First Gen Front Bumper Delete

[TurboRay]

Actually, I don't like the twin I beam front suspension, or the swing axles used under VW's from 37-67 and under the first generation Corvairs because the camber goes nuts over bumps.

LOL........I once came close to being one of Ralph Nader's (RIP) statistics when a friend urged me to take the turns more aggressively while driving HIS gen 1 Corvair. It was on a curvy residential street in a beach community of SoCal and - to this day - I don't know how I managed to avoid hitting any cars after TOTALLY losing control and weaving from one side of the road to the other......until I was finally able to get it straightened out. You may remember the name of Ralph's first book, "Unsafe at Any Speed"?

Hit a bump in the middle of a curve with a straight axle and you're going for a sleigh ride.

Soooooo...........you're sayin' that the sleigh ride might end up being a "slay" ride? <grin> Perhaps control of the tires' contact with the road may not have been as good as with modern-day independent suspension ~ but, despite living with the rigors of outdated solid front axles, our parents & grandparents mostly survived thru the 30's & 40's despite some pretty poor rural roads.

 

[superj]

and jeeps still use solid front axles. i know the cherokee we recently sold (98 model) was a two wheel drive and used coil springs so i wonder if it would more easily bolt in place to the ranger than building all new stuff? its already go the same bolt pattern. just put some control arm mounts on the frame and a trac bar and maybe it will be good to go?

 

[TurboRay]

.....the cherokee we recently sold.......used coil springs so i wonder if it would more easily bolt in place to the ranger than building all new stuff? control arm mounts on the frame and a trac bar.

Hey, superj ~ While it's true that I could probably retain the stock Ranger coils, install twin Jeep-Esque parallel control arms, & their mounts on each side ~ AND use a Panhard/track bar to locate the axle side-to-side..........doing so isn't consistent with my MAIN goal of dropping as much weight as possible. The two short (25-in) 3-leaf trailer springs that I have (selected according to their size & weight capacity), plus their mounts & shackles, only weigh about 12lbs per side. AND, altho I haven't cut off & weighed the factory coil-spring mounts, retaining rivets, and coils......I'm pretty sure their cumulative weight is about the same. Shocks will be a "push"/equal.

In contrast........the twin leaf springs negate the need for the four (total) control arms & their mounts, AND the track/Panhard bar. Plus, the little leaf-spring mounts bolt or weld directly to the bottom of the frame. <shrug> I also haven't weighed a forged OEM Twin-Beam axle ~ BUT, I'm willing to bet that each one is about the same weight as the whole tube axle that's gonna take their place......DUNNO.

 

[19Walt93]

LOL........I once came close to being one of Ralph Nader's (RIP) statistics when a friend urged me to take the turns more aggressively while driving HIS gen 1 Corvair. It was on a curvy residential street in a beach community of SoCal and - to this day - I don't know how I managed to avoid hitting any cars after TOTALLY losing control and weaving from one side of the road to the other......until I was finally able to get it straightened out. You may remember the name of Ralph's first book, "Unsafe at Any Speed"?



Soooooo...........you're sayin' that the sleigh ride might end up being a "slay" ride? <grin> Perhaps control of the tires' contact with the road may not have been as good as with modern-day independent suspension ~ but, despite living with the rigors of outdated solid front axles, our parents & grandparents mostly survived thru the 30's & 40's despite some pretty poor rural roads.

Ralph Nader was always an idiot, people would tell him absolutely ridiculous stories and he'd write them down as gospel. I he was alive today he'd probably write for Consumer Reports, wear sandals and have a man bun. No one said a peep about swing axles under VW's but Corvairs were "unsafe"? My a$$. I've driven many VW's and Corvairs, the Corvair was far superior in every way. Poor design like swing axles would be more forgiving at 40 on a rough road than it would be on a high speed turn. By the way, I rolled over a beetle in August of 1970 at about 35 mph on a paved turn, trying to avoid a yellow Dodge Monaco wagon parked in my lane.

 

[snoranger]

In contrast........the twin leaf springs negate the need for the four (total) control arms & their mounts, AND the track/Panhard bar. Plus, the little leaf-spring mounts bolt or weld directly to the bottom of the frame. <shrug> I also haven't weighed a forged OEM Twin-Beam axle ~ BUT, I'm willing to bet that each one is about the same weight as the whole tube axle that's gonna take their place......DUNNO.

You’re planning on running front leaves with no trac bar? I wouldn’t recommend that. You will experience bump steer, unless you rework the steering and run the drag link parallel to the springs.

 

[TurboRay]

You’re planning on running front leaves with no trac bar? I wouldn’t recommend that. You will experience bump steer, unless you rework the steering and run the drag link parallel to the springs.

Hmmmm..........it's hard for me to imagine both leaf springs simultaneously deflecting sideways enough to cause bump steer ~ BUT......que serà serà. If I decide to retain the stock "cross steering" and find that there's noticeable bump steer........I may wind up doing as you've suggested, by installing a trac bar. <shrug>

As it is, I'm already gonna have to do a little re-engineering with the steering linkage, since the '40-Ford spindles that I have were designed to be "rear steer", which is opposite from the stock "front steer" arrangement of a gen 1 Ranger (like my '87).

Soooo.......while the tie rod will remain at the rear of the axle (to maintain proper Ackerman), the steering drag link will stay in front, using the stock pitman arm and a forged aftermarket steering arm (as below) bolted to the R/H spindle.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

@bobbywalter

 

[superj]

i always threw the trac bar off my front leaf spring vehicles. leaf springs move up and down while trac bars try and push the suspension out when moving upward in their arc. they are fighting each other in every instance except a static environment.

 

[4x4prepper]

I would add a bumper that can absorb a hit as even a minor 3 mph hit could total your truck without a bumper. Go 1/4" plate across the front with aluminum brackets and aluminum bolts, nuts, and washers. I doubt it would come to 20#. You can oval slot the brackets so a hit pushes the bumper backwards vs. a straight through hole and use something such as balsa wood or rigid foam 1" between the bumper and frame that will crush and squish out.

Then using rivet nuts, you can bolt on ground effects under the bumper, at the track, to within 1/2" or so of your springs when compressed. Then take the effects off to drive home or to get the truck on the trailer.

If money is no object, these fiberglass panels would probably be lighter then the steel and allow you to fit wider tires with less offset, while lowering the Ranger more.

1983 - 1988 Ford Ranger Front fenders bulged - Autofab

Very nice 4 inches bulged front fenders for 83-88 Ranger trucks. Much larger wheel opening for big tires. Bolt-on or use panel mounts Availability: Made on order.

autofab.com

I would not bother moving an aluminum radiator to the bed because all that extra tubing and the extra coolant to fill the longer hoses would probably offset any weight savings.

Replacing your steering iron parts with chromoly tubing would save a bit of weight, though I am not sure I would do that with thin tubing on a street vehicle.

 

[TurboRay]

.
I appreciate your concern about increasing the severity of body damage w/o a front bumper, 4x4 ~ BUT.....I'm willing to take that chance in favor of lightening up the front AND overall weight of the truck. As for fiberglass panels, the only ones I've found that don't "ugly up" the stock body lines with huge/bulging fender openings is a 1-pc version that costs about $2.5K shipped to my location (Florida to CA). That's more than double what I originally paid for the whole truck, lol. The same company (US Body) makes a flat hood w/o bulges or scoops, but it also breaks the bank at a whopping $1K delivered.

Soooo..........unless I run across a "local seller" with some used f/glass body panels (VERY unlikely).......that option is OUT. . FWIW ~ Don Nase, Jr ran a tube-frame carbon-fiber Ranger that hit 7.46 ET a decade or two ago with a turbocharged Lima engine and a PowerGlide tranny. GUESSING it weighed about 1200-1500lbs, soaking wet, with an Essy aluminum "Midget" engine. It was an ex NHRA Pro Stock Truck that he acquired from a "screwed" competitor (Roy Hill? DUNNO) when the NHRA decided to trash the class, leaving dozens of heavily-invested competitors blowin' in the wind. There was a lawsuit ~ but, AFAIK, the outcome was never publically revealed. . The PST category was one of my all-time favorite classes......basically Pro Stock for small-block engines.