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One more 2wd 98 coil spring 5.0 swap.


Jbrown1238

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I started going to Fun Ford/NMRA Spring Break Shootout events in Bradenton Florida back in 1997 and have been going pretty much every year since then. I have never been much of the car show type but did enter my 1993 V8 Ranger about 15 years ago as well as painting my son’s 91 Mustang GT for him to enter back in 2009. He was lucky enough to receive an award and was very excited when that occurred.





During the five years it took to assemble my current V8 Ranger I often thought about entering it in the NMRA event just to celebrate it being done more than anything else. Several weeks ago I managed to check that off my bucket list.













I even managed to follow in my son’s footsteps and receive a Special Recognition award on Saturday and a Class Event Winner award on Sunday.

 


reef93

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I started going to Fun Ford/NMRA Spring Break Shootout events in Bradenton Florida back in 1997 and have been going pretty much every year since then. I have never been much of the car show type but did enter my 1993 V8 Ranger about 15 years ago as well as painting my son’s 91 Mustang GT for him to enter back in 2009. He was lucky enough to receive an award and was very excited when that occurred.





During the five years it took to assemble my current V8 Ranger I often thought about entering it in the NMRA event just to celebrate it being done more than anything else. Several weeks ago I managed to check that off my bucket list.













I even managed to follow in my son’s footsteps and receive a Special Recognition award on Saturday and a Class Event Winner award on Sunday.

That's awesome congrats!:icon_thumby:
 

win

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deathbypsi

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Thats awesome
 

Jbrown1238

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Thanks guys, it feels good to get that checked off the bucket list. Now I can get the truck back to work where it belongs.
 

Jbrown1238

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A few weeks ago the Ranger hit 60,000 miles. It is hard to believe, since July 17, 2015 the truck has racked up that many miles. Early indications are that the 2016 total miles will be down a little from an average 100,000 per year. They will probably come in between 85,000 and 95,000 if everything stays the same.

Most of this video will probably seem a little repetitious but I wanted to include it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNFRR-blcb8&sns=em

Not much to report as far as new changes or major issues. I did have a small oil leak around the cast aluminum Perma-Cool oil filter adapter at the engine. I replaced that around 50,000 miles with a billet aluminum Canton piece that was a better build quality and had a much better gasket. A week or so later both of my custom oil lines started leaking at the seams. I am not sure but I think I may have damaged them during the adapter change and probably bent them a little to tight around corners. I had two new hoses made and the problem was corrected.

I started getting a little noise around 53,000 miles from the throw out bearing so I pulled the transmission and replaced the part with a new one. The guys at Profab Performance in Port Richey Florida did a great job on designing and building the exhaust. I was able to remove two v-bands at the x-pipe and tip the engine slightly without removing any of the exhaust. There was plenty of room to remove the transmission with all of the exhaust in place. It took 29 minutes to get the trans out with hand tools and no air.

A few days ago I ran a direct power line for the audio and inadvertently knocked my ECM harness wiring down on to the driver side header. A stupid mistake that should have not gone unnoticed. Needless to say about 25 miles into the next work day the header burned through the insulation and shorted out power to the engine. At 60 mph on US 19 in Clearwater the engine died instantly and the truck rolled off the road to a dead stop where it waited for the tow truck. Four hours later the burned wiring was fixed and the truck was back to work. (Thanks Auto Dynamics).

The next upgrade will be a Fuelab Fuel Filter to replace the OEM piece. I am sick and tired of the quick connect fittings on the stock unit. It seems like every time I try to pull one apart something causes an issue. Last time I had to rebuild one quick connect with all six of the internal pieces because they all came out attached to the filter. Some how they fused to the filter and that was the final straw for me. Once the new piece is installed it will be 6 AN swivel fittings and hopefully no more headaches.






See you guys in a month or so when the Ranger hits 70,000 miles. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!
 

SelrahcB

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Wow. What a thread. I am in awe of the attention to detail you have put into this vehicle. I hope that I can some day put in half as much effort as you have put into yours. It has come a long way and you have done amazing, jaw dropping work the whole way. I am sure it has cost you a lot of money and time but your skill shines through most of all. I am amazed by your work and you inspire me. I hope I can look back onto this multiple times as a reference and as an inspiration. I appreciate your work, and your ability to post all of this so that we may follow along and reference. Once again, I appreciate it and am grateful for your knowledge. I know any Ranger owner who sees this truck rolling down the street will be happy and ecstatic to have a Ranger badge just as you. Thank you for your work and your skill.
 

Jbrown1238

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Wow. What a thread. I am in awe of the attention to detail you have put into this vehicle. I hope that I can some day put in half as much effort as you have put into yours. It has come a long way and you have done amazing, jaw dropping work the whole way. I am sure it has cost you a lot of money and time but your skill shines through most of all. I am amazed by your work and you inspire me. I hope I can look back onto this multiple times as a reference and as an inspiration. I appreciate your work, and your ability to post all of this so that we may follow along and reference. Once again, I appreciate it and am grateful for your knowledge. I know any Ranger owner who sees this truck rolling down the street will be happy and ecstatic to have a Ranger badge just as you. Thank you for your work and your skill.
Well thank you very much sir for the kind words. It was a true adventure that I won't soon forget. I am pretty happy with the truck for the most part and really enjoy spending each and every day behind the wheel. Thanks so much for taking the time to read through the entire thread. I know it is getting long and is probably difficult to follow along for the entire process.
 

Junglejoe

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Hats off to you! Pat yourself on the back!
 

onlyme

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I noticed that the ranger originally had mudflaps front and rear, how did you fill in the small hole for the push pin that holds on the mudflap to the lower front fenders? I know the back can be done with fiberglass.
 

Jbrown1238

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I noticed that the ranger originally had mudflaps front and rear, how did you fill in the small hole for the push pin that holds on the mudflap to the lower front fenders? I know the back can be done with fiberglass.
The front and rear were both filled with fiberglass and then skim coated with plastic filler.
 

Teddyzee

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Nice to catch up on this again!
 

Jbrown1238

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Nice to catch up on this again!
Thanks Teddy, good to hear from you. The truck is running fine and just hit 102,000 miles recently.
 

black06xlt

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was just wondering what you used to paint your interior with and how well it has held up? awsome build i dont think the good folks at fomoco could have done it any better. i missed a whole day of work on ranger project to read this thread.
 

Jbrown1238

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was just wondering what you used to paint your interior with and how well it has held up? awsome build i dont think the good folks at fomoco could have done it any better. i missed a whole day of work on ranger project to read this thread.
Thanks for dropping in and posting the comments. I used SEM interior paint (Landau Black) on the dash, door panels, seat belts, and probably a few other items I have forgot about. I didn't follow the recommended preparation by the manufacturer. I just cleaned everything pretty good and lightly scratched the surface with a Scotch Brite pad and maybe some 400 grit paper in a few spots. The dash has held up very well and doesn't have any scratched areas at all. The door panels take a little more abuse from more contact, metal buttons, rings, jacket zippers, etc. I usually respray the door panels every six months or so just to freshen them up. Keep in mind, six months for me is about 50,000 miles.
 

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