Custom 2003 Ford Ranger Edge - Money Talks

Jordan Ray had good intentions. He knew he wanted a hammered pickup that would turn heads and make the ladies gravitate toward him. He even hung out in a few shops and soaked up all the information he thought was necessary to avoid the pitfalls that plagued some of the truck projects he'd seen before him. He decided a Ford Ranger was the way to go, and since FoMoCo had ditched the infamous I-beam front suspension after the '97 model-year that devoured the tires on lowered Rangers, it would be a cheap and easy buildup. After eyeballing the brochure for a spankin'-new '03 Ranger Edge, with its coilover-suspended frontend, he ordered his new mini and figured laying it flat on the tarmac would be no sweat.

Although, once the truck arrived at the dealership, his heart hit the floor, as he looked at the truck and realized that Ford had put the silky-smooth Edge body atop a factory 4x4 chassis. Sure, the front differential and transfer case weren't in the way, but the front of the chassis sure was. Undaunted, he ripped out the front suspension and 'bagged the truck anyway. It didn't lay out, but what the heck, it was a 'bagged mini so that was worth something, right? With a new lease on sport truck life, Jordan rolled the truck into the paint shop to add a roll pan and to color-match it to the truck. During it's tenure inside the shop, Jordan had an epiphany and realized that his truck could indeed be as low as the trucks of his peers. A few hours with a torch, Sawzall, and MIG welder was all it took to separate the front frame section from the rest and relocate it upward. A few gussets here and there, and with the front suspension now sitting 3-1/2 inches higher than it did from the factory, the truck laid hard and flat.

Jordan's truck hit the street with a vengeance, allegedly tearing up the asphalt and removing road reflectors, left and right. At least, that's what the cop told Jordan as he nailed him with a fat ticket for destruction of public property a few weeks later. You see, as Jordan was embarking on another draggin' mission near the local college, he actually dragged right through the bottom of the stock gas tank, rendering his truck immobile and vulnerable to the passing po-po. Fixing the gas tank and the ticket cost a substantial amount of cash, but not nearly as much as what his next unfortunate bout of bad luck would earn him.

Jordan kept working on the truck, shaving unnecessary items like the door handles and repainting the body panels. Finally, he took the plunge and repainted the entire body of his mini with a smooth red and black two-tone scheme. The new look earned his truck a spot in our sister publication, Mini Truckin' magazine, and also the attention of a heartless bastard who decided to attack his truck with a car key outside a local pub.

Enter paintjob number three, which was necessary to fix the damage. This time around, Jordan chose a silky-smooth black base and realistic flame job, using House of Kolor paints. To date, the truck has been repainted four times and racked up numerous tickets because of its tendency to remove road reflectors from the Texas highways. We asked Jordan if all the hassle, aggravation, and money was worth it, and he said, "I can't own a 'bagged truck and not drag it. I feel sorry for all those people who have to trailer theirs because they are missing out on all the fun."