BlackBII's white ranger

[BlackBII]

Nice work on the gas tank...and everything else for that matter, looks great.

I was going to do a B2 tank in my '86 and actually had everything to do it at one point but I have smashed in the factory 11 gallon rear tank so many times...and the B2 tank hangs down another 6", I think it would kill my departure angle and would get mangled real fast. But I do have a long box truck and I think your short box wheel base will help keep it protected a lot better.

Thanks!

Yeah it does hang pretty low. I'll get some better pictures of it this weekend. The skid plate sits about level with the bottom of the belltech shackles, so the departure angle isn't terrible. And like you said, the short bed helps with this.

 

[BlackBII]

33's mounted

Also added some more stickers

Here's the Bronco II skid plate

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Looks really nice.

 

[lvwill]

I've been watching this since you started and just realized its a short wheel base truck. I've got a 92 swb that's lifted about 5" front and 2" shackles back and I just love the way it works. Working on a 90 b2 now with 5.0, 5 speed, np205 swap and am seriously considering cost wise sacrificing the ranger to the b2 project. I really don't want to get rid of the ranger but i think it's going to sacrifice the suspension and axles to the b2 and just be a little run around truck again.
Beautiful truck you got going bud!

 

[1qaz]

Those 33s look awesome! And the stock look of the wheels just enhances them. Love that truck!

 

[planeflyer21]

The B2 skidplate angle over the gas tank really eases that transition under the bed.

Looks good!

 

[Jim Oaks]

I like those Wheels with the factory caps

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

 

[ericbphoto]

I like those Wheels with the factory caps

I agree. [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[BlackBII]

Thank you for the kind words fellas.

Added an '85 F-350 master cylinder. Part number MC39445. It improved the brakes so much that it feels like a different truck. I've owned a countless number of RBV's and they all had terrible brake pedal feel. Mushy, squishy, etc. I wish I would have known about this years ago. Thanks to dirtcowboy in this post for the info.

The only modification I had to do was widening the mounting holes, as the bolt pattern is a bit wider on the F-350, along with using the correct fittings which are not the same as RBV fittings.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have been tempted to go with an Explorer MC, I feel I have a little more brake at the front than the rear than I probably should have but I am waiting to see how my two piston brakes work out when I get the '95 D35 in.

 

[BlackBII]

I have been tempted to go with an Explorer MC, I feel I have a little more brake at the front than the rear than I probably should have but I am waiting to see how my two piston brakes work out when I get the '95 D35 in.

Jelly of your two piston brakes.

I have been looking in the local yards for some two piston knuckles but apparently they are rare around here as I haven't seen any.

When I did the Dana 35 swap I put in all new Moog ball joints, and the uppers are starting to get loose already. Maybe 20k miles on them. So, I need to redo them anyway and want to get some newer knuckles and brakes when I do.

 

[Shran]

FYI about the Explorer master cylinder - our older Rangers have different size fittings on the lines than the Explorers do. I don't know when the change was made but it was after '89, probably '90 or '91. Not a big deal, just need different fittings, but it was enough to make me stick with the older master cylinder on my '89.

I'm not sure the Explorer master cylinder is worth the time anyway, at least with drum brakes. D28 calipers fit a D35 perfectly, and the wheel cylinders on a drum brake 8.8 are about the same size as those on a 7.5. Maybe exactly the same size. Disc brakes are a different story - the earlier master cylinder is proportioned far more towards the front - and with say, a disc brake 8.8 swap - 98% of the fluid pressure will go to the front axle. I can tell just by looking at the rust on my rear rotors on the '86 that the pads never touch the rotors unless I'm really hard into the brakes.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Jelly of your two piston brakes.

I have been looking in the local yards for some two piston knuckles but apparently they are rare around here as I haven't seen any.

They are scarce here too. Actually it found me, a local kid I met on here (Lariat, he isn't that active on here anymore) called and informed me that his dad bought a wrecked '95 for the trans and knowing I was looking for a D35 with 3.73 gears wanted to know if I wanted the front axle for $75 sitting on a pallet.

The hard part was turning up a good set of splash shields for the brakes. Hard to find the donor trucks and then you have to disassemble the front end to find out if they are any good.

I'm not sure the Explorer master cylinder is worth the time anyway, at least with drum brakes. D28 calipers fit a D35 perfectly, and the wheel cylinders on a drum brake 8.8 are about the same size as those on a 7.5. Maybe exactly the same size. Disc brakes are a different story - the earlier master cylinder is proportioned far more towards the front - and with say, a disc brake 8.8 swap - 98% of the fluid pressure will go to the front axle. I can tell just by looking at the rust on my rear rotors on the '86 that the pads never touch the rotors unless I'm really hard into the brakes.

Yeah, I have an Explorer 8.8 with disks in the back. It feels like the fronts come on too hard. I don't know how the twin piston front calipers will effect that so I am just sitting tight at the moment until I find out. I figure an Explorer MC would probably have a pretty close to what I need fore-aft proportioning for my set up, later trucks with ABS are supposed to be ok too... I need to check into that more and burn that bridge if/when I get there.

 

[Canadian_ranger]

Thanks for welcome back!

Plans are 4.56 gears, lockers front and rear, little 31" tires and a small lift. Nothing crazy this time.

Seems like someone got caught in a project again! Sick ride man hope i can get my 94 all the way up to yours someday!