ForOffRoadDriving's 94 Ranger Build

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i weighed the bumper on my lunch break and right now it stands at an even #100. i also measured up some plate for my skid plate and have a good mental blueprint of what im looking for so im excited to start working on that soon.

 

[zukirider21]

dude, i dont even know what to say! this build is simply unbelievable! the attention to detail is just awesome! i think ive read the entire thread like 3 times now lol! EXCELLENT work so far!

cant wait for more updates!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

last night i got my holes drilled for the mounting slots (that was a treat), welded my corner pieces on and sanded down all exterior welds and interference welds. i brought home some new lights to see how they look, but im thinking rectangular lights are the look im after. my first attempt at drilling the slots was with the drill press, but it was too short, so i "lifted" it with some blocks of wood. now it was too large to swivel under the bit, so i got creative and dragged out the portable hand drill press. i have a bubble level in the back of the drill so the holes were fairly straight.

i got side tracked while cleaning up my mess from the previous night and found these KCs in my back room that i got a while back. i think ill revive them and mount them either on the front bumper or the back side of the roll bar for back up (back off asshole) lights. I found some 50w sealed hi beam lights for $2.50 a piece at work and i bought some flat black and primer to paint the buckets after cleaning them up.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

more progress was made last night; i welded my reciever tube in place and cleaned out the mounting slots with my die grinder and mounted the bumper up on the truck and i painted my KCs. the bumper fits perfectly and doesnt protrude as much as i had anticipated. now if i could only decide on what lights i want to run in the brush guard.

once i had the bolts tight i crawled underneath and started measuring for my skid plate brace. once i got my measurements i drafted it out on the table and then measured the angles with a protractor and then set my band saw to the approriate degree. i had to find a place to mount it, so i utilized the rear bolts on the sway bar bushing bracket. once the tabs were bolted down i fitted the brace and tack welded it into place. next i welded the tubes solid after rechecking clearnaces of the steering linkage, and then sanded the tube smooth.

before i mounted the bathroom scale with it and i weighed 320lbs, then i weighed myself at 185lbs, so if my scale is calibrated and my math is good that is a 135lb bumper before the skid plate! in comparison the stock bumper weighed 65lbs for a total of 245lbs.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

ive been on a roll this week! after being sick and not touching the truck for 2 1/2 weeks i feel like im back in my domain again. i got the skid plate cut out at work and then went home to tidy it up, shape it, and reinforce it. the plate is 3/16" and the whole assembly wieghs around 30lbs, which lb for lb is not too heavy compared to some factory units especially compared with the amount of protection this one offers.

with this bumper almost wrapped up (needs paint and the proper set of lights) have already began planning the rear bumper out, which i should have steel for soon, when the right piece speaks to me ill know it. "ill make new mounts for my hi lift and shovel too, next week on Wrench Werks Garage" (corny smile on my face)

 

[94bigsteele]

i like you skid plate /locker door idea lol

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

heres some sketches of what im aiming for in the rear bumper department. i want to mount my cb antenna, shovel, hi- lift, and maybe a fuel can but i dont think i would carry fuel that often except for on trips with my bike. let me know what you guys think, i plan on doing another reciever and recessing some work lights in it for back up lights and work lights for those late night wood splitting sessions. i also want to put a recepticle in it for 4 flat trailer lights and maybe a 7 round (i dont have a use for one at the moment).

 

[Flash Gordan]

i like you skid plate /locker door idea lol

Just don't ask where the locker door came from. Some poor kid in the local highschool probably went to his locker the next morning and found his door gone.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

its actually the door off from a large power unit (you can see the red reset button) that my dads company replaced with a new one so we took it all apart and kept the plating. its got a really good coat of paint on it, its just too bad i had to burn it all off in the process.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i finished up the KCs on sunday and also started painting the fog lights black. my dad pulled my truck out of the garage to get his van in there for a brake job and of course it had to rain so now my bumper is all orange and rusty. once it got too chilly for me in the garage i started drawing up refined rear bumpers since i had gotten solid dimensions to work with earlier in the day. after some thinking i was able to source just about everything with stuff i already had in my garage so now i just need to get some more channel and tread plate and i can start fabbing up a rear bumper.

I bought these bull rings to put in the bed pockets because i like the clean look and the way they hide themselves, but i wasnt too crazy about the way they rattled, so i wrapped springs around them and then cut out coils until i had the proper amount of tension on the hook.

i made the bumpers contour the wheel well with the thought of 31s in my future, so i had to cut the trim strip to match the radius of the wheel well. i think its the little details that make it look clean and professional.

i started painting the fog lights but it started getting cold so i took them inside to dry.

heres the plans for the rear bumper, i want the tire swing to be able to latch to the tail gate in the event that i need to put it down, and i also want to be able to mount my CB antenna, 30-32" spare tire and wheel, have a place to mount my license plate and light and also a set of back up lights and a 2" receiver. tell me what you guys think and if you have any ways to improve it.

heres the bushings that i dug up for the pivot and latch system

 

[Downey]

sweet shit man i love the front hope the rear comes out as cool

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

thanks downey, i got the fog lights wired up to the original harness now and i found the plug for the back of the factory switch (need to post a pic of that guy for future reference) and i also un-F**ked the rear speakers (they kept cutting out) and come to find out the wires were crimped together and had a set of wires that were spliced in to feed another speaker which had been terminated but the wire hadnt been capped or taped so it was shorting out in the body cavity and started melting the insulation until it closed off the bare wires( i neglected to take pictures because it was cold out side and i was just there to get them working again). i cut and soldered and shrink wrapped them and now theyre nice and crisp. tonight i am borrowing my friends tube bender to make my headlight guards for the bumper which should further improve the form and function of the bumper. it should be interesting to see how they turn out since my attempt last night ended badly ( i was using a go cart rim clamped in my vise and heting the tube with the torch to try to bend it around the rim but it ended up collapsing). once i get them wleded on the bumper is coming back off for a coat of metal ready and some POR 15 followed by some Autobody Master low gloss black Implement paint.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

heres a couple of pics of what i am looking for in the headlight guard department

ive been thinking about cutting holes and mounting 2 more round lights in the bumper (would have to be 4" or smaller) but i am unsure what to get and if it would be worth it or if it would make the sides of the bumper weaker in the event of a corner hit.

[edit] wow those tires look like they lean alot worse in that pic then they do in real life!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

I got the tubes bent and welded on last night, but my camera cord fell off the bag so i left it at home and cant load any pics yet. those guys who build tube chassis rigs with a tube kinker have my respect because bending that tube sucks! it took me about 5 hours of bending, cutting, tack welding, breaking my tacks off and retacking until i was finally satisfied with the end result (i would have liked to have smooth tubes, but that just wasnt going to happen, so when i take it off to paint it i will finish welding it and fill in the roller divets and grind it all smooth.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

once i was all done working in the garage, showered, and in bed with terra watching a movie my cell phone rang at 2am and it was my brother karl, asking me if i could pull him out of a ditch he was stuck in. a tree had fallen across the road so he figued he would drive through the ditch and go around the tree. he didnt check out the ditch before he went for it and soon found out that it was the edge of a swamp and his mall terrains soon plugged up with mud. we got out of bed and rescued him in our pajamas and i got to use my bumper for the first time! it worked excellent except for when it came to hooking the hair pin back into the hitch pin. with the skid plate in place it made for a tight fit, so i will be modifying that for easier use. i didnt have to go into work until noon today, and its a good thing because karl called me again to come rescue him when his rear drive shaft fell off as he was driving. i called in to work and then headed out with thumper to perform another rescue. apparently he had hit a rock on his way out of the ditch and it put a hefty dent in his shaft, causing it to vibrate the caps out of the rear flange and fall out. i towed him home and realized that my rear bumper and his front bumper definately need an upgrade for rescue work. now i just have to hunt down a shaft for him and get his STX back on the road again.

had to feed my piggy so we could make it home

heres the crash site, you can see the big section of tree that he was straddling and also the rock that i suspect gave his shaft a massage

this picture doesnt do the hole justice cause its kind of at a funny angle, but he was almost touching the ground with the center sections of his axles.