TRS Race Truck

[rusty ol ranger]

@rusty ol ranger

Or

Alternatively... This is my frame donor.

View attachment 34063



And I will have an old frame to go with it.

So... That's a pile of parts that adds up to a truck worth $0

With 50% of a 2.9 in it.

Or a urine soaked 4.0 in the bed.

It's got world heads, man... Can you blame me?

Just saying.

TRS-3 is lurking in my brain. Hopefully a 25th anniversary truck. This isn't it.

This is an endurance race. The truck should stay as stock as possible to maintain reliability. 2WD. No A4LD trucks.

There's a few different events we could do:

24 Hours Of Lemons
Gambler 500
HooptieX

Even though the Gambler 500 is known for it's Oregon event, they have them in the midwest as well. I think this year there was one in Michigan.

HooptieX

Gambler 500 - This video stars Jessie Combs, and is worth watching
​

If we do the 20 Hours of Lemons, it should be a 2WD. If we do the Gambler 500 of HooptieX, it can be either a 2WD or 4WD.

I'll give the truck a nice Rustoleum paint job, and do all of the graphics. I've been wanting to buy some GMRS radio's, so I could loan them for communications. I unfortunately got rid of all of my spare parts when I sold my house in Ohio.

Jim...

In all seriousness a 2.9/5sp/2wd truck would do great at lemons....

Why?

All joking aside most everything ive read running at the lemons stuff are either 4cylinder shitbox econos or tired old malice era boats.

A 2.9/5sp truck will give the best balance of performance, mpg, cheapness, and downright durability. Even if you found a coolant eating one it would/should hold on just fine for the 24 hr race.

@PetroleumJunkie412 will agree.

Hell if i knew it wouldnt get smashed/rolled/generally screwed up id let yall run rusty 2.0.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The other consideration for me would be Auto vs manual, and Ranger clutches are not exactly known to be the best. Then again, neither Ranger automatic transmissions. That's a chin scratcher.

The one that may be surprising to quite a few of you is that I would vote for either a 2.3 turbo, or a 302. As much of a Cologne fan is I am, they're an absolute bitch to tune (speaking from experience here lol), and a megasquirt would put us completely over the budget.

It would mean less fuel range (if od is used much in this kind of race) but the C5 can take C4 guts... you can’t really ask for better than that for an automatic. Colone and SBF bellousings are available.

I vote 2wd, I don’t see AWD accomplishing much beside being a power and mpg drain at stock power levels.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Honestly, I don't know how easy it's going to be to find a $500 Ranger. It's a really good possibility that price would dictate what we drove.

Also, I'm open to whatever event the majority is interested in. I just posted the others so we know what some options are.

 

[snoranger]

Honestly, I don't know how easy it's going to be to find a $500 Ranger. It's a really good possibility that price would dictate what we drove.

Also, I'm open to whatever event the majority is interested in. I just posted the others so we know what some options are.

It wouldn’t be hard to find a $500 Explorer... At least that’s a Ranger based truck.

 

[ericbphoto]

Maybe check the rules for each event and see which one would be best for our talents and resources. I’d hate to see The Ranger Station driving “not a Ranger” in whichever event.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

How about an aerostar?

Cheap, durable, and technically an RBV. People give those away.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Want to borrow my race truck for a year? Currently no motor in it. Has a 5speed, 4x4 3.73 gears, 31" Baja claws. Basically stock. I have $ posted in my first post of my build thread. Only thing would be I want it back. Ohhh....and its in Canada.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Honestly, I don't know how easy it's going to be to find a $500 Ranger. It's a really good possibility that price would dictate what we drove.

Also, I'm open to whatever event the majority is interested in. I just posted the others so we know what some options are.

there are a few 500 dollar rangers every now and then here in the Indy area... I will keep an eye out

AJ

 

[snoranger]

How about an aerostar?

Cheap, durable, and technically an RBV. People give those away.

But they didn’t come with a 2.9l

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

How about an aerostar?

Cheap, durable, and technically an RBV. People give those away.

I think they gave them all away like 10 years ago, I haven’t seen one on the road in years.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

But they didn’t come with a 2.9l

The 2.9 was simply to powerful for betty homemaker. Plus the 'stars unibody wouldnt handle the torque.

I think they gave them all away like 10 years ago, I haven’t seen one on the road in years.

Really? Theres still a pretty decent number boppin around here.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

How about an aerostar?

Cheap, durable, and technically an RBV. People give those away.

Let me know if.you see a free one. Want the transfer case.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Also, there's always a ton of sub-$500 Rangers in Pittsburgh. Which years and layout should I look for?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I would stay away from the TTB/TIB for a road course.
Buy a rollover, easier to fix on the cheap than engine work.

 

[Uncle Gump]

If there is a need for a 94 ext cab 4x4 4.0L 5 speed... I have the truck... and the price is free for this project.