," Richard said. "It was the first one he had ever made. When it came time to pay, I asked how much and he replied to just send him some Pop-Tarts. I know it's weird, but it's true. I think I sent him three or four boxes of them." Now, before you try buying some parts with tasty pastries, remember this was a long time ago when dinosaurs still roamed the land.
In the end, it was all worth it, even the nightmare front end. "I'll never sell this truck because its so highly modified with the frame cut and notched," Richard said. "If anything, maybe I'll do a motor swap-something clean, something mild." Whatever it is, we at Mini Truckin' can't wait to see what he comes up with next.