1987 Ranger Project

[SenorNoob]

Lookin good. Is the straight on image stretched? It looks weird somehow. Kinda puppy dog eyes or something.

 

[Awesom-O]

Lookin good. Is the straight on image stretched? It looks weird somehow. Kinda puppy dog eyes or something.

I think those were Samsung pics? Not really seeing what you are.? Here’s a couple from my iPhone. Look any better?

 

[Awesom-O]

No disrespect to your son, but that Ranger is a shit-ton better than any Nissan Frontier . . .

Just sayin. . .

Haha. Yeah he is definitely a little jealous of how this turned out. It eats at him silently.

 

[SenorNoob]

Those look normal. I'm wondering if the bumper messes with my perception of the width. Regardless it looks good.

 

[Awesom-O]

Had to add some custom spacers under the front springs to compensate for the sag of the weight of the bumper. Then had to get another alignment. She sits level again. Now to pull the bumper off and prep for Raptor Liner.

 

[Terrys87]

Just got caught up on your build. Your truck has turned out amazing. Seen where you was worried about painitng it yourself and it turned out great. I see you have a ton of fab work from interior to bumper to headache rack. When you look at a project makes you wonder where all the time was spent, but it is what makes the results. Great job!!! You got something to be proud of and that you did it yourself.

 

[Awesom-O]

Well, I finally got back to work on this truck. It sat in the garage all winter in my wife’s Pilot spot.
She had to park outside in the snow as the shop was turned into a wood working shop most of the winter for some renovations for the house.

Today I finally pulled the bumper off so I can prep it for primer and Raptor liner. Got the side headache rack panels fitted, and installed nutserts so if I get bored of the look I can remove and change them. Installed some old bed frame feet on my sub box as well, as the sub was vibrating on the floor mat. This gets it up an inch or so off the floor. Going to make a bracket for the inverter too.
Working on a protective shield for the back up camera because I know I’m gonna break it off using the truck. Hopefully have all the raw metal parts degreased, cleaned and prepped for epoxy primer tomorrow.

 

[Awesom-O]

Well got more done on the Ranger today, but not a lot of pic worthy stuff as much was metal prep, degreasing and cleaning etc. but I welded a couple tabs to the bumper for some fog lights, and got it prepped and hanging for epoxy and Raptor.
Started working on the visor I was going to use on the Bronco II build and decided this truck needs it. Bit of skim coat to fill some gel coat cracks and some metal epoxy putty to rebuild the broken bolt hole edge. Hopefully get it primered tomorrow and in Raptor the next day

 

[Awesom-O]

Well. Got the Raptor parts all painted up. Didn’t rain, although it threatened with a few drops just as I mixed the first bottle. Grateful it waited the whole day before it actually poured.
I think the visor is going to be a great addition with that classic 80s/90s theme. Hit the orange lenses with a couple coats of Night Shades.
I’ll let all the Raptor parts cure for a few days and then re-assemble. Got the Ranger logos done, the headache rack plates, visor, bumper, and redid the hood due to me having a brain fart and messing up and 3M panel bonding my hood scoops to primer vs bare metal. I knew that too, but got ahead of myself. One started to pop off after slamming the hood a few times and I would have kicked my own ass if I could have. Rectified that issue correctly this time and it passes inspection. Next post should have everything back together.

 

[Awesom-O]

Well, didn’t get it all together today as I had a couple other things get in the way. Had to do some repairs on Dad’s Citroen so he could drive it this year. Took it to my buddies house as his shop was open and he also has a hoist. Fixed some oil leaks, a fuel leak at the pump, and gave him a fresh oil change for the season. Then we delivered it to him and grabbed my 50 Buick and rolled that over to his shop so we could start on the suspension and disc brake upgrades.
I did manage to get the headache rack panels installed, got my back up camera shield installed, just shaped a chunk of box rail for that. Installed my TOTM TRS sticker
but that’s about it. Lol

 

[SenorNoob]

Those emblems turned out so nice I might have to try it...

 

[Awesom-O]

Those emblems turned out so nice I might have to try it...

Thanks! They look even better on! Very happy with how it looks.

 

[RayInStl]

This is easily one of the best Ranger builds I've seen. You've done a hell of a job!

 

[Awesom-O]

This is easily one of the best Ranger builds I've seen. You've done a hell of a job!

Well that’s a hell of a compliment! I’ve seen lots of builds on here that are out of this world amazing. So Thank you! It’s been a blast building this truck and challenging myself to learn and do. Lots of inspiration from this forum and so many knowledgeable members have helped make this truck cross the finish line. Almost there.

 

[Awesom-O]

Got the bumper and visor on today. Just need to install the bumper fog lights, wire up visor clearance lights, wire up winch, reinstall the cowl lights, tint the back windows, install my old school gun rack I found online, make a bracket for the inverter, mount the fire extinguisher, and probably a few other details not overly worth mentioning. Almost at the finish line.