Project: Black Betty [Archive] - The Ranger Station Forums

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LittleBigFoot

11-03-2007, 01:53 PM

The real fun is in the works this winter season. Time to start my build thread. I'll start at the top.

In January of 07 I bought my Ranger. A black 2000 XLT stepside, bone stock.
http://exceptionalmotors.com/graphics/Inventory/484_000_5560.JPG

After finding a sweet deal on craigslist.com I threw on a set of ProComp 33x12.5r15s on some bent up rockcrawlers.
http://a442.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/84/l_d97b6dab60d9a05122a29948c46a8f99.jpg

Wheeled her a bit and decided she needed some more room. After reading up in the Tech Library I decided to go for the simple torsion bar crank.
http://a192.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/89/l_fbf3356d1e9db78b3f4f4914df86566f.jpg (Photo taken at St. Marrys Glacier, Idaho Springs Colorado)

Still felt a little short, so being a broke highschool kid I went with a 3" body lift.
http://a590.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/101/l_1771631598f81460efef605b40dfa44d.jpg (Photo taken at Red Cone, Georgetown CO)

With the removal of the front sway bars and taking the torsion bars to stock, I had decent flex but decent just isn't good enough!

I picked up a Dana 44 out of a 1985 Jeep Wagoneer. I decided to go with a different route then the leafs up front and I don't have the shop to fab, so I decided to go full width after seeing a buddies Exploder.

I wish I had a pic, but it's an 1993 Explorer Sport w/ a HP Dana44 and 9" from a 73-79 1/2 ton Ford 4x4. He's using the stock Bronco suspension with addition of some aftermarket coils. It's measured at 14" over stock and this thing is sound. But back to my build.

I decided to go the same route, and because leafs kill approach and I'd need to fab a shackle for the front big enough to keep the arch right with the leaves.

The Waggy 44 is still for sale by the way!

As soon as I finish this post, I'm on my way up too look at a 78 FS Bronco parts truck. $400 for everything but the engine and tranny. I'll update as the swap begins.

Adam

LittleBigFoot

11-03-2007, 04:00 PM

Today I checked out the Bronco and it'll be in my driveway by Friday. 6" lift and a good set of 35s on the stock wheels w/ spare.

Horray, now I have my street set!

More pics to come

http://images.craigslist.org/01010001020401160620071101d2139c2d9d30ac5baa002905 .jpg

danger88ranger

11-03-2007, 06:44 PM

Got any pictures of your friends explorer?? Sounds like a sweet rig

LittleBigFoot

11-04-2007, 02:11 PM

Next time I'm over there I'll snap a few. This thing is amazing. He could fit a todler between the top of his tires and the fender. A todler standing up...

351ranger

11-04-2007, 02:45 PM

Next time I'm over there I'll snap a few. This thing is amazing. He could fit a todler between the top of his tires and the fender. A todler standing up...

You don't want anything that high if you are actually wheeling the damn thing. You want it as low as possible with room enough for big tires. My b2 only has about a 4" lift and cut wheel wells to fit 36" tires, works perfect.

LittleBigFoot

11-04-2007, 10:14 PM

It's not as wobbely as one might think, i thought the 14" was a little much, i'm sticking around 6" and I'm debating pulling the body lift after the suspension lift.

Even now I feel a littly tipsy on the trails...

LittleBigFoot

11-28-2007, 09:41 PM

I towed the Bronco home and began the tear down. This was a bitch considering most of my tools were in storage at the time. Here's some shots of the beast.

http://a949.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/105/l_43a4477a8af1aa0e9eb74546d1b9a264.jpg

http://a878.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/71/l_e984274d404f1e25606fa3b502a4e0c5.jpg

http://a466.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/90/l_275368ba752c559cccb896a9366b7091.jpg

http://a656.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/13/l_8ec6ad0475187413f65720e5b071d72f.jpg

http://a764.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/82/l_329dfc962d286844527811b3ceb92953.jpg

http://a177.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/126/l_251b592d8aad07727ee467710e93c4b8.jpg

zainyD]

11-30-2007, 06:36 AM

I'm sure you already know this but make sure you get all the brackets and bolts that you'll need off the Bronco so you don't have to spend additional $$ on buying new stuff.

Also, you might check over at www.fullsizebronco.com to see if some of the folks over there might want some parts off that thing. It looks fairly straight and rust free.

PaleBlue90

11-30-2007, 11:35 PM

;47778']I'm sure you already know this but make sure you get all the brackets and bolts that you'll need off the Bronco so you don't have to spend additional $$ on buying new stuff.

Also, you might check over at www.fullsizebronco.com to see if some of the folks over there might want some parts off that thing. It looks fairly straight and rust free.

+1

NewCastleRob

12-02-2007, 07:39 PM

thats going to be a bad ass truck

PaleBlue90

12-02-2007, 08:40 PM

yea it will be, hopefully both Black Betty and my ranger (PaleBlue) will b done by the time the TRS 10th ann. comes around

Neurotoxin

12-10-2007, 02:38 PM

Looking good :icon_thumby:

Did you have and rubbing problems with the 12.5" wide 33's when you only had the torsion bars cranked?

predator

12-11-2007, 02:21 AM

thats a nice lookin bronco...*slaps himself* no jesse NO! no more fullsizers!!!! aaawwww......sorry:no2:

sorry bout that, trying to kick my 73-79 ford addiction.

man what a nice bronco....:buttkick::black_eye:oops

LittleBigFoot

12-13-2007, 11:39 PM

;47778']I'm sure you already know this but make sure you get all the brackets and bolts that you'll need off the Bronco so you don't have to spend additional $$ on buying new stuff.

A few of em are worth replacing. Broncograveyard.com is my new grocery store.

Also, you might check over at www.fullsizebronco.com to see if some of the folks over there might want some parts off that thing. It looks fairly straight and rust free.

I put the body, chasis, and tranny, on craigslist. Some kid and his dad are starting a bronco build and I figured, if i got a good deal, might as well pass it on. I know I'm a retard for doin this, but i support the cause. I'm givin him the chasis, body, tranny, and aftermarket exhaust for 200 bucks. What ever, I support the cause

thats going to be a bad ass truck
Why thank you!

yea it will be, hopefully both Black Betty and my ranger (PaleBlue) will b done by the time the TRS 10th ann. comes around
I'm aiming at March 22 to be finished. So get your shit together man!

Looking good :icon_thumby:

Did you have and rubbing problems with the 12.5" wide 33's when you only had the torsion bars cranked?
No problems with the 33x12.5s. The 15.5s rub like a lonely jr. high boy.

thats a nice lookin bronco...*slaps himself* no jesse NO! no more fullsizers!!!! aaawwww......sorry:no2:

sorry bout that, trying to kick my 73-79 ford addiction.

man what a nice bronco....:buttkick::black_eye:oops

There's nothing wrong with that. Once I'm swapped and locked I'm lookin at restoring an old F100. The 73-79s were the last years trucks were trucks and simply that.

UPDATE:
Things have slowed down, work is gettin in the way. I'll have a few weeks off over Christmas to pound this away. The hillbilly that installed the lift on the bronco used all sorts of random shit making it really hard to rip it apart with ease. I'm drowning in debt so the tear down is in process, but the swap is on hold. I also need a little town car. 8MPG sucks.

I'm thinkin: (objections will be valued)

A detroit for the rear
And an ARB for up front to power down in the city

I'm still lookin at coils, tryin to figure out what will flex like Arnold

Thanks for the support!

Adam

Ranger44

12-14-2007, 11:12 AM

Good Job!

Ranger44

12-14-2007, 11:13 AM

http://a590.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/101/l_1771631598f81460efef605b40dfa44d.jpg

I love this picture. Not big into the 98 up Rangers, but his is a cool looking rig.

LittleBigFoot

12-14-2007, 11:22 PM

I'm glad some one likes it!

I've got some sweet black on white lodged in a snow drift pictures that are pretty cool. I'll post em when I can

Thanks

LittleBigFoot

12-23-2007, 02:06 PM

I call today a success. A stranger who was working for parts and I pulled the front axle today. No one died. It was sweet.

Over the weekend I ordered coil springs, shocks, perches, shackles, and other goodies to finish the swap. Now I'm just waiting for a long weekend to swap everything in.

Here's some shots of the axles from today.

http://a73.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/l_1e91e42b6d319b26957e689faec22f20.jpg

http://a975.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/46/l_f1ce27a6b851c1ee309b5f1f2f20c97e.jpg

http://a233.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/71/l_143ee053873d9b645082acf5535561c0.jpg

http://a545.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/90/l_c5b073d5bf449bf10eef99d94637c650.jpg

I'm gettin close.

The funny thing is, when I first got into trucking, I asked for direction in a build. Some asshole suggested a SAS (I'm 17. I stated that). I had no clue. In the end, thats exactly what I'm doing.

Black'03LevelII

12-24-2007, 12:43 AM

Some asshole suggested a SAS (I'm 17. I stated that):taunt:

thats ok first time someone said that to me, I just looked at him and asked "What the F**K did you just call me?" :flipoff: :buttkick:
afetr the dude explained it to me I felt kind of stupid. :idiot:

HEY LBF did you get my PM?

LittleBigFoot

12-26-2007, 12:07 AM

Today I got my buckets and shock mounts and track bar mount out. It's been a pain in the ass but well worth it.

Tomorrow I'll pull the radius arm brackets and gas tank. It's smaller then the normal bronco tank for some reason. I'm thinking of cutting out my under bed spare carrier and using the bronco tank too. we'll see.

Tonight I got steering and brakes figured out too.

I can use my stock ranger pump and my bronco gear box from the donor truck. It needs a rebuild, but thats cheaper then a new one. I talked to a guy who has done the same swap, and he showed me the way to keep abs and run lines.

I'm gettin there.

Black'03LevelII

12-26-2007, 12:36 AM

I'm gettin there.

Slow and steady wins the race! :icon_cheers:

LittleBigFoot

12-26-2007, 12:42 AM

Slow and steady wins the race! :icon_cheers:

Heck yeah!

I'd have those measurements for you, but currently my truck is burried in snow.

Merry Xmas!

LittleBigFoot

01-25-2008, 06:03 PM

The grit work has taken a stand still. Too damn cold to work. I did how ever, get the oppertunity to get a new bumper. I modded a full size bumper to fit my ranger. No clue what it came off of, but it looks sick. I'm gonna try to wrap the ends back around the fender a little bit, but for now it's good for plowin down hookers

http://a451.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/126/l_08cc2cb17cdb71ca65802255c95b31ba.jpg

danger88ranger

01-25-2008, 07:48 PM

likin the bumper, and yea it would look better if it was bent around the fenders

mhughes165

01-25-2008, 10:42 PM

lookin good man, if u have any questions on what todo along the process feel free to pm me, ive done a handfull of those swaps(i work at a 4x4 shop), i would suggest savin some ponies for a set of moly axles for the 44 if u plan on havin it on a ARB, otherwise u will grenade shafts in a 44 locked with stock shafts, just a heads up, but its good that u understand the purpose of a lift kit, just to make room for bigger tires, a lift kit does nothing to make a truck better off road, its all about groudn clearance, if theres no clearance clarance then u aint gettin no where

LittleBigFoot

01-25-2008, 11:29 PM

Thanks guys. I have almost enough lift to be happy right now. It's just with this suspension it's stiffer then an old dude ODing on viagra.

I'm thinking I'll lock the rear frist. Mollys are in the future, I just want to get it swapped and driveable.

mhughes, how did you re-enfoce the frame up front? I'm now figuring out how to brace the frame for a solid axle. The IFS frame wasn't meant for that kind of abuse

mhughes165

01-25-2008, 11:48 PM

believe it or not u wont have todo much to ur front frame to make it stand up, if u really plan on whoopin on the rig the id suggest boxing the frame and making custom crossmembers up front vs the factory crossmember under the engine, but if its gonna be a d/d and weekend warrior u can get away without modifying the front of the frame, the ranger frame is plenty strong enough unless u swap a strong motor into the truck

LittleBigFoot

06-13-2008, 04:22 PM

Holy shit i forgot I had a build thread for black betty. I guess I'll update.

Since last time I posted I've done a shit ton of work to the girl.

I bent the an axle shaft in my 8.8" by being a f-tard. I decided it was time to beef up.

I swapped in a 31 spline 8.8" with disks, 3.73s (I'll change em out soon) and a trac loc.

I ditched the stock 2" blocks and went with 2" lift shackles. For shock mounts I took some 1.5" square tube, drilled a hole through, tacked a grade 8 bolt through it, curved the bottom and welded her up. Great shock mounts. I'm runnin into bump stop issues cause the stock blocks had bump stops incorperated, so I'm in the decision plan. I don't get it though, I mounted my shock in the exact same place it was stock, but now it looks like something is hitting it cause I bent the fawk out of my driver side one.

Eh, I'll figure it out.

Plans for the future are:

5.0l V8 from an exploder
Leaf sprung Waggy Dana44
F150 power steering box
Loose the body lift
About 6" of lift
4.56ers in the diffs

I have everything but the gears, leaf springs, and 5.0.

Thank god for friends who can afford welders who let me borrow them.

This will begin to take place as I get the Jeep rollin' and able to be DD'ed for a while. (That'll make for a hell of a time)

Also, me and oatmealman smoked the tail lights, they look ill. I pulled the doors today just for some summer cruisin.

I'll get some updated shots of the girl soon.

lil red

06-13-2008, 04:28 PM

yea it will be, hopefully both Black Betty and my ranger (PaleBlue) will b done by the time the TRS 10th ann. comes around

dont forget about little red
(much better than big red(no gay bowtie!!!!!))

oatmealman

06-13-2008, 06:05 PM

Hey asshole you forgot I'm rolling with you out to the 10th anniversary in my infiniti.

LittleBigFoot

07-08-2008, 11:37 PM

UPDATE:

So I went and blowed up the Dana35. It's not even a cool story. **** letting your friends drive a modded rig.

I was drivin my bud's 5.0 explorer and he was drivin my Ranger over to a bud's house. I don't know how the **** it happened but my truck ended up in 4 low on the road with 4.10s in front and 3.73s in the rear. I put her up on jacks and the tcase function's alright, but the 35 is makin weird noises and leaks a shit load.

Time to SAS!

84 Waggy Dana44 with spindle/nut kit and Warn hub conversion
Leaf springs
FSB Powersteering box

I'm going to pull the 3" bl and shoot for about 5" of lift over stock height.
I'm researching spring packs and shackle combos.
For the back I'm going to run the 2.5" blocks I pulled and the extended shackles, with maybe a bastard leaf or two.

Biggest tire I'll run is 35s again but that's when I can afford to regear. These 33's will look tiny but gas blows.

Hahnsb2

07-08-2008, 11:53 PM

That's why I don't lets friends drive my rig unless I'm in the passenger seat on a gravel road, even then I've only done it a couple times.. Cant wait to see your SAS.

LittleBigFoot

07-09-2008, 01:34 AM

PaleBlue90

07-18-2008, 12:47 AM

JohnnyU

07-18-2008, 06:16 AM

More idears:

I'm lookin at just pullin all the front suspension from a Blazer. Leafs, shackles, hangers, etc.

I'll pull/add leaves accordingly, run it SOA, and use extended shackles if I need to.

I'm pumped

A Chevy Blazer? Any Blazer with a solid front axle would be a passenger side drop, low pinion axle.

LittleBigFoot

07-20-2008, 12:43 AM

A Chevy Blazer? Any Blazer with a solid front axle would be a passenger side drop, low pinion axle.

Just the suspension components. Not the axle itself.

The shackles, hangers, and springs.

metalmacguyver

07-20-2008, 09:40 AM

Would ride kinda stiff wouldnt it?

LittleBigFoot

07-20-2008, 11:35 AM

I'm still keeping my front end options open. I think there was a guy on here who swapped a dana30 in using ranger rear leaf springs...

hmmmmm

86ford

07-21-2008, 08:01 PM

hey adam swap in a d30. i know a few people who have done it and it will be comparable in durability to the TTB d35 and parts will be a dime a dozen not to mention it will out flex your IFS! you will get good at swapping shafts if you run larger tires that 33s but they are cheap and plentiful. the only down side is you will not be able to unlock the front...

86

LittleBigFoot

07-27-2008, 07:37 PM

I have a D30 and a D44 at my disposal right now.

Both axles would need to be regeared. The downside to the D44 is it's six lug, but I've already located a two piece adapter for the rear.

The D44 is uses vac. hubs as well as the D30.

The D44 is already set up for leaves, the D30 needs a bunch of shit hacked off.

The D44 has a 2.73:1 ring gear ratio, so carrier brakes bring up new questions...

I'm goin with the 44 as far as I'm concerned.

Want the D30, Chuck?