’83 Ranger Lays Down Unbelievable Speed
Twin-Turbo ‘Rowdy Ranger’ Is a Real Beast at the Drag Strip, Clocking in Speeds that would Shame a Race Car Driver
Trucks don’t exactly make the best drag race vehicles. However, the laws of physics don’t apply here. When you throw enough power under the hood, anything will go fast. And this twin-turbo Ford Ranger, affectionately known as “Rowdy Ranger,” is one seriously fast little truck.
Owned by Eric Olsen of Freeport, Illinois, the 1983 Ford Ranger has laid down a best 1/4 mile time of 8.45 seconds at 162 mph. That’s incredibly fast for any kind of vehicle, let alone a compact pickup. It takes serious power to get that kind of time slip, and this Ranger has it in spades. And thankfully, it was all captured on video.
A 427 ci Windsor motor lies under the little hood, fitted with twin 72mm T72 turbos. The bored and stroked powerplant has a solid tappet cam and Trick Flow heads. An Aerosol blow thru carb sits on top, and power is routed through a two-speed Powerglide transmission.
Out back sits a nine-inch Ford rear end with 3.25 gears. And with a curb weight of 3,550 pounds, this Ranger isn’t really much of a lightweight. But none of that really matters when you produce the power this twin-turbo Ranger does.
Add that to the fact that this is a relatively low-budget build, and you’ve got one cool Ranger. Despite his loss to a much more expensive Nova in this video, there’s no shame in his game.
After all, the twin turbo Ranger is a mere half-second or less behind the Nova on every run. Furthermore, a bit of off-season tuning should narrow the gap a bit. And even if he can’t catch his Chevy driving buddy, Eric can rest assured that he has one of the baddest Rangers on the planet.
