- Joined
- Nov 13, 2018
- Messages
- 4,512
- Reaction score
- 4,465
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Canaan,NH
- Vehicle Year
- 1993
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger
- Engine Type
- V8
- Engine Size
- 351
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 2WD
- Total Drop
- 3"
- Tire Size
- 235/55R16
- My credo
- If you don't have time to do it right will you have time to do it over?
I bought this truck as a stripped out,hacked up, alleged former drag truck. I say alleged because after getting my Mustang through tech at New England Dragway for 20+ years, there is no way this truck was ever allowed on the track. He broke off bolts everywhere and either drilled them and used a bolt and nut or welded stuff- the hood hinges are welded on, for example. The front cab mounts by the core support were missing altogether, the underfloor mounts were still the originals but he'd wound 7/16 coarse bolts into the 12 mm x 1.75 nuts so they weren't holding much. The rear cab mounts were one hockey puck per side and 36 flat washers stacked up, held together with hardware grade bolts. The rear box was held on by two 3/8 carriage bolts with 4 factory bolts in the other holes that had no nuts on them. It had an 8.8 that I had planned to use, until I found the scored pinion flange, rusted axles,and traction lok clutches worn to metal allowing one wheel to spin until the spider gears ground into the case. The housing looked OK, at first. He had moved the spring pads to the bottom of the housing, welded them on at 2 different angles, neither was correct. I had an 8 inch Mustang II housing which measured 1/4" wider than the Ranger 8.8, several sets of gears, a new Yukon limited slip diff, so I bought custom 5 lug axles and a bearing kit and built myself an 8 inch rear. The Ranger 10" backing plates bolted on like they were made for it.
One of my former techs gave me the 351 out of his 95 F150, I rebuilt it with new pistons, ported the heads,and did a valve job on them, bolted on 1.7 roller rockers and an Offenhauser Dual Port intake with a Holley and finished it off with a Pertronics distributor and a set of exhaust manifolds with 66 Full size Ford ID numbers. I bought an H pipe for a 65-6 Mustang and cut it up to make a Y pipe with a 2 1/2 outlet. The C4 came out of a six cylinder 81 Cougar that I swapped the old engine out of my Mustang and a T5 into. I used Mustang drums for forward and reverse/high to gain more clutch discs. The shifter came out of a 74 Mustang II I junked out years ago,( primarily to get a glove box door for my Mustang that wasn't warped by pressure from the glove box light switch). I stripped 4 cardboard boxes of wiring out of it, reused the under dash fuse box and made my own wiring harness. I bought a Vintage Air system because I wanted a/c and didn't have a heater box to start with. Here's some pictures.
One of my former techs gave me the 351 out of his 95 F150, I rebuilt it with new pistons, ported the heads,and did a valve job on them, bolted on 1.7 roller rockers and an Offenhauser Dual Port intake with a Holley and finished it off with a Pertronics distributor and a set of exhaust manifolds with 66 Full size Ford ID numbers. I bought an H pipe for a 65-6 Mustang and cut it up to make a Y pipe with a 2 1/2 outlet. The C4 came out of a six cylinder 81 Cougar that I swapped the old engine out of my Mustang and a T5 into. I used Mustang drums for forward and reverse/high to gain more clutch discs. The shifter came out of a 74 Mustang II I junked out years ago,( primarily to get a glove box door for my Mustang that wasn't warped by pressure from the glove box light switch). I stripped 4 cardboard boxes of wiring out of it, reused the under dash fuse box and made my own wiring harness. I bought a Vintage Air system because I wanted a/c and didn't have a heater box to start with. Here's some pictures.