Available in many direct-fit sizes and designed to be used with stock or high-performance alternators, the XV line is a great choice to drop weight and add power to any street, strip, or race car. Starting at $449.99, the XS Power XV lithium batteries are also an exceptional value.

XS Power is a manufacturer and distributor of high-performance batteries, chargers, capacitors, cable, and accessories. They offer AGM lead acid, lithium, and custom-made power solutions, as well as a complementary line of accessories to the automotive, powersports, marine, and commercial markets worldwide.

sing a classic pickup for transportation on a regular basis has its ups and downs. On the plus side is the satisfaction that comes from driving something that is personalized and therefore unique. On the minus side is often the lack of convenience items we’ve all become accustomed to.

While our ’73 Ford Ranger XLT pickup was considered to be well equipped in its day, the option list wasn’t very long. About all the interior featured was some extra trim, fake wood inlays, and air conditioning. Over the years we’ve made a number of updates to make the truck more user friendly—we’ve updated instruments, replaced the original A/C with a Vintage Air system, installed electric door locks, and even added a killer stereo. The only other enhancement we were missing was power windows.

Power windows were not available on the sixth generation of Ford’s F-Series trucks (’73-79), so when the driver side window regulator of our beloved Blue Oval pickup cranked up the glass for the last time we had a choice to make. Replace the worn-out manual regulators or install a retrofit power system, which is what we elected to do.

he old adage “you get what you pay for” rings true for just about every aspect of building an old truck. Whether it comes to parts, supplies, or labor costs, a “cheap” job usually doesn’t produce the best possible outcome. But, in the case of our rough and ragged K5 Blazer, we wanted to freshen up its appearance without spending much money. We know the truck will get used and abused, but the idea is to give it a much cleaner appearance. With so many options for paint, we opted for the most affordable, which is Rust-Oleum oil-based enamel. This is not standard automotive paint, so it can be found on the shelf of your local hardware store or it can be sourced online.

If we wanted to upgrade our materials to something nicer, Summit Racing has several great choices for affordable flat black paint, but the idea in this article is to show you how we took a rough K5 and made it a little more presentable for about $100 all together. That includes the cost of the paint, acetone (thinner), masking tape, masking paper, sand paper, and even the spray gun! We’ve had great luck out of the purple HVLP Gravity Feed guns from Harbor Freight—they’re usually priced at less than $20 and they are an excellent value.