'84 ranger 2.8L 4x4 build thread

iv been putting this off for wayyy to long now, iv been builing my ranger for just under a year now so iv got a lot of pictures and information to throw down haha

so im 16 and this is my first truck, its an '84 single cab long bed v6 with an auto tranny and this is it on day one on the trailer at the tow yard where i got it for free, it had a 3 inch body lift and a 3 inch suspension lift on 35 inch tires


i pulled out EVERYTHING, engine, tranny, tcase, axles and interior. then i got the engine machined at a shop in town and a automatic tranny guy came to our shop to help me rebuild that. then i cleaned up the axles and that kinda stuff...

this is the engine right after i put it all back together and sprayed on some paint


then about two hours after i got it all together and running clean.... i snapped an axleshaft in that little d28! so it sat on the high lift for a while while i searched for a fix to that problem


i ended up finding a donor jeep cherokee for 400 bucks, that i actually parted out and made a profit on later, that i took the d30 and d35 combo out of and installed them in the ranger, i also sanded the paint on the truck because i was planning on painting it soon but the d30 swap took precedence, so thats why its suddenly red camo looking haha


i also got a new set of 33 inch procomp Xtreme M/Ts for it

so after i got all of that running clean and working the way i want (except for my front coil springs are too stiff) i took it out to blue canyon for a little two day 4x4 run with my friend

see i barely get flex out of those front coils


this was much steeper than it looks, it sucks that cameras make every steep hill look flat haha







that was all from my blue canyon trip, and this is it just sitting at my house





as you can see im doing some fender modification at the moment, actually as of now the rear fenders are cut out like the front drivers side is, the front passenger is almost done in that picture, i made it 3 inches taller and 3 inches longer to fit the tires because i took the body lift off

so thats all of it that i can remember now! ill keep updating as the project moves along, and if anyone has questions, suggestions, observations or anything like that the please post em!

free!?! how did you get it for free? im jealous! nice looking truck ya got there.

Its great to see another Gen 1 SAS plus its only a year newer then mine too.

So what are the full specs on everything plus any other future plans?

full specs? not sure what ya mean but future plans are 8.8in rear end with 4:10s and limited slip, high pinion d30 with 4:10s (its low pinion at the moment), maybe 2 more inches of lift, 4.0L conversion, custom bed, rock sliders, bumpers, and possibly if i ever get around to it id like to boatside it also if i ever come across a 3.0L powerstroke diesel id definitatly take the time to do that but those are very rare.... and i got it for free because i know a guy who runs a tow yard, i dont know if you know how tow yards work but if a car sits there for a month and the owner doesnt come to get it the owner of the tow yard can do what he wants with it so he gave it to me

Not bad for free! Good work

thanks! yeah i had to go through EVERYTHING in the truck... thats what free gets me i guess haha

how hard was it for the SAS? ive been wanting to do that to mine, but mines a 2wd. i found a 4wd extended cab for 600 just needs a new motor. thought about it, but short on cash ATM

it was very easy as long as you have access to a torch, welder, metal break ect... on mine the coil mounts lined up perfectly, all i had to do was make a bracket on each side to hold the trailing arms with the right dementions and i had to combine the jeep steering arm with a ford end to fit into the steering box, ill post some pictures of that in a little bit

ok so heres a couple pictures of the steering arm i mated together



and heres a bunch of pics of the trailing arm brackets i made, you can see i sacrificed some clearance to keep the arms level, but im glad i did it cause it drives very smooth with it like that




this is just a better picture of the whole axle, its on a highlift so its fully extended with the sway bar on, if i disconnect that i get quite a bit more travel


hope that helps you!

ok so heres some stuff i forgot to add in the beginning

first heres a pic of these stainless steel bed guards that i made (it was a bitch to make believe it or not...)


i also am running a 1354 transfer case because i got it for 30 bucks and it eliminated the slip yoke, it was actually very easy to install and it fixed a drive shaft angle problem that i had


and finally here are some pictures of when i was welding up my passenger side fender, i made it 3 inches taller and 3 inches longer so now my 33s fit in the wells and i dont have to lift my truck super high and look like a hick haha

so i finally got my warn 5k winch that was on it when i got it working right, now im mounting it today

this is the winch that came on it when i got the truck, i put it back on a few days ago


and today i finished grinding all the welds on my passenger fender, now its time for a little bondo and primer tomorrow!

I've had the same fender idea kicking around in my head for years. Now that I see it in real life, I think I'm gonna do it.... some day! Keep up the good work!

haha thanks! yeah i wanted to keep that original look while still having clearance and so far its turning out good, ill have more pics tomorrow if i get the bondo and primer done.... and im planning on TIG welding the drivers side fender instead of MIG so im excited to see how that turns out!

so i didnt get the primer on today but the bondo is done!


and also i couldnt resist... heres my REAL baby, its a 1931 ford model-A coupe ive been working on it since i was like 8 years old, the ranger has sorta put it off for a while tho