'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

Snagged another 5.0 today...

 

[sgtsandman]

Spare Parts?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Spare Parts?

Nope.

 

[sgtsandman]

Nope.

View attachment 75423

Spare Parts?

 

[snoranger]

5.0 swapping the Bronco???

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

5.0 swapping the Bronco???

First 2.3 ecoboost F-150 ever!

 

[Jim Oaks]

First 2.3 ecoboost F-150 ever!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It probably weighs about the same as a Bronco!

It is a Skamper Special with the longer bed though (and old man step in the tailgate for camper access)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Amanda found a show and shine in Omaha on a facebook group, sounded like a couple other Broncos were going and she was excited so sure, we can go.

So I did a quick spiffy on the Ranger so it could go too.



I didn't get it as clean as I would have liked, I spent most of my prime cleaning time yesterday hunkering down in the house during a tornado warning. Luckily the reported tornado was well south of us.

Oh well, not like I am going to win anything anyway.

Anyway, up bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning.



Dunno much about him but between his truck and his hitch plug I could tell he was probably a pretty good guy.



Stopped at my in laws so my FIL could join in.



Ok, I don't really go to a ton of shows. I have been to a few "show and shine's". Generally they seem to attract about 50 cars tops, that is what I was picturing. Nope, lot was full. More variety than I thought possible.



The back side of our little group





We couldn't all get in together.



Another Ranger:



The only old Bronco there:



Thermometer was saying 55 but it looked a lot like the 80's...





A modified 2dr "Base"





I do like this red, it really pops with the black trimwork.





Rest of pictures here:

Omaha Car Show TRS

Explore this photo album by Justin Russell on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Last friday after work I go to pull out on the highway and she sputters once and dies. Try to restart and it won't say a word. Nose was kinda hanging out into the road so a guy stopped to help me push it back. Pop the hood, no fuel pressure.

I crawl under it and I can hear the pump running but it sounds like the clutch is pushed in. Real high pitched like it isn't doing anything. I thump the tank and get it to change pitch for a fraction of a second. I fiddle with the connector on the top of the pump to no effect hoping it is a lose connection. No dice. So I goes back to thumping. Eventually it sounds like the clutch gets let out, the little motor pulls down and sounds like it is doing something. Truck fires right up and drives 7 miles back home without missing a beat.

Ok, aside from not having to haul it home I don't like that.

So I snag a red Holley pump from Speedway. They were about the cheapest and being out of Lincoln 9 times out of 10 I get it next day, and this time was no exception.

So I get to thinking I can hopefully just use one of the holes from my Mr Gasket fuel pump days until I peek under there and get reminded that my rockslider covers the holes. Wait a minute... sure enough the bolts on my slider mounting pad are the same spacing as the mount for the fuel pump. So I hogged out the holes a little with the die grinder and it slipped right on. Really fits in there nice.



I fires it up and I have 7psi to the carb (2yo in tank pump could only ever manage 3psi)

I check for leaks and decide to circle the section and see how it runs out.

Long story short I don't think it has ever ran so good.

Pre 5 speed it was close, something must have happened to the Mr Gasket pump then, it dropped from 6psi to 3psi while the truck was down for several months. POS (bolded for extra emphasis) carquest in tank pump must have been junk out of the box because it did the same exact thing as the Mr Gasket which at the time made me question if the Mr Gasket was actually bad and if I had a problem with either the carb or driveline.

These stupid pumps have had me chasing my tail for years...
Now I do need to reset my carb, it runs a little rich... but holy crap when we get into the secondaries.

 

[dvdswan]

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

So anyway, onto the next project... cold air.

For those just now tuning in I have a interference issue between a hose going to my oil filter mount and the clutch on my A/C compressor.



I ripped the power steering pump bracket off the engine and flopped it over yonder out of the way.



And fun fact, a trans adapt flat oil filter re locator dealio is not centered, it is offset a good quarter inch.

So it hits the engine mount. Hard. One side clears by a quarter inch, the other hits by like half an inch.

If I had used the V6 mounts with plates... big deal. A little jackage, lose three bolts and kick the plate out of the way for less than a minute. Fox convert mounts... not so much. If I just unbolted the engine and lifted it would have to come up about an inch. Unbolting the mount from underneath is a major PITA.

So back up three times and punt on a hard mounted oil filter. Maybe if I ever find another engine I will revisit that, I think I can get it to fit if I could get the current filter mount out of the way.

So now I need to get new hoses and try to reroute them out of harms way I guess. And hope the oring on the relocator thing is still ok...

I am kinda wondering of I could trade the 90* elbow on the interfering hose for a 45* if it would be enough to keep it out of the clutch AND out of the engine fan.

 

[dvdswan]

I would suggest using two fittings to get your 45* angle. This way you can set the 45* at the angle you want. Images are just for the idea.

This style you have a difficult time getting the angle you want without it leaking.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I did just grab a solid 45* from the hydraulic section at the local farm store. Worst case I can experiment with it for mockup, best case I can just run with it. I have used them quite a bit with hydraulics and have gotten along pretty good with them.

No pics and I had to close tonight so the only place in town with black 1/2" cooler hose was closed by the time I got off. All the fittings are on and so far if the hose lays like I think it will I like the angles.

Also poked at my loose steering, I think most of my slop is in the intermediate shaft where it telescopes. Going to try to hit the JY over the weekend and try to find a tighter one with a good rag joint.

Also in my quest to find hose I found a neat dual spring kit for my carb to pull it back to idle, with the little single that came with the carb sometimes it would hang up at about 1000rpm and I would have to bump it so the throttle would snap shut. I got that on and I like it so far (obviously haven't ran it yet)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My new hose routing:





Kind of a bad photo but the hose that looks like it is hitting the clutch is actually below it. The formally offending hose is well away from the clutch now.



By some strange freak of science my serpentine belt shrank, stupid thing won't go on at all. So I fired it up, let it run until it built oil pressure for like 30 seconds and shut if off. No leaks so far. I already have a new A/C serpentine belt, four bolts and just let the compressor be an idler until I get ready for it. But after being in aluminum for the first 15 years of their existence the threads need cleaned up first.

And my before throttle return spring:



And my new setup:



Also kinda surprised to see Magnetti Marelli on the side of my carb. Not really sure on the how/why but I guess they make all Edelbrock carbs per google. They also are also in with Mopar, they make most of our filters and are the value line for a lot of other things like brakes and lamp housings.

I know the Edebrock is basically a Carter AFB which was commonly found on Chrysler vehicles back in the day, I need to dig into a bit more when it isn't 2:30 and see if it branches back to that or what the deal is. I'm curious now... but also tired.