One more 2wd 98 coil spring 5.0 swap.

Lil-Pony said:

Could you check to see what pitch value it was?? Thats one of the last things i need to get mine street worthy


Sent from outer space.

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Pitch value? I am not sure what you are referencing.

Jbrown1238 said:

Pitch value? I am not sure what you are referencing.

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I'm sorry I get dyslexic sometimes I meant to say what thread Pitch the valve was from Wilwood


Sent from outer space.

Lil-Pony said:

I'm sorry I get dyslexic sometimes I meant to say what thread Pitch the valve was from Wilwood


Sent from outer space.

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Ok, thread pitch, now I got it. I can't remember, someone else asked me a week or so ago. I know they have the same piece in both metric and standard. I am pretty sure it was standard but not 100% sure. I know I verified the thread pitch on the line fittings beforehand but they were aftermarket.

I took a couple weeks off to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my wife, then we went to the Daytona 500, and then down to Bradenton for NMRA. Now that all of the busy weekends have passed it is time to get back to work on the Ranger. Alright, I confess, I did sneak a few small things in here and there while I was away from the forum. I purchased a Mustang shifter cover and test fit it over the PRO 5.0 shifter. It took a few minutes to figure out but once I turned it 90 degrees sidewise it fit pretty nice. A few small bends later and it was right in place. Next step was a bead of sealer to help keep out the weather and it was good to go.





I hung the rear quarter panels and tailgate in preparation to start the body work on the back half of the truck. Once everything was mocked up I realized the ride height was starting to change and the back was starting to sink under the weight. I still have the weight of a bed liner, hard flush mount bed cover, and spare tire to be considered. I decided to move the leaf springs down to the second notch on the DJM Shackles thus lifting the rear of the truck about an inch.





Once the back half was done I simulated the weight of the front bumper, header panel, AC components, heavier hood, etc. and adjusted the front ride height. I also built in an additional ½ inch for “settling”. It feels a little like three steps forward and two steps back but I guess that is how it goes. I just didn’t factor in the added weight and the “settling” piece of the puzzle. As much as I liked the look before these changes were made the truck was just too low for work purposes. Now with the simulated weight removed it is resting about an inch taller then what will be the permanent ride height once all of the remaining pieces are added.





Here are a few photos of the back before I start the body work tomorrow. I am going to move forward in a similar fashion as I did with the front of the truck. Now that all the panels are aligned I will “drill and pin” the quarter panels and block sand them in place. Because alignment guide pins are going to be used the panels can be removed and reinstalled multiple times to prime and paint without losing the alignment.







The 180 grit paper, the 17 inch file board, and the sanding block are all laid out and ready to go. I should be back in a few days with some new photos of the progress. It looks like the quarter panels should go fast with a little more time spent on the rear bumper and tailgate.

What are you doing for a front bumper? Stock or 06+?

Lariat said:

What are you doing for a front bumper? Stock or 06+?

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2011 front bumper, header panel, chrome grill, hood, lights, etc.

I thought it was covered prior too, I just couldn't remember.

Lariat said:

I thought it was covered prior too, I just couldn't remember.

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I have the bumper rebar and the front valance with fog lights but I am still waiting on the header panel, head lights, park lights, and grill with emblem. I should have it around the first of April.

I almost didn't say anything, but after I put in 4 and a half hours reading this thread from front to back I had to say something... lol
This truck is incredible man. I cant wait to see videos and pictures of it all buttoned up.

I'm glad I didn't have to wait as long as you did to see it run. haha.

MrEwubbsZ said:

I almost didn't say anything, but after I put in 4 and a half hours reading this thread from front to back I had to say something... lol
This truck is incredible man. I cant wait to see videos and pictures of it all buttoned up.

I'm glad I didn't have to wait as long as you did to see it run. haha.

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Thank you for taking the time to post a reply and for the kind words. It has been a long journey and I am very excited to be entering the final stretch. I know this is going to sound crazy but I am going to turn 51 in a couple months and I actually thought I could die before this thing is done! I hope that doesn't happen and that I have many years left to enjoy the finished product.

Just like with the front of the truck, I block sanded the back with 180 grit using the original paint as a guide coat. As the material shed away it revealed the high and low spots very quickly. Amazingly the fiberglass quarter panels were very straight. I discovered a little bit of a ripple at the top of each fender flare but the rest of both panels were fine.





I closed the holes behind each wheel opening that were left from the mud flap brackets with cat hair and then topped them off with plastic filler before block sanding the area straight.



After block sanding the tailgate in the same manner with 180 grit paper and a 17 file board I realized the bottom edge of the panel would require some more attention. After a little hammer and dolly work, out came the grinder with a new 24 grit open coat disc. Most of this area ended up all the way down to bare metal in preparation for the next step. A skim coat of plastic filler was applied and then sanded with 80 grit paper on the file board. The majority of the tailgate was pretty straight but the bottom edge was just the opposite. It looked like the tailgate had been removed a few times during its life and the bottom probably got banged up in the process.





During the day as fiberglass and plastic were “setting up” I kept myself busy with a few other tasks. I set the new hood up and removed the misc hardware and molding so I can scratch the underside in preparation for paint. I learned on my son’s 91 Mustang GT that the thin Ford hoods don’t like to be worked while laying flat upside down so this one will be sanded while standing up right. I just need to get it done quickly before my wife sees it up against the side of the barn. If not I will be painting that again before the hood is done.



I drained the “break in coolant” and refilled the system along with the overflow tank. I also added some washer fluid to the windshield washer reservoir.



The front grill, header panel, and other misc front pieces should be here later this week. I went ahead and test fit the header panel brackets to make sure I had all of the fasteners close at hand.



Oh well, the day is getting away from me and I have more sanding scheduled this morning. I better wrap this up and get to work.

Good progress. Let me know when you're finished with this one, I got a V8 sport trac that needs some body attention

SVT

RangerSVT said:

Good progress. Let me know when you're finished with this one, I got a V8 sport trac that needs some body attention

SVT

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Will do Rick. : )

I am still hoping to have it on the road by the Fourth of July holiday!

Post another you tube video please

I got home early today from work and finished prepping the two quarter panels, the tailgate, and the rear bumper for the first go around of JP202 primer surfacer. I cut in all the edges and the hard to reach areas by hand with 180 grit paper and then DA sanded the repaired areas with 180 grit to feather edge the broken substrate.









Now I will pull the pieces from the truck and set them up on saw horses to spray the first few coats of JP202. I will put two coats over the damaged areas first followed by two coats over the entire area of each panel. That should give me plenty of material to block sand the entire surface of each panel once again in the never ending search for that near perfect reflection. See you all in a few minutes!