Body swap/lowering question

[JoshT]

I figure that slammedxonair would probably be the most likely person to hold the answer here, but if anyone else wishes to chime in please do so.

First:

Will a Standard cab, short bed first gen bolt onto the equivalent 98+ ranger frame? I know in order to run the front bumper the frame horns would have to be chopped off and swapped over, but I'm thinking that this would be an easy way to upgrade the suspension if one wanted to stay static. Any ideas what the resulting ride height would be in comparison to the stock 1st gen ride height?


Second:

If I wanted to lower an AWD Explorer beyond 2" and once again stay with a static drop how would I do so? I'm guessing the answer would be what is called Z-ing the frame. So one would cut out that section of the frame raise it the desired amount of drop and weld it back in with proper bracing? If one were to start this could the vehicle be driven w/ a 2wd drive train for a little while? In other words would it be possible to drive without the front axles installed without messing up the spindle, hub, or wheel bearings?


Third:

Was there a manual AWD transmission that can bolt to a 4.0 ohv? How about a divorced AWD transfer case?



If you see where I am headed with (it's probably obvious) this please don't spill the beans.

 

[Combs Customs]

First:
In 1998 the cab got stretched 3" for more room. This would also change the length of the frame. You could make it work, but its not a bolt on ordeal.

Second:
Not sure about not having front driveshaft installed. That will proabably mess up the transfer case. As far as Hub Bearing, it needs the stub shaft thru it to hold the bearing together. Without the stub shaft, it will go about 100 ft.

Third:
The AWD is in the transfer case. I think all the AWD explorers were 5.0 and automatic. You could probably get an adapter to make that work.

 

[slammedxonair]

Honestly I have no idea haha. I know the extended cab ranger frames are different between the years the newer cabs are just a little longer but I'm not sure on the std cabs. The 98+ ranger frames are not that much better, when it comes to bagging anyways all rangers have nasty front camber. If your gona stay static I would probably leave it alone unless your racing it or soemthing. The 98+ is a little better than I beams But I would take a mustang II front end or a 84-94 yota clip over anything.

As for the explorer you can crank the torsion bars or install reindexed torsion keys. If you do both you will probably need to build custom upper control arms to reangle the balljoints and possably extend them. But there is a limit to the drop your CV joints can handle I believe. As for the Humbs them self being run with out the front axles I think you might have to have some kind of spline or slug machined to keep them together but im not positive I don't know much about 4wd and awd drive lines. Zing the front clip could help you out some.

 

[JoshT]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Combs thanks for the info that the frame is a little longer. Never would have guessed that, I thought that it might be slightly different shape, but didn't figure on length. Might give it a try if I find a cheap donor for the frame, but likely I'll just stick to upgraded stock design for now.

I figured out about the front axles and all just after posting and decided it would be mre trouble than it's worth. I still think an AWD SWB first gen ranger would be cool as hell though. I'm not even looking for more than an inch or two shorter than stock first gen ride height, but as I said above it'd have to wait for one to practically fall into my lap. Of course I wouldn't be using an explorer for anything more than the drivetrain, and a 4x4 SWB Ranger for the frame/front end.

 

[wvcat]

I'm not sure you can go by frame length, wheelbase would be more of a concern.

Production 1983–1988
Wheelbase 107.9 in (2741 mm)
113.9 in (2893 mm)
125 in (3175 mm)
Length 175.6 in (4460 mm)
187.6 in (4765 mm)
192.7 in (4895 mm)
Width 66.9 in (1699 mm)

Production 1989–1992
Wheelbase 107.9 in (2741 mm)
113.9 in (2893 mm)
125 in (3175 mm)
Length 176.5 in (4483 mm)
188.5 in (4788 mm)
193.6 in (4917 mm)
Width 66.8 in (1697 mm)

Production 1993–1997
Wheelbase 107.9 in (2741 mm)
113.9 in (2893 mm)
125.2 in (3180 mm)
125.4 in (3185 mm)
Length 184.3 in (4681 mm)
196.3 in (4986 mm)
198.2 in (5034 mm)
182.7 in (4641 mm)
Width 69.4 in (1763 mm)

Production 1998–present
Wheelbase 111.6 in (2835 mm)
117.6 in (2987 mm)
125.9 in (3198 mm)
Length 188.5 in (4788 mm)
200.5 in (5093 mm)
202.9 in (5154 mm)
Width 70.3 in (1786 mm)
Height 68.3 in (1735 mm)
69.4 in (1763 mm)

 

[JoshT]

Yeah wheel base is what I was thinking about but it doesn't really matter. If it were sinply a matter of wheelbase The rear axle could be relocated the 3.7" needed to fit, and the frame could be chopped off and a new cross member welded in to maintain strength. The problem here is that since the cab was stretched the frame itself is likely shaped different as well as (likely) having all of the cab and bed mounts located incorrectly.

 

[JoshT]

Honestly all the drop I wanted was about 3" lower than stock 1st gen ride height.

The reason I was thinking about a frame swap was to get better front end suspension and steering. If the suspension isn't much better then there is no point in my doing that swap since I already have drop I-beams, shocks, bushings, and sway bars (if they aren't bent) for a first gen sitting here. So either I want to find a way to improve the steering or a upgrade the entire suspension to Mustang II at some point down the road.

 

[slammedxonair]

well it is somewhat better and nice having the rack, you could swap the front clips but what Im saying is if your to do that much work might as well take it to the max.

 

[JoshT]

I'll probably do the mustang II sub frame and some sort of IRS somewhere down the road, but to start with I'll just get the truck running on the stock style set-up. Once I find one that is. Guess I need to forget about this for now though and focus on school work and getting my Probe back on the road, so that I can diagnose and fix the 99.