I have a 88 longbed with 42k miles that I picked up years ago to build into an all out drag radial racer and even built a 410w and a 75mm turbo. Well the motor never made it into the truck and now I wana use the truck for daily driving so Im going back to my roots and dropping a nice 2.3t in it.
I have tons of questions I hope to get answers to here and I will lay out my plan here for your gus opinions.
The motor is a fresh stock shortblock, worked over head with custom roller cam,Bobs intakes and header,custom .70/.63 turbo by Evergreen,LA3,35lb injectors {for now},Spec stg3,TC t5 and a NPR front mount. I will upgrade to Stingers PIMP setup at a later date.
I have a drum brake 8.8 out of an Explorer {1994 I was told} and I want to use it with a Aubrun Pro I have with the stock 3.55's. What kind of problems will I find putting this in place of the 7.5?
I have a set of drop beams that came with the truck but was told they may be for a 89+. How do I tell? {pix below} And if they are for a 89+ can I still use them on my 88?I want to have some good brakes on this thing using as many stock parts as possible. What are some of my options there?
I have a set of 90 Lincoln LSC 16" wheels with 225's on them that will be getting some powdercoating done.
Truck will be getting fresh white paint after its running and it already has a glass 2" hood. Truck has zero rust other than where factory paint has flaked off and the bare metal was exposed.Nothing more than surface rust you can wipe off with a finger.I will be replacing all bumpers,trim,grill and seals with new stuff from LMC. Im keeping all the chrome also. Gona be Oxford White with the top of the cowl hood done in sliver with lots of new chrome...I want it to shine like a piece jewelry!
For the interior I really want to do something special. Im changing the factory blue to either grey or black or maybe a combo of both. I have a set of leather SVO seats I would love to use.I already had a 2.3t 87 Ranger with a t5 and bench which made for some really crappy shifter handles...buckets it is this time. I plan to use Speedhuts Revolution GPS speedo and tach in my own dash cluster,Siruis radio and I want to try to swap in a newer Ranger column with tilt and a nicer steeringwheel if possible....is it?
I will be driving this truck over 100 miles aday once its done so a good sound system is a must.Since its a reg. cab and Im 6ft 1in and 260lbs there will be no room behind seats but I still would like to have a small sub. Was thinking since my exhaust will be routed down the passenger side of truck leaving the floor under my side open would that be a good place to actually cut the floor out and make a dropped floor under my seat for a small speaker box? Anyone done this yet? Nothing to big and tucked up well above the bottom of the frame.
On to the "before" pix!
I have tons of questions I hope to get answers to here and I will lay out my plan here for your gus opinions.
The motor is a fresh stock shortblock, worked over head with custom roller cam,Bobs intakes and header,custom .70/.63 turbo by Evergreen,LA3,35lb injectors {for now},Spec stg3,TC t5 and a NPR front mount. I will upgrade to Stingers PIMP setup at a later date.
I have a drum brake 8.8 out of an Explorer {1994 I was told} and I want to use it with a Aubrun Pro I have with the stock 3.55's. What kind of problems will I find putting this in place of the 7.5?
I have a set of drop beams that came with the truck but was told they may be for a 89+. How do I tell? {pix below} And if they are for a 89+ can I still use them on my 88?I want to have some good brakes on this thing using as many stock parts as possible. What are some of my options there?
I have a set of 90 Lincoln LSC 16" wheels with 225's on them that will be getting some powdercoating done.
Truck will be getting fresh white paint after its running and it already has a glass 2" hood. Truck has zero rust other than where factory paint has flaked off and the bare metal was exposed.Nothing more than surface rust you can wipe off with a finger.I will be replacing all bumpers,trim,grill and seals with new stuff from LMC. Im keeping all the chrome also. Gona be Oxford White with the top of the cowl hood done in sliver with lots of new chrome...I want it to shine like a piece jewelry!
For the interior I really want to do something special. Im changing the factory blue to either grey or black or maybe a combo of both. I have a set of leather SVO seats I would love to use.I already had a 2.3t 87 Ranger with a t5 and bench which made for some really crappy shifter handles...buckets it is this time. I plan to use Speedhuts Revolution GPS speedo and tach in my own dash cluster,Siruis radio and I want to try to swap in a newer Ranger column with tilt and a nicer steeringwheel if possible....is it?
I will be driving this truck over 100 miles aday once its done so a good sound system is a must.Since its a reg. cab and Im 6ft 1in and 260lbs there will be no room behind seats but I still would like to have a small sub. Was thinking since my exhaust will be routed down the passenger side of truck leaving the floor under my side open would that be a good place to actually cut the floor out and make a dropped floor under my seat for a small speaker box? Anyone done this yet? Nothing to big and tucked up well above the bottom of the frame.
On to the "before" pix!
