Possible frame swap?

[Trucker1159]

Has anyone resto modded s ranger???
I'm not quite sure if it's a fesable idea or not. But has anyone tried mounting a early-late 80s body on a 98+ ranger frame?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Has anyone resto modded s ranger???
I'm not quite sure if it's a fesable idea or not. But has anyone tried mounting a early-late 80s body on a 98+ ranger frame?

Im sure it could be done with creative mount placements.

 

[racsan]

cant be any worse then the car 4x conversions like a mustang II on a bronco chassis or a caddilac hearse on a suburban frame.

 

[sgtsandman]

With enough time and money anything can be done.

The front frame on the pre-1998 trucks is different. So there will be fabrication work. The aft frame is the same. So a bed swap shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[snoranger]

Regular or supercab?
A supercab should have pretty much the same wheelbase. A 98+ regular cab will be 3” longer.

I don’t think you’ll like the look of a 3” gap between the cab and bed, and if you line the bed/cab gap up the wheel wells won’t look right.

 

[Ramcharger90]

Im not sure why you want to. Again yes any thing is possible. My friend builds hotrods for a living. But I would think its more cost effective to build a whole new chassis and make that truck move and corner.

 

[Trucker1159]

I would rather use a pre existing frame with readily available parts... And I'm trying to do away with the headache of twin i-beams.( I deal with it on my DD regularly)

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I would rather use a pre existing frame with readily available parts... And I'm trying to do away with the headache of twin i-beams.( I deal with it on my DD regularly)

What exactly is causing you headache with the I beams?

They are comperable to normal IFS in alotta ways and superior in quite a few ways.

 

[Ramcharger90]

I have a feeling the I beam is bent from the previous owner like one of mine were on the 90 or he needs shocks and bushings.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I have a feeling the I beam is bent from the previous owner like one of mine were on the 90 or he needs shocks and bushings.

Id think it would be eaiser to replace the beam then cobble a old body on a newer frame.

How the hell do you bend an I beam?

 

[Ramcharger90]

Id think it would be eaiser to replace the beam then cobble a old body on a newer frame.

How the hell do you bend an I beam?

Accident, or something low and stationary like a big rock.

 

[don4331]

There are a bunch of things on 30 year old truck that add up - parts wear and replacements get hard to find/expensive - e.g. brakes/camber/caster adjusters wear on knuckles, necessitating replacement. There are some advantages to the "disposable" components on newer trucks - replacements are easier to come by.

Basically, you're doing the opposite of this:

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/putting-a-1998-ford-ranger-cab-on-a-1993-1997-ford-ranger-frame/

If a regular cab, you would want to shorten the frame 3". Not that big of a deal if you are considering the frame swap in the 1st place. (Drill out the 16 rivets, slide the frame sections together 3" more, bolt up with grade 8 fasteners; use your existing driveshaft - it is 3" shorter).

For a 2wd, especially, if you want to lower, ifs probably beats tib. Lifted and/or 4wd, I'd probably lean towards ttb

One thing to remember - '93+ Rangers are 2" wider - not a lot, but it does push the wheels out - you may/may not like that look. Alternatively, if you are running say Mustang rims, you can run them without spacers and track would be very close to stock.

 

[Ramcharger90]

I wish this guy had more details on his build I want to build a similar setup. Like dimensions and exact measurements. Maybe he does and I missed it. But I would like to copy his work with maybe some different things.

Tube Frame Turbo Duratec Build

I met Jim at the Dearborn meet and he asked me to start a thread here for my build. The build is fully documented on turborangerforums. The majority of my fabrication work is all lost due to photobucket so Ill kind of start this thread off will where I'm at now and work back as I can. Quick...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Trucker1159]

I've got access to a 01 that crushed by a tree essentially I wanna take just the frame and front suspension put a 302,5-speed and a 9 inch out back and the drop it to about a 3-4 inch ride height