Turbo'n Grandpa's 88

Enemy · Jan 31, 2015

So I ran across a bitchin deal on an 1988 4x2 Extended Cab (during my never ending quest of finding a preferred donor first gen 4x4 to drop/swap the Turbo Diesel into)... A one owner, under 100k miles, bought off the show-floor, putted around town for the last 27 years, babied truck.. I couldn't pass it up for under a grand! Right place, right time, planets and stars are aligned kind of deal in my world :icon_twisted:

Rusted box-sides from our awesomely salted and chemical sprayed wintertime garbage roads,(shock, I know lol) but very clean otherwise on the cabcorners, fenders, doors and radiator support. Happy days!
How I found it..

He had the inner structure treated back in 1990 at Ming, they drilled holes all over the damn place to do it, but did its job of keeping the cab corners and doors alive around these parts..

Enemy · Jan 31, 2015

Low Miles 2.9L and auto trans for sale shortly!
Got the donor motor from a low miles 93 Ranger front hit for a few hundred and a case of Coors.. Great start for the roller cam and unmolested bottom end. Tore it down and measured bore, had very little taper and still some crosshatch marks so excellent shape for a set of .020 CP pistons and Crower rods to be taking the stockers place. Off to the machine shop for the works- clean, magnaflux, Deck the block, bore & hone, crank polish, and a full balance on the entire rotating assembly.
Giggidy.

Enemy · Jan 31, 2015

Ok, so here is the goal with this truck, and the first time I have ever put economy on the same level as performance with a build.. Oil aint gunna stay this cheap for ever.. Never does..
Anyway.
I drive 70+ miles a day and really racking up miles on the Diesel Ranger that is getting hard to find parts for, so..This one is going to be a daily sleeper..er, I mean driver.. 25+ MPG on a daily driven basis and 300 crank horsepower on tap with our junk 91 octane fuel around here.. Plenty of Meth/ Water spraying the charge to accomplish this I'm certain

Keeping AC and cruise control as well..
Trans and rearend gearing will be critical, cam timing, turbine housing AR, ride height....Everything??
Ah, screw mileage! Just as long as not one more 1 ton diesel blows coal all over me on my commute home! Damn bullies :thefinger:

Parts for the build are starting to pile on top of the ones I already had for a while in anticipation of one day building a 2.3 Turbo for a sandrail. So money wise I'm sitting pretty good for extra $ to build a stout bottom end and build a hybrid turbo to my liking.
Right now I'm settling on a T3/T4 Hybrid, stage3 50 trim, with a .48 AR turbine. This should light like a 2-stroke comes on the pipe. Aluminum Pressure plate and aluminum driveshaft will keep the rotating assemble nice and light and help this as well..
Disk brake Explorer 8.8 out back, Cobra R's and 3/4 Lowering to get brick-wall areodynamic body out of the clouds..For starters!
:beer:

Turbroke · Feb 6, 2015

Nice project! I have a bad cab corner on mine, and the bed rust looks about the same as yours. Surprising for a TN truck. I used to live in upstate N.Y. and know what salt and winter road treatment does. Cars dissolve up there after about six years. They'll pay a premium for rust free, older vehicles up there. Used to run em up from S.W. Fla. for years. $$$

Gonna watch your build. I need more ideas!

Doofy · Feb 6, 2015

This sounds like a great project. Let us know how things turn out.

Enemy · Feb 10, 2015

Turbroke said:
Nice project! I have a bad cab corner on mine, and the bed rust looks about the same as yours. Surprising for a TN truck. I used to live in upstate N.Y. and know what salt and winter road treatment does. Cars dissolve up there after about six years. They'll pay a premium for rust free, older vehicles up there. Used to run em up from S.W. Fla. for years. $$$ Gonna watch your build. I need more ideas!

Thanks Turbroke! Yeah, people are paying a premium around here as well, and just getting harder and harder to find the clean steel. Now suspensions are taking the beating from the pre-treat eating up the concrete and the streets looking like they have been bombed this Winter! ....Somebody is banking on this BS, just cant figure out exactly who lol :icon_confused:

Enemy · Feb 10, 2015

Doofy said:
This sounds like a great project. Let us know how things turn out.

Thanks Doofy, will keep the updates posted as it goes!
Got a couple here.. Block and components are back in the G-rage, starting reassembly now. Everything was in excellent condition before my machine guy started into it according his measurements, crank just needed a polish and returning to standard size bearings on the mains and rods, running ACL hardened bearings on both. Need to file fit the rings, then hopefully have the shortblock assembled by the weekend.

Mocking up the original head for fit and port matching, not going to go crazy with this head, just going to use this one to get it down the road for break in.. I found a smokin deal on another 2.3, my bro need the bottom end, and I'm going to use the head for heavier valve springs and full on port work and swap it out when finished on it.
The intake and fuel rail are going to get a major butchering! Still working out some details in the brain but I think it should work out well to mod in a 65mm TB and get it pointed in the direction I desire for plumbing to the innercooler.
Also found a good deal on an SVO (I think??) valvecover. I stripped the factory wrinkle finish off, going to do some polish and paint work on it, bling it up a little..

Starting on some port work on the lower, got the top roughed out and knife-edged, need to do some work on the injector side yet, need lots of help.. I guess the factory likes to fire 2 injectors against a brick wall casting flaw instead of the intake valve?? :annoyed:

Enemy · Feb 22, 2015

Updates!
Finished up the port work on the lower, injectors all have a happy target now! Didnt go super crazy on the lower, knife-edged and gasket match the upper to lower, smoothed out all the casting flaws, will do the match to the new head when I get that completed, for now it is close.

Stock fuel rail on a 93 Ranger engine/intake manifold.. I like the total capacity it has, but its delivery volume and return capabilities kinda suck imo. So I modded it with a -04an weld bung on each end.
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Male-Steel-37-Degree-AN-Flare-Weld-Bung-Fitting-4-AN,997.html
This will tie into a -06AN to two -04an y adapter then back to the 255 in the front tank. Return volume is good, but the factory barb fitting is only like 5/32 in a 3/16 id tube..Drilled factory fitting open to 3/16, restriction gone.. Using an Aeromotive 13103 1:1 regulator for a pre-93 Mustang I had from an old build, its the same mount and rail for the most part. Bonus!
Mocking up the rail..

Cut and welded shut the original feed fitting, bead blasted all the rust off the tabs and painted it up. 42lbs injectors.
On to the upper next! :icon_thumby:

Enemy · Mar 22, 2015

Header

Finished the paint work up on the valve cover! Stripped it down and step sanded the top fins and insignia down starting with 320 and finishing out with 5000. Masked off the topside, finished out the rest in black, pulled the tape and cleared the entire valve cover. Now just need to keep the turbo heat off of it!
I bought a china header to start out with on this truck, I like the location to get the turbine away from the AC box but I read they are known to crack, probably the SS used? Or maybe poorly thought out downpipe exhaust combo? Bracing issue?? :dunno:

For the money though, I have a good head flange to build off of if it doesn't work out. Going to tig a spacer on top the main flange to get the compressor a little further away from the #1 pipe heat then wrap the header.

Enemy · Mar 22, 2015

Upper Intake

Upper intake finished out! Gunna take a round hole and fit it to a square one lol Had to add some aluminum to the top to get it all to match up, but there is already lots of meat in these stock parts to hog out! Adapted to a 65mm mustang TB. Got it pointing forward for easy connection to the innercoler and it will clear the AC compressor with ease I hope....Now just need to get the motor sitting in the rails to find out if the hood will shut lol!

alwaysFlOoReD · Mar 22, 2015

Subbed.

Grunizzle · Mar 23, 2015

This looks sweet

Enemy · Apr 12, 2015

Innercooler, radiator, engine & firewall paint

Thanks Grunzie!
Been getting some stuff knocked out on "Gramps" ("When they start to come to life, ya figure out their name.. It just happens. ~ Grandpa Ed =)
Gramps it is.
..Any ya all name your trucks? If you do, I know you understand what he means! So cool the way some of the names come about, I have heard some really cool interesting stories..
Anyway! here is where I am at..
Block is assembled, painted up, and ready to drop in the rails! Also doing a little guinea piggin here.. I love the look of raw aluminum, but hate trying to keep it staying that way! Everything wants to go back to where it came from.. So with all the aluminum parts on here I am just bead blasting, spraying the parts with one coat of my own little concoction of adhesion promoter and 2 coats of Glasurit 923-57 matte clear Maybe it will stay this way? And now the waiting game begins! lol
All the flat black parts are coated with Diamont SC804. This stuff I have tested and beat the hell out of, good to go here!

Scrubbed the hell out of the frontend, coated with POR15 the frame and lower radiator support mount areas where these truck love to rust at bagged and painted it up!

Modded in a Treadstone TR11 up front where the factory condenser was.
Used these guys is the past, really good coolers. http://www.treadstoneperformance.com/product.phtml?p=68149&cat_key=63&prodname=TR11+Intercooler++560HP

Enemy · Apr 12, 2015

Radiator mounted, motor set! On to pluming and wiring next.

XLTsplash · Apr 12, 2015

Very nice work, looks great !

Turbo'n Grandpa's 88

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