adsm08's Ranger build up

[adsm08]

I have never seen it first hand, but I have heard on one township up north that has had to replace beds on several of their trucks due to it.This makes me think it is all about surface prep and proper environment, like applying it in a paint booth, rather than in your driveway.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The rust under the powdercoat/bedliners?

I was going to have it done by someone when they do the bed and bedrails. Might even get it colored too, dunno yet.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, I as talking about the inside out rust.

 

[adsm08]

I spent a good chunk of yesterday sanding the bed box and prepping it for paint. There were a few spots on the inside of the rails where rust is bad. I hit it with Naval Jelly Sunday night and most of it was shiny metal yesterday. It all got the rust converter anyway. I keep forgetting to get pictures of the bed sanded down.

I'll paint the inside of the bed Thursday. Probably just going to do the bed floor and sides, and then flip it back onto the saw horses and do the insie head gate at the same time as the bedsides.

I think a set of these are going on when this is all done:

 

[Shoddy Cologne]

Rad. I always thought of putting the STX grill and stickers on my B2 like a nerdy "what if?". But people usually swap the explorer grill in anyway and its the same thing lol

Sent from the wrong side of town using Tapatalk

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, I have always love the FX4L2 trucks, both visually and functionally, and I have done almost everything I can to get my truck to L2 spec.

The defining features of the FX4 Level 2, as I can remember them, are as follows:

4.0 SOHC, manual t-case (available but not standard), the special seats, the special shifters, the 31-spline 8.8 with Torsen unit, 4.10 gears, 31" tires, and the Alcoa rims (optional).

I have a 4.0 OHV, and I have a SOHC waiting to be repaired and put in. That is so happening. I have always had a manual t-case. If I could find a set of those seats with red on black I'd jump on them, same with the Alcoa rims. I have an Explorer 8.8 that I installed a Torsen unit in. The chrome shifters won't fit my stuff, but if I found a set I would look very hard into making them work. As it is I will probably get a Hurst shifter for the trans one of these days. The only thing left is the 4.10 gears which I don't want. I have 3.73s and I am quite happy with them.

I think the only change I might make to gearing is to swap transmissions between my Ranger and my BII because the BII has the 29" tires still and a 2.9 M5OD in it with the lower 1,2,3 gears. That BII just has too much zip, I can't keep the speed under control.

Given all that she is about as close to an L2 truck as she will ever be, so I think she needs the decals.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would love to get the shifters but like you they don't fit...

The Alcoa wheels are sharp too, I don't think I have ever seen a set for sale though.

 

[Shoddy Cologne]

I would love to get the shifters but like you they don't fit...

The Alcoa wheels are sharp too, I don't think I have ever seen a set for sale though.

Heres an idea. Buy a ranger with alcoas swap em out and resell the truck .

Haha

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[adsm08]

They come up for sale every so often. The problem is most times they are peeled and corroded and have chunks out of the bead lips, and one is bent, another one is mismatched color-wise, and the guy still wants upwards of $300 just because he has a set of 4.

 

[hoosier1104]

Say thank you and that you love me adsm08.

http://www.stockwheels.com/p-39960-ford-ranger-2003-2004-2005-2006-2007-03964c-charcoal-with-machined-lip-aluminum-alloy-15x7-5-45-8-hole-wheel-rim.aspx

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Heres an idea. Buy a ranger with alcoas swap em out and resell the truck .

Haha

They are sharp but that is too much work to get a set of wheels I don't really need.

 

[adsm08]

Picture time!

Sanded:


Test spray:


All sprayed:


The head gate got sprayed pretty well, but its mostly over-spray. I am waiting to do it properly until the bed is laid down again to do the sides.



I am pretty proud of this spray job. It is again orange peeled pretty bad, which I am starting to think is unavoidable the paint I am using. But I did all that, spraying almost constantly for an hour, and these two spots are the only runs. I will get a few more pictures on Sunday or Monday. The orange peel on the first round improved after a few days of drying.

The top (front) of the passenger wheel well, done after I bumped the paint while it was still wet and tried to touch it up.



This one is all the way at the bottom (rear) of the bed. I think this one happened trying to hit the rear of those ridges in the bed.


Sanding and painting a bed is a PITA. I ended up laying about 7 or 8 extremely light coats. Almost 20 ounces sprayed today. The kind of coat you would put down if you had laid red but wanted it darker, so you just spot-coat some black over it. I wanted the paint in the bed thick because it's the bed. I'm still putting a drop-in liner back in, but in my mine that's all the more reason for a thick coat of paint.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My bedliner works enough that it keeps the box polished to bare metal, no rust. Not sure if that is really good or bad but I am going with the no rust = good theory for now.

Looks good, you are having better results than I expected with that brand of paint. Around here it might be a tad on the cool side too, not sure about your neck of the woods. I have fought orange peel when I push the limit on temp before.

 

[adsm08]

More progress, more pictures. This truck has been with me since 1988, when I was about this old:


Today was the first time I have ever seen this truck without the bed liner. I was very surprised and quite happy with what I found:





All swept out:





The bolts came out easier than I expected. The front two broke, two had to be started with the big ratchet, and the last one just came right out no fuss.



Nobody home but me and the boy, so I had to get creative getting the bed lifted off, or be patient, but we all know that wasn't gonna happen.



My helper driving out from under the bed


Came up and off really nicely:


Just remember kids, there is nothing you can't do with a cherry picker and a pile of ratchet straps.




Overall this doesn't look as bad as I was expecting


But this is all being done for a reason:




Now I need to get some materials to get that frame patched up, and get on that. I'm just not sure where to go for that stuff.

 

[adsm08]

My bedliner works enough that it keeps the box polished to bare metal, no rust. Not sure if that is really good or bad but I am going with the no rust = good theory for now.

Looks good, you are having better results than I expected with that brand of paint. Around here it might be a tad on the cool side too, not sure about your neck of the woods. I have fought orange peel when I push the limit on temp before.

I am also good with no rust, but paint helps with that, and I have seen nasty nasty things under drop-in liners. I was very surprised to find the inside of the box as nice as it was when I pulled my liner today.

As for temp, I couldn't ask for better conditions, especially the last two days. Yesterday I started in long sleeves to keep the paint mist off my arms because it is sticky and hard to get off. I gave up on that less than 1/4 of the way through painting. It was in the 70s yesterday, and it is heading there again today.