1988 Ranger Restoration - Keeping a Promise

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I turned my 2.3 turbo / m5od / 1354 combo to 6500rpm's plenty of times



The front axle will be the weak point, 95% of the automotive AWD industry uses CV joints, not U-joints for steering axles since their strength stays consistent & smoother throughout their operating arc on pavement. I'd look into RCV axles if you really wanna go this route.

RCV axles??

 

[Snoranger]

RCV axles??

Google.



High quality, strong CV axles.

 

[Ranger850]

In most cases in the Automotive industry, R stands for Race
Cobra R
Altima SE-R
Nissan GT-R
Civic type-R
GSX-R

Behold..... The Dodge Colt "version R"

RCV axles
Also most R's are red in the automotive world too.

 

[Curious Hound]

R is ok. But I really like M

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

How appropriate, my first name starts with R, and last starts with M.

 

[Uncle Gump]

BRONCO

 

[Ranger850]

R is ok. But I really like M


View attachment 36820

Pretty sure M is German for R. ?

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Pretty sure M is German for R. ?

...and it has a Mercedes AMG horn, so you could say it speaks German...

 

[racsan]

R-140

 

[deathbypsi]

<< daily drives Bronco2 with a spool

 

[Bracket racer]

Just curious, but why are you concerned with rpm/transmission? Gears don't know or care how fast they spin. If you run 5.14 gear and 7000 rpm to hit 60 mph, the transmission won't be the part to fail. Rearends get hot if held at high speed with low gears (you could cook on my 9" in my mustang after the wife drove 65 miles at 70 mph, it had 4.56's in it. "I don't know, it was 4 or 5 or something, I didn't look at that guage" (the tack, I checked, she was turning 5400 rpm for about an hour and a half! my poor Cleveland!)

Think about it this way, the input of a tranny turns at engine rpm, if in first, everything is running slower that engine rpm. If in high, 1:1 with engine rpm. So 7000 input is 7000 input, regardless of how fast the vehicle is moving. All gears are continuously meshed, only the path of power changes with the gear changes. (by way of syncro's)

I'd be more concerned about building an engine with a high powerband and trying to keep it drivable. higher the powerband, the lower the torque/hp at lower rpm when 80% of driving is done.
It'd be a case of the "too bigs" Big cam, big flowing heads, big carb, big headers, runs awesome/pulls hard at 7000 but is a pig below 4500. (for example) (been there, done that lol)
You want to start off on a hill riding a clutch at 4500 so you don't stall it?

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

OK. Finally getting caught up with work stuff, so **** it here we go:

Look ma! No cracks.

Engine is out for the third time, going bare block and hot tank. Pruett painted his blocks yellow; I will as well. All of this has been inspired by him and @Pat Kunz old writings. That, and I'm insane and won't be happy until I send a 93mm piston straight fawking through the oil pan do not pass go.



Dropping everything out. Was going to cam it, but reminded myself this is a junkyard and diy build. Nature and spirit of it is learn every single nut bolt and wire that makes car go vroom as @Dirtman would say. Cam is not junkyard. Cam is not diy. Cam is what dooshbag chevy bros do instead of learning the art of VVT. stock cam. Dgaf if I'm giving up hp. This is my freak. Maybe some day. Not today.

Replacing stock cam with fresh melling or sealed power. Need opinions on which is better.

Using melling improved design cam bearing. No more spun bearings blocking oil flow for this fella.

Have block hot tanked and fluxed. May have them clean up bores or may just hone myself. Really trying to not punch anything out. I need those cylinder walls.

Hypereuctic pistons, deburr and balance with deburred and shot peened (giggidy) factory rods. Arp rod bolts, and Arp extended main bolts. Main stud girdle. She's gonna need it.

Found a NOS clearance sale of cam thrust plates. Having some cloned for the 2.9 Mafia.

Rotating assembly balanced to whatever I need to run 6500-7k rpm. Yes. I understand the risks. Piston. Through. The. Oil. Pan.

I may need 4.10s after this. I'm keeping the 31s. Makes it look mean. And they're really quiet.

Complete port and polish to Pruett spec heads, full bowl port, backcut valves. modify for dual valve spring. FE block anti pump up lifters. Free floated rockers (got the tracking number today ??), already have the high volume oil pump installed.

So. There's all these coolant passages in the block that the head gaskets and lower intake gasket block off. This seems dumb to me. Is it? Should I open them up? I would think improved coolant flow on a 2.9 head would be a good thing....


Definitely want input on ring choices. Don't know what to pick.






I'm shelving the blower for now.

Maching costs were going to get out of hand figuring out blower ratios.



Welded up the downpipe to a Volvo 13T out of a 2.5l XC70. Turbos have maps. Blowers involve sorcery. Very cool little turbo, high volume low pressure setup. The waste gate is HUGE. Integrated bov, 8psi waste gate.

Checking front clearance for headers for engine bay mount. If headers won't fit forward, turbo will go under cab next to transfer case. Really want engine bay mount. Totally punching out the hood, shoving turbo out of it, and routing wastegate to atmosphere if it all fits. Because it's not a 2.9 until hellfire and smoke are coming out from under the hood. As Tom Waits would say, monsters live down there.

Keeping merkur intake, adding merkur lower and crank pulley. Merkur lower has dual coolant outputs for zone heat. Running second one to turbo. Keeping methanol, but moving to pre intercooler. Intercooler from a 1.8l audi sh*tbox. Very compact. Run in front of rad with independent e fan. Set megasquirt to monitor manifold Temps and add methanol when needed or flooring it. Maybe put a low methanol warning light in the dash.

Not sure if I should run scavange pump with turbo oil feed. Looking for input here as well.

Fuzzy dice. I'm going to need em.

4.0 centerforce clutch and new flywheel sitting on the tailgate. @85_Ranger4x4 @AgPete139 @Mightyfordranger this is so you don't have to push anymore.

When done, this thing is probably going to be too much for my rotted frame. And it's certainly going to make my clunking 7.5 explode. I'll take loooots of photos, I promise.




I feel like I finally turned the corner and I can see light. I know what I'm doing now, and that is truly terrifying.

This thing has become a part of my life. We share a build date. The remarkable odds of that alone. But it has truly become mine. When done, only original pieces will be the bare block, rods, crank, dash, half the wiring harness, and cab. I have restored, replaced, swapped, modified, or invented my way to where I am now.

The nature and spirit of the junkyard theme remains as well. There's at least six major manufacturers represented in my vehicle - Ford, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, and unfortunately fawking General Motors (MAP sensor, tell Ford to build a good one so I can ditch this gm garbage). Nearly every year of ranger represented as well - I kept track, missing 83, 08, 09, and 10. It has my 11's spare tire. My fx4 rims came with the fx4 spare ??‍

This has been one of the best learning experiences I have ever had. I'll have literally gone from a bare frame to daily driver/sleeper. I built and freehand programed my ECM. I built an engine from a bare block to back in frame for the first time alone. I learned the black art that is forced induction. Suspension fabrication and modification. Rebuilding two diffs from bare axle. Frame modification. Brake modification. I finally ****ing understand tires and shocks and spark plugs. Those three things made zero sense to me. Don't ask.

In the end, I think I kept my promise. Granted, very little of the original truck remains. But I kept the heart and soul - engine and cab. The rest is just parts.

II could have just put a 4.0 in it and sent it down the line. I think that would have been a bad idea. Wouldn't have learned as much. Wouldn't have made the friendships I have. Wouldn't feel this confident (and dangerous) with a spanner in my hand. ??















Oh and if anyone sees a wet nitrous kit on clearance sale, let me know?

Go ahead @Will. Shake that head at me.

 

[Dirtman]

Your spark plugs are poorly indexed...

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Your spark plugs are poorly indexed...

Yep. ****ed that one up!

 

[Uncle Gump]

I always used Zero Gap rings in my hot rod VW builds... it basically uses two rings in one ring grove ( staggered gaps) for a better seal.

I would be leery of altering the gaskets for the cooling system... They're typically designed that way to insure coolant travels through the head properly... back of head to front of head. The smaller holes also offer restriction so the coolant doesn't pass through to quick and has time for the heat transfer.

Glow shift offers an oil filter sandwich adapter that would offer a handy port to feed your turbo main line oil pressure.