I ended up doing some upgrades to my 2003 Ranger XLT. I didn't like the stock seats that were in it and wanted to upgrade the stereo.

The stereo is a Pumpkin Android 10. It does everything I want it to and it has the ability to have a backup camera hooked up to it. I have the camera just need to finish running the wires.


The door panels had this padded fabric. The fabric was black and just didn't look good. I ended up recovering them in this tan leather. I did it on both doors. While I had the doors apart, I ended up adding some sound deadening insulation to the inside of the door and replaced the stock speakers with some Rockford Fosgate speakers.


I installed different seats. I went with bucket seats. These came out of a 1997 Ford Thunderbird. I didn't want power and since these are manual they work perfectly. They are much more comfortable than the stock seats. I had to have a friend do some welding to get the track to line up. Since I went from a 60/40 seat to bucket seats, I wanted a center console. This console came out of a 2003 Ford Explorer Sport. It was originally gray, so I ended up painting it black. I also recovered the lid with the same material for the doors.


The back seat area is pretty open now. I removed the jumper seats. Since I won't be carrying anybody back there and since the seats are removed, the vents on the console are just for show. They aren't hooked up. In fact I removed the whole ductwork from the inside of the console.


The steering wheel I also did some work to. The steering wheel center/airbag is also from a 1997 Ford Thunderbird. It plugged right in, with no issues. I also added some steering wheel controls to control the stereo. They are basically wireless. The controls themselves have no wires, they just bolt onto the wheel. It sends a signal to a little box, that is wired into the back of the stereo. The wheel cover is covering the straps for the controls.


Lastly, the reason I had the door panels off in the first place, was because the passenger door handle broke. I ended up replacing both sides with new metal ones.

 

@Countryford83
Good looking truck! The SteeringWheel looks great & BucketSeats really cushy.
Making me think about improvements for my own 2001 ExST with simular interior.
without straying too far from original; basicly keep it clean+maintained & clear of clutter with practical improvements.
I've reCovered\reCushioned the stock bucket seats & that same center console as yours.
My front doors need more insulation, new rubber seals, & scratch touch ups.
Recently added 2 CargoStorageNets(left+right) on the BackWall under BackWindow & more tool storage Under+Behind folding BackSeat.

 

That looks very nice! It's a nice way to breathe new life into a tired, old interior!

 

I've often wondered why they had those jumper seats at all. I guess so they could say in their sales brochures that there were two seats back there. Good job on your upgrades!

 

Yeah pretty much! Ford wanted to be able to advertise the truck as "seating 4 passengers". I've had 2 Super cabs and actually fit people in both of mine. They may not have been happy about it but not my problem 😉. I was driving so I was very comfortable.

 

In 1989 my dad bought a slightly used Ranger extended cab with the jumper seats in it. I was 6 at the time and my sister was 8. I remember the two of us riding around in them. Later on, my dad ended up getting a 2001 Chevy S-10 extended cab. It had the 3rd door and the side that wasn't the door had a single jumper seat. The side with the door, didn't. By that time I was 18 and I rode around back there a few times. By that time it was actually more comfortable to just fold the seat up and just sit on the floor.

I would say that the jumper seats were good idea for young/small kids.