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Shaved & Bagged '88 Super Cab


insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
Added a set of PIAA 40 series driving lights a while back. These have been sitting in a Rubbermaid container since I bought them new in 2005. It's funny what gets lost & forgotten when projects get put on hold.

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bobbywalter

TRS Technical Staff
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V8 Engine Swap
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Messages
23,470
Reaction score
4,667
Points
113
Location
woodhaven mi
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
FORD mostly
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
BIGGER
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
sawzall?
Tire Size
33-44
My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
Classic all around. Digging this ride.
 

insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
The rubber battery strap I bought just a few months ago is already dry rotted and cracked so yesterday I picked up a piece of 1" x 48" aluminum to make a better looking battery hold down.

Cut & shaped with a jigsaw & dremel...

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Hand polished to a mirror finish with some Mother's...

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It's not the fanciest, but it's a start. I'll replace the wing nuts with something a little nicer soon, too.

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Tomorrow I'll start installing 20 feet of 1/0 Streetwires power wire to feed two Air Zenith OB2 compressors in the bed. Nitrogen's fun, but gets pricey if you play with the suspension a lot & can strand you if it runs out at the wrong time. I'll never run out of air with compressors on board. Pictures on the way soon.
 

Rodango

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2013
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Vehicle Year
1991
Make / Model
Ford
Transmission
Automatic
“Where is my motor?
It was eaten by snakes!”

from the song Flakes
by Frank Zappa
 

insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
The '92 door panels fit my '88 perfectly. The only mod you have to do to add '89-'92 panels to '83-'88 rangers is add the armrest "L" bracket which is a breeze. I reused the original '88 window crank handles. The driver side panel is as clean as the passenger side. It's just a little dull looking in the picture because I had been working under the hood and handled it with dirty hands. Next comes dynamat door kits.

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insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
I finally got around to adding a gauge pillar pod. It was originally black so I ordered some colorbond dark red LVP interior paint. This stuff is great! It's a match for my ranger's factory interior. The dash has darkened from dirt and age & could really use refinishing too, but the rest of the trim & door panels blend perfectly.

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insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
It's always something...

A few days ago I couldn't get my truck to start. The O'Reilly's battery I bought just three months ago was acting sluggish so I took it out to be tested. It had a bad cell so they swapped it, but my truck still wouldn't fire up so next I changed all the plugs. Some were fouled, but still no fire with all new plugs. Next, I turned to YouTube for help. Thank goodness for YouTube mechanics. It turned out that the distributor had slipped & the timing was way off. While adjusting the distributor & checking out online engine photos, I realized that the mechanic that rebuilt the engine used a hold down designed for older FE big blocks. I adjusted the timing & she fired right up. I immediately went online & ordered a new billet aluminum hold down clamp from fleabay. It arrived in the mail today & took about five minutes to swap out. The new clamp is a much better fit & hopefully isn't going anywhere. I like the look of billet aluminum too.

Seeing these photos also made me realize that I really need to clean my engine. ?

Old big block hold down...
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Here's the new billet hold down clamp...
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insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
Here's my ebay power steering pump ready to install. It was black as coal when I bought it so I decided to clean it up. I don't have access to a bench grinder/buffer so I filed, sanded, & used a ton of Mother's aluminum polish. Then I removed the pulley & painted it with Ford blue engine enamel & put it through three heat cycles in the oven to harden it. The crap you do when you get bored...

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insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
It's not much to look at, but I finally got my truck back today & it has power steering again. The difference is amazing. Manual steering may feel great while on the road, but it's a real pain to park.

I also had the front rod ends on the ladder bar suspension replaced with ends that have hard polyurethane inserts for street use. This should give a smoother, quieter ride & will increase rear end flexibility.

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No pics of the ladder bars, but here are the rod ends I'm using...

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insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
It never ends!! I had to contact a lawyer today.

My transmission was leaking badly & needed a new front pump seal & intermediate shaft seal replaced. That went fine, but instead of using type f fluid, (I had a whole case of B&M Trick Shift sitting in the front seat) the shop owner added four quarts of mercon to mix with the type f that was already in my transmission. When I confronted him about it he told me that fluid type was "overrated" & any stuff would work. The worst part was, instead of unbolting the custom radius arm crossmember, the SOB took a grinder & cut it into three pieces to get to the transmission. Then he tack welded it back in place & never told me about it. I didn't find out until I got home. The weld had cracked & the crossmember was moving around. I gently drove it to a local four wheel shop (luckily only a mile from my house) & they repaired it by sleeving the bar with heavy gauge tubing & doing a full radius weld. Next they're going to drain all the fluid out & put in the "blue stuff".

Here's the damage done by the idiot at the trans. shop...

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sgtsandman

Aircraft Fuel Tank Diver
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Location
Aliquippa, PA
Vehicle Year
2011/2019
Make / Model
Ranger XLT/FX4
Engine Size
4.0 SOHC/2.3 Ecoboost
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
Pre-2008 lift/Stock
Tire Size
31X10.5R15/265/65R17
What is that thing on the side of the pan? A drain plug?

As far as the fluid and the bar, a suit for the costs of repairs seems to be in order. That and flood the area with negative reviews on that guy. With a work ethic like that, he needs to be run out of business.
 

insaneranger

Active Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
107
Reaction score
42
Points
28
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
302
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/40 R18
What is that thing on the side of the pan? A drain plug?

As far as the fluid and the bar, a suit for the costs of repairs seems to be in order. That and flood the area with negative reviews on that guy. With a work ethic like that, he needs to be run out of business.
It's a sending unit for a temperature gauge.

UPS is bringing me another gallon Trick Shift today. When I take my truck to have the fluid changed out I'm going to take more pictures & the mechanic that did the repairs is going to fill out papers as a witness to the damages. The repairs were not expensive, but that bar he cut could have caused serious problems if it broke at highway speeds.
 

rjaaaaaa2

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Joined
Nov 19, 2018
Messages
98
Reaction score
121
Points
33
Location
gettysburg, Pa.
Vehicle Year
2001
Make / Model
ranger
Transmission
Automatic
nice looking ride, looks like you started with some work already done. Good bones help alot don't they
 

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