460/Ranger

[pjtoledo]

Thanks, I posted so that I could make it easier for others and maybe they would not make some of the mistakes that I did. Redos are not much fun.

On the subject of age. I was able to retire from teaching at an earlier age than most people retire. Since the age of 52 I was a partner and the crew chief of a record setting land speed racing car at the Bonneville Salt Flats. I was also a partner in the building and running of a nostalgia gasser, a blown Henry J. It now has more than a thousand 1/4 mile passes at the dragstrip. I have many friends that are older than I am and they are still very active building and driving. Do not be afraid to dream and take on a project, despite being long in the teeth and silver in the beard.

fixed it for 'ya

 

[wz junk]

I trimmed the cowl induction hood scoop that I made today. I will leave it in the raw for a couple of weeks to let the fiberglass cure before I finish the scoop and make it smooth and nice to look at it. I was amazed at the amount of material that I removed in order for it to fit. When the hood is raised the scoop barely clears the windshield and the wipers. You would think there would be a lot of room when you look at the photo.

 

[wz junk]

I have completed the rough shape of the functional cowl induction hood. I am going to step away from this project for a while and do some other stuff. When I get back to this I will smooth out the hood scoop and paint it flat black. View attachment 38925

 

[wz junk]

I replaced the original speedometer with a gps unit. It was difficult to modify the cluster but it just barely works in the space. It is a 160 mph speedometer which is kind of a joke. This will automatically adjust for the different sizes of tires, or a different ratio rear axle, should I change things around later.

 

[wz junk]

I have finished the hood scoop that I made from scratch and the rest of the parts for the cowl induction. I plan to take it to the drag strip soon.

 

[wz junk]

I just ran on to this post that I made last year and I thought I would update it some. All the events that I thought I might enter were canceled last year and although I did some test and tune at the drag strip, most of the time I just drove the truck as a daily driver. This year I was invited to enter Hot Rod Drag Week but I have decided to try for Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 instead. That will take place in September. I will be in an index class for that event.

The truck launches straight with no wheel hop. I feel a little wheel slip when I take off and my zero to 60 times are not what I would like but I will continue to work on that.

The truck has performed well during the last year with only minor changes. It is a lot of fun.

 

[R A N G E R]

Looks great. 460 in a ranger-no mods should be 10 second truck no problem! I see slight mods there so....lotta love there! Mine took a year initially back in 88 when you had to do it all yourself because there were practically no swap parts like are available today. I was going to do a 1970 lincoln 460/C6 initially because of the DOVE heads but went with a 1969 302 4 speed out of a boss mustang. This is changed now to a 1974 truck 302 4V C6 as Ford should have made it with factory manifold dual exhaust both out' the same place as factory 1985 did. Air conditioning fits but not installed as of yet. signed - One of the RA N G E R people! .

 

[Blmpkn]

Care to share what your best 60ft and ETs are currently?

 

[svtcards]

I replaced the original speedometer with a gps unit. It was difficult to modify the cluster but it just barely works in the space. It is a 160 mph speedometer which is kind of a joke. This will automatically adjust for the different sizes of tires, or a different ratio rear axle, should I change things around later.

View attachment 39614

Speedhut speedo gauge?

 

[wz junk]

Speedhut speedo gauge?

Amazon $70 Works great.

 

[wz junk]

Care to share what your best 60ft and ETs are currently?

60 times are not good. They are in the 2 second range. I have video of the launch. It goes straight with no wheel hop but it does slip some. I launch from idle by rolling into the throttle with the transmission in drive. It shifts at about 5700 rpm but I will try to lower the shift points some. I am not trying to run the truck to its full potential as I am detuning it to run a 13 second index class. I have Nitto brand drag radials on now but I have a new set of Mickey Thompson drag radials to try the next time I run the truck. I also plan to stiffen the rear suspension on my next test and tune.

The event that I built the truck to compete in is still 2 months away. This week I built a removable chilled water air conditioning unit. It comes completely out of the truck in about 5 minuets. My wife and I will be driving the truck between drag strips in Oklahoma and Texas in September which can still be hot summer like weather. When we arrive at drag strip to compete, we will unload the truck, change the rear tires to the DOT drag radials and we are ready to run.

 

[bobbywalter]

I can't believe there were naysayers.....20 years ago maybe .. but now...


No matter.....it's awesome ..thank you for building old school.