-irwin-
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2011
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- maryland
- Vehicle Year
- 1990
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.9L
- Transmission
- Manual
so i have a 90 ranger 2.9L Ext cab 4x4 that has been in the family since new, it was the first vehicle i learned how to drive and was my dads favorite vehicle. when he passed i kept the truck. i drove it and kept it up for a couple years then the trans went... it sat for a couple years after i got laid off, now im back on my feet and ready to get this thing back to its glory and build something i will use enjoy and my father would appreciate.
i'm sure many are familiar with expeditionary vehicles, but the key is long distance trail vehicle... not a crawler, thats super reliable and you can basically live out of. that said no sas here!
on to the general ideas i have
engine:
so i want to keep the 2.9 probably bore it 30 over although it ran great when parked it has 168k miles on it.
i plan to do the camcraft head then have the intake manifold matched to it
thinkin of going up 2lbs on the injectors to ensure i have plenty of fuel for the free breathing
full ac delete (its broke anyways)
87 2.9 throttle body
exhuast:
jba headers
magnaflow cat
2.5" piping
flow master 50 series single exit
transmission:
which tranny is toughest? got 168K out of my original but im up for suggestions!
10 inch clutch conversion
want to swap to a manual transfer case (buttons on something that essential scare me)
swap to the one piece drive shaft
body:
use fiber glass front and rear flares to reduce weight... get rid of bad rust... and give me more room for larger tires
im going to use a steel cap off of a work truck with the dual rear doors and tool boxes on the side.
3 inch body lift
removable doors
will make bumpers and skid plates
brakes and wheels:
wheels will be 15x10 steel wagons with 3.75" backspacing, beadlocks arent legal for street use in many places around here (doubt i would be pulled over but i aint got the money for that currently anyways maybe if i hit the lotto)
looking to run 35x12.50 tires a decent allterrain like the terra grappler which i have had great luck with on other trucks
i am thinking of swapping in i think its 95 steering knuckles and brakes so i can get the dual piston calipers
slotted or dimpled high quality rotors
good semi metalic pads
suspension:
i dont want to do much of a suspension lift because like i said its not a crawler and i need it reliable probably 2" coils in the front 2" shackles in the rear with a helper spring...
axles:
im going to keep the dana 35 regear it to 4.10 maybe 4.56 but i want to keep my fuel mileage decently ok... 20 mpg or so
the rear is... if i remember correctly a 7.5 so an 8.8 with lsd and discs out of an explorer would be great... (can i use explorer leafs and not have to reweld the perches? that reweld to me will never be as strong as stock)
i currently have warn hubs and will probably install new ones to replace them
plan to truss the rear
cooling:
b cool rad
electric fans maybe stay with the standard for reliability... never had any experience with installing after market fans
low temp thermostat
basically everything im talking about is almost bolt on, just have to locate the stuff rebuild it and pop it on.
this is not going to be a high dollar build but a thorough one, the truck wont be pretty but it will be use full
i will say that most of everything ive decided on has been from lurking here reading as much as possible over the past like 6 months lol
so im starting with a thank you!
any info suggestions issues you see with this please feel free to let me know! also if there are any other builds similar to mine if i can be pointed that direction that would be awesome
planning on picking up the trans this week so info on that needed stat!
i'm sure many are familiar with expeditionary vehicles, but the key is long distance trail vehicle... not a crawler, thats super reliable and you can basically live out of. that said no sas here!
on to the general ideas i have
engine:
so i want to keep the 2.9 probably bore it 30 over although it ran great when parked it has 168k miles on it.
i plan to do the camcraft head then have the intake manifold matched to it
thinkin of going up 2lbs on the injectors to ensure i have plenty of fuel for the free breathing
full ac delete (its broke anyways)
87 2.9 throttle body
exhuast:
jba headers
magnaflow cat
2.5" piping
flow master 50 series single exit
transmission:
which tranny is toughest? got 168K out of my original but im up for suggestions!
10 inch clutch conversion
want to swap to a manual transfer case (buttons on something that essential scare me)
swap to the one piece drive shaft
body:
use fiber glass front and rear flares to reduce weight... get rid of bad rust... and give me more room for larger tires
im going to use a steel cap off of a work truck with the dual rear doors and tool boxes on the side.
3 inch body lift
removable doors
will make bumpers and skid plates
brakes and wheels:
wheels will be 15x10 steel wagons with 3.75" backspacing, beadlocks arent legal for street use in many places around here (doubt i would be pulled over but i aint got the money for that currently anyways maybe if i hit the lotto)
looking to run 35x12.50 tires a decent allterrain like the terra grappler which i have had great luck with on other trucks
i am thinking of swapping in i think its 95 steering knuckles and brakes so i can get the dual piston calipers
slotted or dimpled high quality rotors
good semi metalic pads
suspension:
i dont want to do much of a suspension lift because like i said its not a crawler and i need it reliable probably 2" coils in the front 2" shackles in the rear with a helper spring...
axles:
im going to keep the dana 35 regear it to 4.10 maybe 4.56 but i want to keep my fuel mileage decently ok... 20 mpg or so
the rear is... if i remember correctly a 7.5 so an 8.8 with lsd and discs out of an explorer would be great... (can i use explorer leafs and not have to reweld the perches? that reweld to me will never be as strong as stock)
i currently have warn hubs and will probably install new ones to replace them
plan to truss the rear
cooling:
b cool rad
electric fans maybe stay with the standard for reliability... never had any experience with installing after market fans
low temp thermostat
basically everything im talking about is almost bolt on, just have to locate the stuff rebuild it and pop it on.
this is not going to be a high dollar build but a thorough one, the truck wont be pretty but it will be use full
i will say that most of everything ive decided on has been from lurking here reading as much as possible over the past like 6 months lol
so im starting with a thank you!
any info suggestions issues you see with this please feel free to let me know! also if there are any other builds similar to mine if i can be pointed that direction that would be awesome
planning on picking up the trans this week so info on that needed stat!