Pics of my rig

[stmitch]

Work is slowly progressing. It starts with the ignition key now, instead of the trigger on the starter. I even drove it around the block yesterday. Here's a short vid of it firing up for the first time on its own: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oe4wX4-MfGc&feature=plcp

Still have things to fine tune and finish, but its one step closer to being done!

 

[stmitch]

Got the brake booster replaced over the weekend, so I'll be able to stop this beast now. Also got the reverse lights wired in with a new harness connector.
The truck decided to quit starting with the ignition key, so it will take some investigating to figure out the cause. I suspect the starter relay may have gone out.
I'm going to try and get the cooling fan and my gauges wired up next weekend. One step at a time, it's getting closer and closer to being finished!

 

[stmitch]

Wired in my e-fan this weekend. I fired the truck up to test the new fan, and it sputtered out. I thought it had run out of fuel, but there was plenty in there. Ended up needing a battery and a new alternator. I took the battery out of my dads truck for testing, and actually drove the truck to the parts store to pick up what we needed.
Ended up putting about 20 road miles (both through town and interstate) on it for the first time, and came away pretty impressed. The driveability is very good. It has a boost leak since I haven't installed my boost gauge yet. And an exhaust leak at the header to y-pipe connection. No major isues at all, and there's almost no vibration from the engine at all with the balanced bottom end and roller rockers.
When I get the gauges installed, and get a proper dyno tune, I'll post some vids

 

[Night Ranger]

really nice truck i have a 2000 stepside. i want to do a lot of the same stuff to my truck.

 

[stmitch]

Thanks man! Looks like you have a nice truck to use as a starting point. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[stmitch]

To bring this thread up to date, I've been slowly finishing up the final touches.
The clutch master cylinder is now bled enough that I'm happy with it.
I tightened up the exhaust to get rid of my leak @ the y-pipe, and things sound much better now.
The boost gauge is installed, and the wideband o2 gauge is about halfway installed. (Had to customize the gauge pod more than I expected) I'll finish that up the next chance I have to work on the truck.

I've been cruising around in the truck, and it's been driving great. No issues with the idle, or misses. Runs like a top!
Since I have a working boost gauge now, I have noticed that the supercharger seems to be making less boost than it should. I'm seeing just a bit over 10psi max, and with the pulley I have installed, it should be closer to 14psi.

I looked through some old posts, and found that the previous owner of the supercharger was having a similar issue. The only thing I can think of that would be limiting the boost would be a faulty bypass valve, so I may need to replace the bypass valve on the whipple. We'll see how it works out.

 

[stmitch]

Ok, I've been gradually working on this thing, and it's time to update the thread. I installed my wideband gauge, and found that I was getting pretty lean almost anytime I pushed the accelerator. The next step was to replace the fuel pump, so I pulled the bed, and installed a pump from a Mustang GT into my Ranger sending unit. It's like it was meant to be there!

While the bed was off, my OCD took over, and I decided to clean up the frame with a wire brush, and get it coated in some undercoating.


The bed bolts were garbage by the time I got the bed off, so I ordered some fresh ones today. Once the bed is reattached, I'll be ready for some dyno time!

 

[ES894x4]

Nice tires, whats retail on a set of those.

 

[JoshT]

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 (<<link)

Front: 245/35R18 = $189 each
Rear: 293/35R18 = $249 each

Not exactly cheap, but definitely a nice tire. Was thinking about getting these for the 86 I'm building, but think I'm going to have to go with a slightly cheaper tire to start with.

 

[stmitch]

JoshT pretty much nailed it. It's a lot to pay for tires, but for what I do with the truck, they're worth it.
So many people don't realize just how much tires affect performance driving. I have so much more traction and grip with these than I had with my old Firehawks. Plus I'm more confident. The only drawback with these is that they wear pretty quickly, but that's the price you pay to play.

 

[DangerRangerCj]

How well does your truck handle with that roush sway bar kit? Is there much body roll with it? -Cj

 

[stmitch]

The Roush sway bars helped quite a bit. I'd definitely recommend them if your truck has just the stock front sway bar, and no rear bar like mine did. There are some on Ebay right now for $65 + shipping. That's a steal!

I'm one of those guys that is never satisfied, so I've got a set of much thicker bars from an Explorer sitting in the garage waiting to be put on. But who knows if I'll like them. That's another story. If you have the chance to get the Roush stuff, I'd definitely do it!

 

[kid_crash]

Dope ride man.

 

[DangerRangerCj]

Yeah, ill definitely take a look at them! I'm the type of person who likes to corner hard and go fast so i need something that will minimize my body roll. Thanks for the feed back.

 

[DangerRangerCj]

What Doetsch Tech shocks are you running? Are they the Nitro Slammers? http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/3.asp