My little Iron Ranger {Part 2}

[irishblessing]

i agree its nice to when people say that a nice engine and you can say i built that

 

[Iron Ranger]

Yet another setback.......................

I hate it when you think you got it all figured out, then things hit the fan.

First off: In the previous page, I made a block off plate for the hole in the throttle body because I thought it was a smog port or something. Until a member(Kyle M.) told me that it was for the IAC.

I didn't know what it was until I learned that that's what controls your idle.

Now that's fixed(Thanks again Kyle!!)

But then another stupid thing happened. I read the rear end tag totally wrong. I though I had 3.56 gears when I actually have 2.75 gears

Needless to say, this simply won't work for me. It'll throw off the speedo way too much and not have a whole lot of grunt off the line.
So now I have to spend about $300 for the new ring/pinion and bearing kit and have a shop put it in for me since I don't have the skills to set gear meshes.

But some good did happen

I got the new drain hole drilled and the weld flange welded onto it. Also got a few coats of self-etching primer on too.

My brother had to make a new gauge pod because the fiberglass on the other one simply would not stick to the fleece. And he tried to cover it in one huge sheet of fiberglass so that didn't help either.

And, finally, I got the spark plug wire looms from Moroso and got'em separated. Looks alright, but I wish there wasn't so much slack in some of the wires.

As my dad would say "OWGH" (Oh Well, Good Enough)

 

[Kyle M.]

All looks good! Glad I could help!

As far as the plug wires go, mine are the same way, but I hear you can pull the boots off and trim the wires to length if you really want to. I thought about doing it, but it seemed like too much work.

 

[Iron Ranger]

It keeps getting better and better...............

Well, yet another setback, kind of........

The cost to get new drum hardware that might(probably not) fit behind my custom 14'' rims vs going with a disc brake conversion and having to buy 2 new 15'' rims is roughly the same cost.

So, I'm going with a disc brake conv. just because it's a better, updated braking system and it's a lot easier to change the rotors and pads vs fighting a rusted shut drum.

I'm also watching an item on ebay for a set of 3.75 ring and pinion gears for the 9". The speedo is set for a 3.73, so it's pretty much what I need.

I'll let you know how it turns out.................................

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

Totally Bichin Build Man!

 

[Iron Ranger]

Totally Bichin Build Man!

Thanks!!
Let me tell ya, it hasn't been easy




My brother and I just got the box lifted off to make sure that there wasn't any hang-ups with the wiring and such. After it was lifted off, there was 17 years of dirt just compacted into the various gas tank crossmembers

But at least I got the old box bolts cut off so that the box didn't have to be perfect when reinstalling it back on the truck(Temporarly until I get the rear end built and a coat of POR on the frame and the cab/box lips.)

 

[Iron Ranger]

These set backs just keep a'commin'

I'm just about at the end of my rope
I got the box off so I can clean the frame and take measurements for the 9", but to my dismal surprise, the stupid thing is 9.5" longer than the 7.5!!

I should've measured before I bought it because now, it's cheaper to have the axles cut and resplined by Moser(if they can do it), maybe have the mounting holes filled and drilled, get new drum materials, cut and shorten the housing 4 1/4" on both sides. No more disc brakes for now

Lucky for me, my work has a $65,000 jig table that will hold parts within a couple thousands of an inch, so setting the flanges back up shouldn't be too hard.

But this will set me back so far that I'm afraid I won't get the truck running until the end of May or middle of June

This sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SuperRob]

Well, I havent signed in for a while, and also havent posted for a while, but I've been creeping in the background....and todays creeping saw me spend a good chunk of my evening admiring this thread.

Hell of a build.

I still don't think that you'd have major issues with those gears, as my brother has a ranger on 35 inch boggers and a stock 302 that will burn that cement right out of the old mans driveway.......

Sucks about that axle dilemma though, we went thru that with Wagoneer axles thinking we were getting one thing when we got something else.

Looks good tho! I'm a fan!

 

[Iron Ranger]

Well, I havent signed in for a while, and also havent posted for a while, but I've been creeping in the background....and todays creeping saw me spend a good chunk of my evening admiring this thread.

Hell of a build.

I still don't think that you'd have major issues with those gears, as my brother has a ranger on 35 inch boggers and a stock 302 that will burn that cement right out of the old mans driveway.......

Sucks about that axle dilemma though, we went thru that with Wagoneer axles thinking we were getting one thing when we got something else.

Looks good tho! I'm a fan!

Thank you

I would've kept the gears, but it would've thrown the speedo way off and the cops around here aren't very understanding. Plus, I wanted a little grunt off the line.


I think I got the axle dilemma figured out. Seems like the huge drums from the '79 9 inch will just fit behind the 14" rims I got. I'm doing more research, but hope to come to a finding!!

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

I'm just about at the end of my rope
I got the box off so I can clean the frame and take measurements for the 9", but to my dismal surprise, the stupid thing is 9.5" longer than the 7.5!!

I should've measured before I bought it because now, it's cheaper to have the axles cut and resplined by Moser(if they can do it), maybe have the mounting holes filled and drilled, get new drum materials, cut and shorten the housing 4 1/4" on both sides. No more disc brakes for now

Lucky for me, my work has a $65,000 jig table that will hold parts within a couple thousands of an inch, so setting the flanges back up shouldn't be too hard.

But this will set me back so far that I'm afraid I won't get the truck running until the end of May or middle of June

This sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn!

That sounds lika a pita!

 

[Iron Ranger]

Finally...........a few steps forward

I bought a 3.89 ring and pinion set off ebay, still waiting for that to arrive. Here's the old 2.75 gears ready for whatever.

I'm still looking for a posi-lock setup vs the one-wheel-wonder open diff. I got now. But if I can't find one, oh well. At least the rebuild kit came. Now when the gears arrive, I can send this to the tranny shop to get the gears set and the new bearings installed

I also started on the time consuming task of POR ing the rear section of the frame and the backside of the cab on the trouble spots. If Ford went with a 3 stage paint scheme instead of the one stage(no clearcoat), the rust wouldn't be as bad and the unpainted parts wouldn't be pink.

And a shot of the 7.5, 3.73 rear end before the removal, she served me well but the new power on a 5 speed would've ripped it apart.

So long, old friend.........................

My brother got a lot of work done on the gauge pod. The secret to the fiberglass process is to use the hobby fiberglass. It's very thin and feels like silk. It works alot better than the heavy duty stuff, especially in the grooves.

I think it'll turn out slick

The empty hole is for the water temp gauge. It's mechanical so I couldn't put that in there yet, the line gets in the way.

And finally, I got the ignition box components installed to the splash shield. I can't wait until I can get these wires organized!!

Up next will be sending the axles to Moser to be cut, respined, and new stud holes drilled. After the housing gets shortened and re-welded, then it'll be time to put in the order for a custom driveshaft with Driveline Specialties in Duluth.

I don't want anymore setbacks!!! Stupid, but you learn from your mistakes

 

[RedneckSTX]

It looks good, keep up the good work, and keep us posted

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

I think it'll turn out slick

The empty hole is for the water temp gauge. It's mechanical so I couldn't put that in there yet, the line gets in the way.

Arent you gonna have to "look" through that massive space the Gauge Pod takes up?

Imo looks badass though!

 

[Iron Ranger]

Arent you gonna have to "look" through that massive space the Gauge Pod takes up?

Imo looks badass though!

From where I sit, there is a little bit of obstruction, but since it gets smaller for the water temp, I should be able to see well enough.




I hope.

 

[Iron Ranger]

A few more steps forward...................

Well, the new 3.89 gear set came in and I am very impressed!! Nice, clean, and in tip-top shape. I just got to get it setup for the local shop to get the mesh aligned.

My brother sandblasted the various 3rd member components to rid them of their nasty orange color and painted them a nice black and silver.

The housing is really bling-bling due to the Rustoleum Silver Bright. This is going to look good when it's back together.

Also got the rest of the coolant lines hooked up, including the mechanical water temp from Autometer. It has slack now that the new gauge pod is done and mounted closer to the pre-existing grommet hole in the firewall.

I gotta say, this is one awesome, sharp looking gauge pod my brother made for me. It turned out just perfect!!!

The axles will soon be shipped to Moser Engineering to be shortened and resplined.

I am also making a jig fixture to hold the axle tubes inline with each other after I cut and shorten the housing, because if you get that wrong, major problems will happen in the future.