Recent content by TurboRay

. Gotcha........I was thrown off by the "3-link" part. <shrug>

Having only read about 20% of the thread, I must've missed the "pro-touring autocross" part. Obviously, a straight front axle would probably not be ideal for that, lol. (y) When you say, "3-link Panhard" ~ I ASSume you're referring to Watts linkage? LINK

I'm envious of your patience, perseverance, AND your deep pockets in building this truck, Yota (I don't have any of those things, lol). As a preemptive strike......I didn't read the entire thread, perhaps only about 20% ~ mainly the portions about the AJE front subframe/suspension kit. I waded...

. I appreciate your concern about increasing the severity of body damage w/o a front bumper, 4x4 ~ BUT.....I'm willing to take that chance in favor of lightening up the front AND overall weight of the truck. As for fiberglass panels, the only ones I've found that don't "ugly up" the stock body...

Hmmmm..........it's hard for me to imagine both leaf springs simultaneously deflecting sideways enough to cause bump steer ~ BUT......que serà serà. If I decide to retain the stock "cross steering" and find that there's noticeable bump steer........I may wind up doing as you've suggested, by...

Hey, superj ~ While it's true that I could probably retain the stock Ranger coils, install twin Jeep-Esque parallel control arms, & their mounts on each side ~ AND use a Panhard/track bar to locate the axle side-to-side..........doing so isn't consistent with my MAIN goal of dropping as much...

LOL........I once came close to being one of Ralph Nader's (RIP) statistics when a friend urged me to take the turns more aggressively while driving HIS gen 1 Corvair. It was on a curvy residential street in a beach community of SoCal and - to this day - I don't know how I managed to avoid...

Yeah.....I sent an inquiry the THESE folks about whether or not their 'glass "race-weight" hood has bracing for hinge mounts ~ since I don't wanna install one with just "pins". But, I haven't heard back yet. <shrug>

THANX for the responses, guys! I haven't found an aluminum(?) Ranger bumper, but I'll keep my eye out for one. The thought of making a mold for a fiberglass version sounds like it's way over my pay grade! I was really hoping that I'd be able to find a mfr of fiberglass body components that still...

Hi, Guys (& Gals?) ~ I'm trying to lighten the front of my '87 2.3T short box Ranger, and thus far.....I've moved the battery to the bed, installed a PMGR starter, priced a fiberglass hood ($379 + shipping <eek>), and removed [1] The anti-sway bar, [2] The "boomerang" front cross member, and [3]...

. To the best of my alleged knowledge, the only thing that could affect the amount of required or perceived steering assist (greater or lesser), other than alignment, is the "yield strength" of the little torsion bar in the hydraulic valve located in the gear box.......something that's obviously...

. I've been pretty-much a life-long professional mechanic (incl 20 years w/Ford, prior to retirement), with only a few brief "detours" for other professions, but I've never been an alignment tech. From my trade-school training, however, I recall that (assuming equal tire inflation) a vehicle...

The only 7.5 diff covers that I'm aware of with fill and drain plugs ARE the "super duper" (girdle-style) covers, Grumpaw. . But.......if you don't need the added strength of a girdle-cover, I'm sure you don't need to be told that there's already a fill hole at the front of the pumpkin casting...

. (Many of y'all know me from TurboFord....and this ad is also posted there) As the title says, I'm looking for a good manual steering box for my '87 2WD Ranger. I'm putting the old girl on a diet and I'm trading a few pounds of ugly fat for increased steering effort by converting from the OE...

. Pick-n-Pull would probably pay $700-1K and pick it up to boot. Soooo.......IMHO, anything less than that would be a good deal! . Sounds like a cool project!! .