1999 Ford Ranger Solid Axle Swap

[bozone802]

i cant say i blame you... i miss it all the time... but the ranger is gonna be rowdy!

 

[bozone802]

so i learned to weld a couple days ago, and here is what i have been up to since...

i welded the inner circles and my friend helped me with the outer edge of the front part of the frame:

these are are the first welds (not counting practice) i have ever done...
my friend did the outside of the plates

in the rear i put plates inside the frame because it is not boxed. although im not sure if they are really going to do much, oh well.

i did all the welds here, since im such a beginner welder they dont look pretty, but i am sure they will be strong enough.

the strap on the frame is to make sure it is the right width when i weld on crossmembers.

my next order of business is to pick up some steel tomorrow for crossmembers. 2X4 for a bumper and 3X3 for crossmembers. if all goes well i will have pics of crossmembers up tomorrow night!

 

[bozone802]

so i got some steel, i went with 2x4 for a rear crossmember, and i am doing the rest with .120 wall 1.75 dia tubing. the tube is above where my axle will be so i can put shock mounts on it.

 

[bozone802]

crossmembers all done!

 

[bozone802]

so this is what happened today:

 

[bozone802]

almost done:

 

[bozone802]

ok so the last thing i have to do is mount a steering box. i got one from a 95 f250 because that is on most fords in the 90s. that was way too huge and there is no room on the inside of the frame.
so i got a box from a 96 nissan frontier because it was small and mounts on the outside of the frame. i ultimately decided that it wouldnt work...
so i went back to the junkyard and swapped the nissan for a steering box from a 91 toyota. it is a little smaller and mounts differently, so this is the one i am currently going with. still, theres not much room on the top of the front driver side frame rail to fit that thing. i think i will be able to mount it, but once i do that im not sure about what im gonna do about the steering column. the stock one will be too short.

so if anyone who knows what the hell im talking about has any ideas please let me know, or if you have heard of something like this or could send me a like, please let me know!

this thing will be on the road as soon as i can figure this out so please lend a hand if you can!!!

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

awesome work man! looks badass, cant wait for more pics

 

[wohlf 16]

Youre gonna have to modify your steering shaft to be toyota on one end and ranger on the other. I took the entire steering column out of a toyota and used what I needed. Most of the shaft on mine was made up of the toyota shaft. Check out my build(wohlf 16s 99 ranger build). It shows a pic of the steering shaft that I made. Hope this gives you a better idea. And this should only be a temporary fix until you can have someone make one for you thats not all welded together. Not somethin you want breaking on you. Good luck and nice build.

 

[bozone802]

thanks for the tip, thats what i was thinkn i was gonna have to do. ive been following yours here and there and i love what you got! i actually just picked up a 79 bronco steering box, so im gonna go back outside and see how this goes....

 

[bozone802]

so i was reminded today when moving my truck for the first time in a while that when i was cutting off the ifs, i accidently chopped my fuel line. it is a steel line and i cannot find a splice kit or even a replacement anywhere, so if anyone has any info that might give me a hand please let me know

 

[escort_gts]

sweet build. I like what you did for the rear crossmember

 

[Andres629]

Holy carp! Someone works quick, like the build... and I see that IMBA sticker you've got there!

Can't help with the steering bit, but I'm sure with all the info available, you'll get 'er handled. Good work!

 

[bozone802]

sweet build. I like what you did for the rear crossmember

Thanks!! just dont copy it completely... i decided against fully boxing my frame which i now think was a bad idea. it wouldnt have been that much more work/money for how much it would have beefed of the frame. dont **** around: box your frame!

 

[bozone802]

in other news heres what happened today: got the frame sleeved for the steering box, mounted it, mounted shocks, made a rear bumper, and changed the coolant.
more details and pictures to come...