'85 Ranger Restomod

[Curious Hound]

One done, one to go.

View attachment 84875

That's the kind of job you should be wrapping up at 11:00pm the night before a TRS Roundup that you're "not going to".

 

[Lefty]

So far the a/c is a success! The complete system:

View attachment 80734

Generally runs 195, runs 205 now with the a/c on on the highway on mid 90's. I thought it was a little high but per Google a stock 195* stat isn't fully open until around 210*.

I also need to get the efan controller so the efans kick on with the a/c. The one I am eyeing also has a cutout for water crossings (lol) and for when going down the highway and having the efans on for the AC isn't needed.

If you do the efan, you might want to install an uprated voltage regulator also.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

That's the kind of job you should be wrapping up at 11:00pm the night before a TRS Roundup that you're "not going to".

They ain't on yet...

If you do the efan, you might want to install an uprated voltage regulator also.

130A explorer alternator seems to work OK so far.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I haven't posted much on it for awhile and haven't done anything to it for even longer.

Anywho for this year my goals are:

Fix the front driveshaft situation
Swap heads
Front winch/grille guard (not as big of a deal as the other two)

Since the great 5 speed swap of 2019 I have had interferance issues with the front driveshaft and exhaust. It fits, and it runs but I can't run a boot on it and it does rub on the exhaust with the suspension compressed.



While at work I noticed a 5.2/5.9 Dakota y pipe has a neat little kink for driveshaft clearance. So I run upfront and grab my caliper, 2" same as mine. Cool, I can nab that to clear the driveshaft. Ball socket to mount to the header like what I need, I think one way or another I can cut out what I need to make it work.

Which leaves the problem of the boot... been searching high and low looking for an OEM driveshaft with single u-joints like my original axle had. Heck, even been looking for a slip yoke front output like my factory driveshaft had to no avail. So eventually I just searched "driveshaft" on marketplace and browsed. Found one for a squarebody S-10 in Kansas, single joints. Head to rock auto... sure enough it has 1310 crosses... cool. Dad just scrapped grandpa's '89 S-10 about a year ago so that is slightly painful. I need to find one of those.

So the exhaust pipe should clear the driveshaft. Single u-joints and mounting the driveshaft backwards with the boot to the back should keep the boot from melting down.

Head are ready. I have intake gaskets and header gaskets. I think all I need is headgaskets and spark plugs and time to do it.

And I started doodling my grille guard last weekend. I have the factory headlight guards... but my current grille guard side plates are outside of the frame. The factory grille guard mounts to the inside so they would stick out like 3" too far on both sides. I pretty much have the top drawn up to be the correct width to match the headlight guard hoops. I need to rough in the receiver/winch plate/winch and then I can work on the contour of the grille guard side plates.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Still a work in progress...

 

[sgtsandman]

Still a work in progress...

View attachment 87467

There is an aluminum one posted up on the facebook TRS page that might interest you. It just got posted today.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Hard mistake to make but it looks like a steel Ford one.

 

[sgtsandman]

You would know more than me but I know you are working on yours so I thought I would point it out.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You would know more than me but I know you are working on yours so I thought I would point it out.

Nope, it is aluminum. Has to be rare...

From the '87 accessory catalog:

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

What I am going for...



Before I can go any farther on this venture I need to start actually doing something... so today I actually started doing something.











Ready for paint and reassembly tomorrow.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Threw some paint on it and got it put back on:









I think it came out pretty good. I do still need to add the crossmember across the back of the tube though.





And then after all that work I went home and got the riot act that the hitch isn't supposed to be on that end of the truck.

 

[RobbieD]

Nice work!

Great pictures, too. That one with the barn backdrop is calendar-worthy.

 

[Curious Hound]

Nice work!

Great pictures, too. That one with the barn backdrop is calendar-worthy.

I agree

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Hopefully I can find a trip to take it on this year so I can have a better background than my battered barn roof.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Any guesses which one was my kids?