Cougars build thread

[Cougar428]

Hey guys,
First time poster but I’ve been lurking around for a while lol. Decided to make a thread to document what has been done to the truck. I purchased the truck in may from my friend after I bugged him almost daily for a year. The truck had been sitting in a garage and hadn’t moved for a few years.

It’s an 88 ranger custom with 5 speed, 2.9 v6, 4wd, Ac, and 44k miles. Original owner was an older gentleman and my friend bought it off of him. I even found the original bill of sale in the glove box along with other original documentation. Prior to me purchasing it, my friend had changed out all of the injectors to aftermarket ones off amazon because the truck was running rough. Well after he did so, the truck idled better but it drove horribly. I just assumed it was from the truck sitting for so long and the fuel being old. The old gas from the tank was removed and it was filled up with Fresh gas and also changed the fuel filter. The truck still ran like crap so I ended up purchasing a set of rebuilt Bosch injectors off of eBay and now she runs nice and smooth. Here she is after I wiped her down with spray on quick detailer and super cleaned the rims.

Other things I have done are

Replaced both door mirrors

Replaced headlights with leds (wanted a period correct look but even with h4 conversions and hids the spread of light was horrible. Not a fan of the looks but the have a nice clean cut off and produce a lot of white useable light)

Led gauge lights
Tail gate cables
Cleaned up interior ( no pics of interior)
New ac compressor
New belts
New spark plugs
Oil change.

After driving the truck for a bit one of the tires began to leak air from the sidewall. They were all old and dry rotted. Checked Amazon and ordered 4 Goodyear AT tires size 235/76/16. Looks alot better than the old 205’s

Because there are no tow hooks or recovery points on the truck, I removed the front chin spoiler on the front bumper and added a set of tow hooks to the frame. Also ordered a receiver for the rear of the truck.

I also ordered a set of rough country leveling springs, adjustable camber bushings and new super lift shocks but im
Unsure if I want to do the lift right now. I’m kinda digging the look of the truck as it is. I’ll be sure to update the thread as I slowly do things.

 

[Uncle Gump]

That's one clean looking truck... I'm not a fan of the headlamps either. I would suffer through the performance of the sealed beam headlamps and add a set of old school DOT driving lights... if they can be had.

If you dig the looks of it now... leveled will look even better.

The factory wheels look awesome... Just a nice clean factory look. I'll admit... I'm a bit jealous... but not about the 2.9L. Just keep your eye on the temp gauge... they don't like to get warm.

Welcome to TRS...

 

[RobbieD]

Welcome! That's a nice truck, just like it is.

Only thing I could suggest is to make sure that the engine cooling system is in top shape, to keep that 2.9 happy.

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site. Sharp looking little truck. So by chance with your name... do you have an older cougar with a 428 stuffed in it? 'cause that would be cool. I love the old cougars...

 

[Cougar428]

Thanks guys!! Truck is clean but there is some rust popping up here and there on the body. It’s definitely something I’d like to address sometime in the near future. As far as the engine running cool, iv noticed that my temp gauge is always at the bottom of the N in norm. Could it be a faulty gauge or something more serious ? And yes i used to own a 68 cougar lol. Had a 302 but I always wished it had a 428. Bought the car in 2006 but recently sold it.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

68 cougar has always been my dream car. Especially the Eliminator

 

[Angie]

As far as the engine running cool, iv noticed that my temp gauge is always at the bottom of the N in norm. Could it be a faulty gauge or something more serious ?


2 options.
1. get a battery operated thermal laser temp gun and check it.
2. place in a mechanical temp sender with a new in cab gauge to know the temp.

 

[Cougar428]

Sorry guys the needle is under the M in norm. Not the N.

 

[Ranger850]

@Cougar428 you should look at this

2.9 reference links, euro and american

Please guys, no replies unless to add link only. Sites I use to do homework on engine and euro stuff, and all cologne family. Welcome to the rabbit hole... http://forum.merkurclub.com/forum/index.php?sid=f02b0da0967e40619e73d24071700c26 https://www.rpmrons.com/index.html...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Cougar428]

Got my Reese receiver installed tonight. I did have to drill two holes but other than that it was a pretty simple install.

You have to drill a hole for the bolt closest to the spare. Also if you install this receiver you need a 19mm open end to access your spare because of the lack of space.