1988 Ranger Restoration - Keeping a Promise

[Sweet-85']

I wish it was this easy to change to a LED headlight.

It may not be too hard. Check out Superbrightleds.com I've already converted my 2004 Merc and my 2008 F350 to LED headlights. And, no, a QUALITY led in a stock housing will not blind other drivers if aimed properly...

 

[deathbypsi]

Ok now that i see the direction your going i have questions.

Ive never seen or heard of anyone boosting a 2.9 so im curious why that is. Im wondering about the strength of the factory cast pistons. Will you do any internal upgrades to the rotating assembly? Does anyone make better headgaskets and head bolts/studs? With the inherent flaw to the factory heads are they even up to the task of taking boost? Are you going to built your own headers? What do you plan to use for the electronics side and how to tune it?

And finally what kind of power will a boosted 2.9 make at 6? 8? 10 psi? Simple math says if you can shove 14.7psi through an engine, it will basically double its naturally aspirated power by doubling atmospheric pressure. On a motor that only made 130-140hp when new youd now be in the 280hp area. So turn down the boost anything less than 14.7psi and obviously your going to be way down lower than 280hp. So lets say at 8psi you might gain 70hp putting the motor at just over 200hp. Im not tryin to shit all over your idea but is all that work and money in parts worth 200hp? This is why I suggested just going with a v8 earlier in the thread. My favorite saying "Just because you can dont mean you should" seems to apply here to me.

I have built a TON of boosted 2.3T, boosted 5.0,N/A 5.0,sprayed Windsors,BBF and I have installed and tuned a bunch of vehicles on Mega/MicroSquirt so I have seen my fair share of guys getting into a project without knowing how deep or expensive it was going to get to build a reliable setup. Ive had to finish a few of these projects for friends/customers just so they didnt end up loosing their asses.

So all that said Id think real hard on the direction you want to take this. If you move forward with this idea I wish you nothing but the best of luck and Ill offer my advice if ever wanted. I just want to see this followed through to the end with a killer truck as the result!

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

You never realize how much trim is in a cab until you paint

Every. Freaking. Piece. Of. It.

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[adsm08]

You never realize how much trim is in a cab until you paint

Every. Freaking. Piece. Of. It.

I figured it out when I tried to stash a whole interior up on the sheets of OSB in my rafters and it doesn't all fit very well.

A few of my quarter trims keep falling down and hitting me in the head if I walk under the board the wrong way.

 

[bobbywalter]

I figured it out when I tried to stash a whole interior up on the sheets of OSB in my rafters and it doesn't all fit very well.

A few of my quarter trims keep falling down and hitting me in the head if I walk under the board the wrong way.

oh yeah.....i know exactly what your going through...

 

[bobbywalter]

Doing anything other than a v8 swap is just ridiculous in my mind. It is NOT any harder or expensive than the other two options.

I have done 2.9 to 2.3t swaps, 2.3 to 5.0 swaps and 2.9 to 5.0 swaps more times than I cant count anymore and I never understood why anyone would go thru the trouble to pull out one v6 to swap in another thats barely any better or stronger.....that still are bolted to a garbage transmission.

the 4.0 m5od combo is hard for me to remove from an rbv that is a mostly stockish cruiser with 31-35 in tires. they do eat up gas but really are great with low to mid range. for a gen 1 truck that fits that criteria it is definitely a worthy swap in my eyes.


that said...he is a mopar guy...so

fawk yeah 340

or 318

or 360....

modern hemi...do it.

yeah....the sweet noise will be confusing to most.

turbo 2.9 is definitely not a good idea...but 4-5 psi will make a huge difference.

Side note: driving a manual transmission prevents phone use while driving. Can someone get a note out to Detroit on this one? Jim, you know those people, right?

not in detroit.

people drive with gun in clutch shoe, beer in lap.....rolling joint in one hand shaking out bag on leg......load crack stem with other hand while in shit traffic.....watching them smoke it all....while cruising...

need more hills in detroit.

I wanna see a picture of this trans. I still think it's more likely an FM146.

likely.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

the 4.0 m5od combo is hard for me to remove from an rbv that is a mostly stockish cruiser with 31-35 in tires. they do eat up gas but really are great with low to mid range. for a gen 1 truck that fits that criteria it is definitely a worthy swap in my eyes.





that said...he is a mopar guy...so



fawk yeah 340



or 318



or 360....



modern hemi...do it.



yeah....the sweet noise will be confusing to most.



turbo 2.9 is definitely not a good idea...but 4-5 psi will make a huge difference.











not in detroit.



people drive with gun in clutch shoe, beer in lap.....rolling joint in one hand shaking out bag on leg......load crack stem with other hand while in shit traffic.....watching them smoke it all....while cruising...



need more hills in detroit.







likely.

I was skeptical. I'll get a photo as soon as I can, but the shifter boots were staggered, not in line like my FM146 is. Should have crawled under it, but, rain, and I'm a wimp.

My car dolly won't be free until Thursday. Unless someone wants to drag a truck from Washington pa to Greensburg for a high five and a six pack. [emoji23]

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[PetroleumJunkie412]

Well. Parts truck is here.

Not familiar with the Mazda M5OD, but looks like one to me!

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[PetroleumJunkie412]

Not entirely sure what this is. Anyone know?

Also. Need some tips on the transmission swap. Read the tech section, and not sure how mine is going to go.

I guessing I'll need to swap floor plates along with the shifters. May have to do some cutting, etc.

Will driveshafts need to be swapped? The trucks have the same 7.5 rears, but the 1990 has the 35 front diff, and mine has the 28.

Also, worth tearing down the M5OD? The shifter feels like it has entirely too much play in it, especially in 5/R.

Couldn't get it running today, though it tried like hell to run. Sounds like there is too much fluid in the cylinders. Oil and coolant are mixed fully. Still not sure if it's a head gasket, intake gasket, or head. There is an oil scum all over the engine bay. Yay fun!

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[SvenLaxMan]

Not entirely sure what this is. Anyone know?

Also. Need some tips on the transmission swap. Read the tech section, and not sure how mine is going to go.

I guessing I'll need to swap floor plates along with the shifters. May have to do some cutting, etc.

Will driveshafts need to be swapped? The trucks have the same 7.5 rears, but the 1990 has the 35 front diff, and mine has the 28.

Also, worth tearing down the M5OD? The shifter feels like it has entirely too much play in it, especially in 5/R.

Couldn't get it running today, though it tried like hell to run. Sounds like there is too much fluid in the cylinders. Oil and coolant are mixed fully. Still not sure if it's a head gasket, intake gasket, or head. There is an oil scum all over the engine bay. Yay fun!View attachment 25173

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Hood release latch possibly?


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[PetroleumJunkie412]

Hood release latch possibly?


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I thought that, but the hood release is next to it on the right.

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[alwaysFlOoReD]

I was thinking hood release too, but now that we know it's not that ...there's a faint niggle of an idea that it's for fuse access.

 

[Curious Hound]

Parachute release?

Ejection seat handle?

Trap door release for bad passengers?

Manual choke?

Fuel shutoff for engine shutdown?

Or maybe it's just a t-handle Allen wrenches stuck there.

This message composed solely of recycled electrons. Go green!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Not entirely sure what this is. Anyone know?

no idea

Also. Need some tips on the transmission swap. Read the tech section, and not sure how mine is going to go.

I guessing I'll need to swap floor plates along with the shifters. May have to do some cutting, etc.

Floor plates should swap, will need to trip the carpet probably.

Will driveshafts need to be swapped? The trucks have the same 7.5 rears, but the 1990 has the 35 front diff, and mine has the 28.

Front driveshaft will need swapped (D35 needs a slightly shorter driveshaft) Rear depends on truck configuration and what trans the '88 has.

Also, worth tearing down the M5OD? The shifter feels like it has entirely too much play in it, especially in 5/R.

There is bushing kit for the shifter that is cheap and pretty easy to install

Couldn't get it running today, though it tried like hell to run. Sounds like there is too much fluid in the cylinders. Oil and coolant are mixed fully. Still not sure if it's a head gasket, intake gasket, or head. There is an oil scum all over the engine bay. Yay fun!View attachment 25173

Sounds like the engine's best days are behind it.

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[PetroleumJunkie412]

1988 has a FM146, manual transfer case with the two piece rear driveshaft. Donor truck has the m5od and manual transfer case.

May drop the 2.9 out and see how bad it really is. Oil and coolant in the intake plenum makes me wonder if it's not a lower intake gasket.

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