One more 2wd 98 coil spring 5.0 swap.

[ianyboy]

And im hooked on to this build, cant wait to see the rest!

 

[Oilburner]

A truly inspiring build.

Wish we had access to all the spare parts that you guys in the States have - most have to be imported at great expense.

I will be following this build to conclusion to see the finished project !
now get inspired and motivated and show us the results

 

[Jbrown1238]

A truly inspiring build.

Wish we had access to all the spare parts that you guys in the States have - most have to be imported at great expense.

I will be following this build to conclusion to see the finished project !
now get inspired and motivated and show us the results

Thank you. I will try to get some new photos and updates posted soon. I have completed a few small things over the last week or so. The gas tank has been cleaned and installed, the charcoal canister has been installed, the remote oil filter adapter has been fitted to the frame, and a few other items taken care of. Nothing big, just checking things off the task list as I go. The front Cobra brake hubs and brackets have been located and ordered and the new Chrome Cobra wheels should be on the way in another two or three weeks. I also found a source for new Front Cobra calipers and will be purchasing those after the wheels. I am still shooting for the first of the month to set the engine in place.

 

[Jbrown1238]

I have been chipping away at the task list trying to get ready to install the engine around the end of the month. Mostly just boring “clean up” items like switching out a few last minute fasteners, cleaning and painting the wiper assembly, cleaning the wiring harness, nothing there worth any updated photos.

Although not on my immediate task list, I did work on the fuel tank, rear brake calipers, and the oil filter relocation kit. Mocked everything up and purchased a few missing pieces such as washers/spacers and fasteners.

After washing the fuel tank and getting pretty aggressive with a scrub brush I set it under the frame and attached the hangers. I really just wanted to make sure I still had all of the correct parts and figured it would be a good place to store the tank while the rest of the truck comes together. I will pull it out when we get closer to firing the engine and clean the inside thoroughly then install the new fuel pump. I also went ahead and cleaned up the charcoal canister and attached it to the frame. It feels good getting some of this stuff out of storage and back in place.







I am not sure if I am going to keep the oil filter in this location or not. I want it up front where it is vertical and easy to remove/install but feel that it might be vulnerable in this location in the event of a front impact. On my 93 Ranger I mounted it in the same general area but a little further back behind the core support and may do the same on this one once the suspension and wheels are installed. At this time I just don’t know if there will be enough clearance with 275 series 17 inch tires and a 2 inch drop. I am going to wait to have the oil hoses made until I make a final decision on location. If it will clear the wheels behind the core support I will move it and if not I will probably go ahead and leave it here.







The new rear calipers and rotors are being stored inside my house so they don’t rust or corrode. I wanted to mock up the calipers to make sure I had all the hardware needed to get them properly aligned. It turns out I did need to purchase a few washers and four ARP stainless 12 point fasteners. I got them set in place and felt comfortable with the fit and alignment. After the photos were taken I went ahead and bagged the parts up and moved them back inside.

 

[RangerSVT]

Looks great. For some reason your reason for not going with an explorer disc brake axle escapes me, but I think you would have been better off going that route...

SVT

 

[Jbrown1238]

Looks great. For some reason your reason for not going with an explorer disc brake axle escapes me, but I think you would have been better off going that route...

SVT

I already had an 8.8 rearend from a Ranger and a 31 spline diff from a Cobra, it just seemed easier based on that at the time. I also liked the Mustang brake set up compared to the Explorer.

 

[Lil-Pony]

I already had an 8.8 rearend from a Ranger and a 31 spline diff from a Cobra, it just seemed easier based on that at the time. I also liked the Mustang brake set up compared to the Explorer.

Can you point out these differences in the rotor braking systems


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Jbrown1238]

Can you point out these differences in the rotor braking systems


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The biggest difference is the Explorer set up is a combination of a rotor main system with a integrated drum style parking brake system. The Mustang system uses just a slip on rotor with no drum style set up.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing I don't like about the Explorer set up it is just that the Mustang set up seems a little more simple. There are less parts and it seemed like a better choice for my application since I had most of what I needed to start with. I do agree with Ranger SVT, had I not already owned most of the parts a Explorer rearend would have been the easiest option.

 

[betomonroy]

Engine mounting plates a must.

Hi.
I contacted Joe and bought a set of mounting plates.
Definitely a must for there are differences on the frame.
But I also changed the oil pan to one out of a Fox body Mustang. It gave me more room to play.

 

[RangerSVT]

Thanks to Rock Auto, I ran some numbers that you'll find as interesting as I did...
02 explorer sport trac 4x4:

04 mustang cobra:

The rotor hubs are very close to the same, and either a custom bracket can be made for the caliper, which both are twin piston, so they should be close in size, but I haven't looked to verify, or a cheaper way would be to use a spacer between the rotor and unit bearing to make the heights match, which wouldn't be much. Could this be close to a bolt on upgrade? I may have to look into this further...

SVT

 

[Jbrown1238]

That may be worth looking into as a bolt on set up sure would make the up grade on these trucks much easier. With the help of a forum member I found an affordable source for the 13 inch hubs and brackets and I am sorting all that out now. I should have more information and photos in a couple weeks.

 

[Myanarchy]

I have been on alot of forums over the years, and met alot of very talented people.

I have never seen someone with your attention to detail! You are doing an amazing job man!

 

[Jbrown1238]

I have been on alot of forums over the years, and met alot of very talented people.

I have never seen someone with your attention to detail! You are doing an amazing job man!

Thank you very much. This project has been a lot of fun and has grown into more of a challenge then I had originally planned. But I am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I really do hope to drive it one day.

 

[Dmyankee74]

Thank you very much. This project has been a lot of fun and has grown into more of a challenge then I had originally planned. But I am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I really do hope to drive it one day.

Hi,first of all awesome job on your truck so far cant wait to see it finished... i read that you used a f550 master cyl for your clutch, what yr was it from and what did you use for your slave cyl? im starting a conv on my truck in the future just trying to get parts together thanks

 

[Jbrown1238]

Hi,first of all awesome job on your truck so far cant wait to see it finished... i read that you used a f550 master cyl for your clutch, what yr was it from and what did you use for your slave cyl? im starting a conv on my truck in the future just trying to get parts together thanks

I used a F550 clutch master cylinder from a 99 F550. The slave cylinder was one my son had on his Ranger that was sourced from the normal vehicle. I want to say it was a 240z maybe. Not sure but it is the one everybody uses for these conversions. Keep in mind that my truck is not yet running so I can't say for sure that the clutch will work properly with this set up. It should but I don't know yet.