My 91 Street Turbo Ranger Build!

[Mechanickid]

I think some radiator hoses have a spring or wire of some sort inside the return hose so it doesn't get sucked shut? could it possibly rust away?

 

[feellnfroggy]

No doubtful. well water will rust a rad in no time. With it being from texas its a safe bet that they used well water.
I would have pulled the engine and tranny together, it would have saved you some headeaches. And on the ranger, it would prolly be easier to do the same and reinstall teh same. great job though.

 

[Phiiilly]

What size tires are you running, I've fallen in love with that wheel / tire setup!

 

[Silver talon84]

Any updates? Project looks good!

A few updates so far. As of friday night, I have the engine out of the ranger!! WOOT!! Took me a while to get around to doing that. My swap turbo header should be on my porch either today or tommorow. Then its figure out how to swap all the accessories over to the merkur motor. All the ranger brackets should swap onto the merk motor right??? That will help keep the swap simple. Once I get the brackets on, ill put the swap header on, and then set it in, and start the wiring.

That's what happens when you don't run antifreeze in your system, your block will rust from the inside out. Flush the crap out of it with the top rad hose off and the heat on full blast and plug the upper rad inlet and run the hose in the radiator cap hole on full blast for about 15 minutes or till clear water comes out, then drain and replace with proper antifreeze mix.

I ran antifreeze in it, but I'm not sure if it was ever flushed by the previous owner when it was brought up here. Ill make sure I flush it before I do anything else. Never thought of that, thanks!

that may be bars stop leak in the radiator... thats what mine looks like

Could be that too, it does look to be the origional rad, so a good chance it had a leak somewhere at some time.

seems like a badass proyect man!!
that truck will be even more awesome whti that snail powering it!!

Im so stoked to drive this thing with the turbo in it!! Im glad I swapped in that L/S rear end with 3.73's earlier this year!!! I think traction is going to be the new issue with this motor, but i'm not complaining!!

I think some radiator hoses have a spring or wire of some sort inside the return hose so it doesn't get sucked shut? could it possibly rust away?

I've seen those, but dont belive they came in these ones, but ill be replacing the hoses, so that wont be an issue in the future tho. Thanks for the idea!

No doubtful. well water will rust a rad in no time. With it being from texas its a safe bet that they used well water.
I would have pulled the engine and tranny together, it would have saved you some headeaches. And on the ranger, it would prolly be easier to do the same and reinstall teh same. great job though.

NOW you tell me!!! lol!!! It was a pain, but its over with now! The ranger has ALOT more room to work with than the merk, so I shouldnt have any probs swapping this motor back in. But in the future, ill do it that way! lol.

What size tires are you running, I've fallen in love with that wheel / tire setup!

The tires are actually take-off's from newer crown vic p71's police cars. Up here if one tire gets a flat, they put 4 new on, and my buddys garage has the contract for all the state police cars, so he has an abundance of 17's for me. Can you say smoke shows??? lol!!! Ill get the tire size for you and post them up. Thanks for the good words!!

Any updates? Project looks good!

See above! lol!

 

[JimJa1943]

A number of years ago I swapped a Ford Mustang turbo 4 into a Ford Courier. Your swap looks similar. Success is in the details. Read everything you can find about how that turbo manages detonation and make sure you swap the parts to prevent the same from new ride. Get a professional to do the exhaust and size it correctly. That's important. I had no problem with the swap itself, but getting the turbo to preform like it should was difficult. Patience is the key. You'll find one thing, then another will rear it head. Just keep after it and you'll get there, but expect lots of issues, most small and perhaps one or two larger. Good luck, it will be a nice unit when finished. I like the looks of your clean Ranger. Not over done, just right.

 

[Silver talon84]

A number of years ago I swapped a Ford Mustang turbo 4 into a Ford Courier. Your swap looks similar. Success is in the details. Read everything you can find about how that turbo manages detonation and make sure you swap the parts to prevent the same from new ride. Get a professional to do the exhaust and size it correctly. That's important. I had no problem with the swap itself, but getting the turbo to preform like it should was difficult. Patience is the key. You'll find one thing, then another will rear it head. Just keep after it and you'll get there, but expect lots of issues, most small and perhaps one or two larger. Good luck, it will be a nice unit when finished. I like the looks of your clean Ranger. Not over done, just right.

Thanks bud! Yea, Im expecting a few small issues, but the major ones I'm betting on not rearing its head. Ive done alot of reading and research, so I should be all set! The wiring is going to be biggest issue I'll have to tackle. I got my donor motor rebuilt, and running well in my Merkur before I pulled it for just that reason. Its easier to diag a problem without all the extra mess of a swap too.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[sohc86-06]

man great build an congrats on the truck of the month as well

 

[Silver talon84]

Thanks man! Glad everyone likes it so far.

I do have some more progress done on it too, but have to go and take pics. I got a little held up and missed some work due to an emergency appendectomy, that layed me up for nearly a month, but much better now.

The engine is out of the ranger, and the pulleys and brackets are getting swapped over now. I have to order a new crank pulley to swap it over to a serp belt. Then swap the turbo onto the new header, and install! Not looking forward to the wiring, but oh well.

I did pick up a nice la3 and large vam for it too!

Ill see what I can do for pictures and give everyone an update.

 

[multiranger]

Thanks man! Glad everyone likes it so far.

I do have some more progress done on it too, but have to go and take pics. I got a little held up and missed some work due to an emergency appendectomy, that layed me up for nearly a month, but much better now.

The engine is out of the ranger, and the pulleys and brackets are getting swapped over now. I have to order a new crank pulley to swap it over to a serp belt. Then swap the turbo onto the new header, and install! Not looking forward to the wiring, but oh well.

I did pick up a nice la3 and large vam for it too!

Ill see what I can do for pictures and give everyone an update.

Come on ST where is them pics at??? Or you been to busy helpin with a rich runnin Shelby to get em posted??

 

[Silver talon84]

Come on ST where is them pics at??? Or you been to busy helpin with a rich runnin Shelby to get em posted??

Lol. Yea, between that and trying to get caught back up with bills, its been a little busy at my house! Gotta find more time to

Had a buddy that is anxious to help, but he is busy for the next week or so moving, so my heavy lifter is tied up (I still am on a limited lifting diet due to my surgery). But the pics I should be able to find somewhere, or wost case, go take them again.

I thought my truck looked like a 4x4 before, but with the motor out, now it looks like I have a skyjacker lift in it, enough to make the 4x4 guys jealous!!

 

[-Nathan-]

That flywheel NEEDS to be resurfaced badly. You can see where it has been slipping. If you dont have this done, it will slip like a banshee.

Also....are those stress cracks in the splines of the clutch? If so....gonna need a new one.

 

[Silver talon84]

That flywheel NEEDS to be resurfaced badly. You can see where it has been slipping. If you dont have this done, it will slip like a banshee.

Also....are those stress cracks in the splines of the clutch? If so....gonna need a new one.

I planned on cleaning up the flywheel a hair, but it didnt look like it needed to be resurfaced to me, but I'm no pro. The cluch pic is the one out of the merkur, and isint going into the ranger. I'm keeping the ranger clutch and tranny.

 

[rangertroy]

any updates? i too am buildinr a 87 with a 2.3 turbo.but my truck started out with a 2.9 v6 and auto.
very nice so far...and i would use the merkers tranny...its a t5 and way stronger then the ranger.

 

[sohc86-06]

any update this truck is sweet cant wait to see it boosted now

 

[Silver talon84]

Sorry guys, no update so far. The winter was long, cold, and the un-employed kind. But im in a new job, and plan on ordering my new crank pulley in the next week or two, and started cleaning out the garage from the winter clutter that it accumilated. So hopefully by the end of april/ mid may I can have it bolted together and in the truck, so that I can start the wiring mess.