1987 Ranger Project

[SenorNoob]

That is one nice truck.

 

[Awesom-O]

That is one nice truck.

Thanks man! I took it out of the garage and drove it up and down the driveway with the suspension parts still loose to settle everything before I take it for an alignment. So here are the first pics in the sun! Love the torque and power of the 4.0 over the 2.9 for sure. Worth the upgrade in this situation.

 

[Lefty]

Wonderful work!

 

[RobbieD]

Now you did it; that truck is too pretty to get dirty.

You've done a great job. That's one nice looking truck, and I bet it pulls and drives great, too.

 

[Awesom-O]

Now you did it; that truck is too pretty to get dirty.

You've done a great job. That's one nice looking truck, and I bet it pulls and drives great, too.

Haha. That’s what everyone that sees it says. They say bring it to a car show. lol.
I know I will cringe just a bit the first mud puddle I go through because it’s never going to be as clean as it is today going forward. lol.
It definitely pulls good. It’s hard not to spin the tires in the gravel taking off feathering the clutch even with the locker, where I had to be heavy on the gas pedal while feathering the clutch just to take off with the 2.9. Going to need to add some weight in the ass end. Put the spare tire back underneath at minimum.

 

[Lefty]

Haha. That’s what everyone that sees it says. They say bring it to a car show. lol.
I know I will cringe just a bit the first mud puddle I go through because it’s never going to be as clean as it is today going forward. lol.
It definitely pulls good. It’s hard not to spin the tires in the gravel taking off feathering the clutch even with the locker, where I had to be heavy on the gas pedal while feathering the clutch just to take off with the 2.9. Going to need to add some weight in the ass end. Put the spare tire back underneath at minimum.

Awesom-O makes a very good point.

I put mine in a car show, but most people just walked past it. Rangers are a dime a dozen here in Saint Paul. This was one of the Ford assembly plants. I still had a very good time. I didn't expect a crowd. The fun was looking at the other cars and hanging out with my friends. I brought lots of food and just kicked back.

 

[Awesom-O]

Yeah I have my 67 fastback or 50 Buick I take to car shows on occasion. I think the FFR will go a tad unappreciated TBH. It’s all good. I don’t build a car seeking the validation of strangers. But appreciation of hard work is always appreciated from enthusiasts.

 

[Awesom-O]

Got the flares on. They are 2” EZ Flares. Kid has had the 1” ones on his truck for a year and they still look good. See what happens.

 

[SenorNoob]

That looks far better than I thought possible with a foam rubber flare.

 

[Ryan Harmes]

Looks amazing! I just bought an 88 with a bad 2.9L & 5 speed and considering the 4L upgrade. How much modification did it take? Did you use any threads here on this forum as resources?

 

[Awesom-O]

Looks amazing! I just bought an 88 with a bad 2.9L & 5 speed and considering the 4L upgrade. How much modification did it take? Did you use any threads here on this forum as resources?

Welcome fellow Ryan. (My name as well). Yeah I used the knowledge on this forum and the tech part of TRS a lot and still read up on some of the pinned articles. It’s your go to source for a 4.0 swap for sure. I did mine a little different with doing a cab swap, which made a lot of it easier, (although a lot of extra work) except mating the two different year wire harnesses together because I kept my first gen dash. Make a build thread.

 

[nastysoapdish]

wow this thing turned out nice, I really dig the two tone!

 

[RobbieD]

@Awesom-O I REALLY like how you built this truck, AND I like how well that you documented everything in your build thread.

I hope that you don't mind, but this is how I am seeing your work:

................................................BEFORE....................................................................................................................AFTER.................................................

That's how you git 'er done!

Well done, sir. SALUT!

 

[Awesom-O]

Thanks guys. I’m really happy with how it all turned out.
Got a few details done today. Got the rear rack winch hooked up. I used the wire from jumper cables I bought for $12. Way cheaper than buying the 4 gauge wire by the foot. I crimped some loop ends and bolted them together if I ever have to (God forbid!) remove the box for any reason. Sealed with heavy duty heat shrink and covered in plastic loom. I also added some rack lights as well, as I thought the light bar looked lonely on top and I had these sitting around. All lights are hooked up and functional with the Auxbeam controller. It’s pretty cool design. Couple slots left for when the bumper gets made and installed. Probably some fog lights and another light bar?
Made a bracket to mount the fuses for the winch and the amp I will be installing Tuesday with the stereo.
New windshield Monday and alignment Tuesday morning. Almost done!

 

[Awesom-O]

Well, took the truck for a test run. There are a few issues I will need to address. Typical shakedown stuff I guess. Speedometer isn’t working so I’ll have to check the connections on each end of the cable. Brakes seem a little soft. For some reason my reverse lights come on with both the brake pedal and/or the turn signals?? I may have a vacuum leak somewhere because my idle is pretty high at like 1300 rpm. Anything anyone else can suggest for that?
Anyways, here are some outdoor shots, along with the under hood lights I installed which are activated by a rocker switch.