'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

Current Specifications (9-14-26):

Drivetrain specs: 5.0 V8, Aces Killshot Fusion EFI system, Hedman shorty headers, Explorer accessory system
Front axle: 1995 Ranger D35, twin piston calipers, 3.73 gear
Rear axle: 1996 Explorer 31 Spline 8.8, disk brakes, 3.73 gear Track-Lok
Front suspension: Explorer coils and Bilisten shocks
Rear suspension: Explorer leaf springs, belltech shackles, rear lift block delete and Ranger rear swaybar
Lift: PAA 3" bodylift
Tires/wheels: Sawblade style 15" alloys, 31x10.50R15 General Grabber ATx tires
Other mods: GMRS radio, Smittybilt 9500 Winch on a custom built mount inspired by the Ford accssory winch mount. Rock sliders, custom rear bumper with spare tire carrier...

Still To Come:

Near future plans: Dialing in my EFI tune, upgrade charging system wiring to support higher alternator output and I would like to upgrade to more modern accurate gauges.

Distant future plans: Get brave and get the bodywork finished. Maybe get my seats rebuilt or find different ones at some point.


My thread collection of actual mods I have done to this truck:

V8 Swap Thread

Cooling System Tweak Thread

Piston to Valve Clearance Thread

Instrument Cluster Facelift

Group 65 Battery Tray Swap

Speed Control Troubleshooting

Aces Killshot Fusion EFI Conversion

Threads for future reference:

Modifying Electrical System For Larger Alternator

Comparing a 302 vs a 351W

First Gen Literature/Reference

Photobucket has this build thread in shambles with no easy way to fix it. I am creating albums on Flickr to get pics back out there. I bought my 302 late 2010 and worked it over that fall before installing it in early 2011. 8.8 Swap took place that summer. Explorer FEAD upgrade happened summer of 2012. Bunch of little stuff in between but that should somewhat help you get words to go with pics. I am working on getting it somewhat indexed. If all else fails PM me.

Prepping the 302 preswap (Tri-Y's didn't fit so they were not used)

V8 Prep Album

V8 Swap Album

1996 Explorer 8.8 Swap Album

Build timeline if you are searching for things:

V8 Swap (initial) - Early 2011
Instrument Cluster Restore - Late 2016
Battery Tray Swap - Early 2017
M5OD/NP-205 Swap - 2019
Rear Sway Bar Install - Summer 2020
Rear Bumper Build - Summer 2020
Dual Snorkel Air Filter Build - Fall/Winter 2018/2019
A/C Conversion - Summer 2022
Rock Sliders - Spring 2021
Dual Fuse Panel Upgrade - Summer 2025
Aces EFI Conversion - Spring and Summer 2026

The build in action: TRS Adventures/Events and other trips it has been a part of

2025 Kansas Rocks Creepy Crawl
2025 MOORE Expo
2024 TRS Vagabond Kentucky Tour - TRS
2024 Topper Sleeper build and Vagabond trip
2024 TRS 25th Anniversary Kentucky LBL
2023 TRS Land Between the Lakes Fall Adventure
2022 TRS Attica Indiana
2021 TRS Attica Indiana
2020 TRS Attica Indiana
2019 TRS 20th Anniversary Southington Ohio

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I first got this truck as my first vehicle, my sophomore year of high school in 2000. I don't remember the exact date but I remember being surprised a year later when I discovered a year later that my insurance card expired on 9/11.

It looked pretty much like this but had a black grille true to its "Custom" roots.

The toolbox came and went for awhile it was handy for holding backpacks when I was giving my brother rides to school with me.

Somewhere there in high school I devised a grille guard out of some scrap steel scrounged up from a old wagon dump hoist and some cheap lights.

In 2006 I got the bodylift, I got that stuck in and it was kind of a awkward phase for the truck until I got bigger tires. I also had to build a bracket to resituate the front bumper.

I acquired a set of Dunlop Mud Rovers from a fellow TRS member (@rordfanger) They looked really bad with the white sport wheels but looked nice with my sawblade alloys. Brand unknown, they were $75 at a swap meet.

Then I found a two tube Smittybilt rollbar and it was a longtime fixture on the truck.

Then I came across a 302 on Craigslist. It was listed as a '84 but I could tell by the big flopover cast aluminum intake it was newer. I got it dragged home and it looked to be out of like a '87 Crown Victoria. I converted it to carb, did a craigslist rebuild (paint) and dropped it in as is.

I have done a lot of changes since then. The ones that have stuck this far is the Explorer front belt system, Mustang HO cam, dual snorkel intake and Aces Killshot Fusion EFI, Wieand Stealth intake and Hedman 88400 headers.

The ones that got cycled out are E7 heads, Crown Vic accessory drive, Duraspark ignition and a Edelbrock 1403. The carb performed well but my offroad escapades were starting to push a carburetor's limits.

Also note I retrofitted OE cruise and A/C after the V8 swap as well.

*Truck is still carbed with Duraspark ignition in picture.

Then to put the newfound power to the ground I swapped in the rear axle and springs from a 1996 Explorer. 3.73 gearing matched my original gearing and it has limited slip.

Then we finally got it looking right with a set of 31x10.50R15 Firestone Destination MT tires. They are my favorite looking tire I have had on the truck. Horrible in snow they were a stereotypical mud tire... but dang they looked good.

Then in 2019 we had a big refit. I replaced the drivers side floor pan, carpet and swapped in a M5ODR2 from a 2004 F-150 (Heritage) and a NP-205 t-case that I twin sticked. While I was there I went ahead and swapped in my rebuilt Dana 35 front axle from a '95 Ford Ranger.

With a thought to improve offroad articulation I also swapped in a later ahead of axle front swaybar that I could disconnect if I so desired.

Then the rollbar got bumped, I picked up a topper from Craigslist for it to keep gear dry and somewhat secure while on the road.

And then I realized my spare tire would not fit under the truck. It killed a ton of room in the back of the truck so I built a custom rear bumper with a swing out tire carrier. It has provisions to also carry either traction boards or a jerry can.

In 2020 we picked up a Skamper 072S slide in camper that fits in the back of it, it has its own build thread on here (check my sig)

While they still had great tread my Firestones were getting old. Date code was 2009 and we are in 2020 at this point For bombing around home I wouldn't have bothered but being an obsolescent size they were somewhat a liability on the road, and now I was really making them work with the Skamper. So I had some General Grabber AT's thrown on. Much nicer on the road and really good in the snow, solid white letters add a touch of retro class... but they just don't look as aggressive.

And to protect the cab and to add tie down points for the camper I built a set of rocksliders for it.

My original grille guard was pretty much just cosmetic, all it did was hold lights. So I opted to build a new one. I looked to the Ford accessory catalog and mimicked the style of the Ford winch mount. I snagged a set of NOS brush guards off Ebay to complete the look.

How it looks currently:

Interior looks like this when I am going for a period correct look at car shows:

For general driving and offroading I also have the mic for the GMRS radio front and center and the Garmin Overlander GPS in play

 

[4.0B2]

looks good. subscribed!

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

Sweet! I love the rig man, good work!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Well, since the dust has kinda settled on some family issues and the weather supposedly cooled of a little (I didn't notice a big difference) I got started on my spring swap.

Brake caliper and shock removed from the suspension...

Suspension sagged and I could finally get a wrench on the infamous nut. Much to my dismay (and I knew somehow it would give me a problem) the whole dang thing unscrewed from whatever it screwed into.

Sooo tomorrow I have to see what that is about and loosen the swaybar so I can get more drop and get the spring out.

 

[Rangerman4158]

nice truck you got there looks good

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

Well, luckily it just threads in to the beam from there, and there is a hex on the bottom that you can put a wrench on to extract the nut on the top. They can be a real bitc# once they're rusted on like that. I suggest using some creeper oil, and heating it up with a torch. It should come off fine. I would also get new bolts/nuts for it, or wire wheel the crap out of the old ones.

You also might have to disconnect the radius arm to drop the beam down far enough to access the hex on the bottom.... Maybe not though.

-Denny

 

[dangerranger83]

I would love to do a v8 swap to mine like yours but I would want a manual tranny though, along with a manual tansfercase.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I can wiggle the beam and see the spring pull away slightly from the bucket, so I am pretty close that way. I think if I get the swaybar off I can get that extra half an inch. If I have to remove the RA it wouldn't hurt my feel bads too much anyway because after this I have to change the RA bushings. With the stud removed I don't have the extra length of that to deal with.

When I get the the stud out, hopefully I can get it apart and bead blast it... and then never seize it. As it is, the retainer is a awesome funnel to surround the nut in crap and never let said crap leave.

I would love to do a v8 swap to mine like yours but I would want a manual tranny though, along with a manual tansfercase.

It came with the manual t-case and hubs, and I serously pondered a 5 speed. But the C5 came by at a decent price all set and ready to go so I jumped on it. Getting one, converting the truck, finding a fullsize t-case that fits both the transmission and the truck and getting the driveshafts to work would have really complicated things. Using factory stuff and having the driveshaft length altered was pretty simple. If the truck had originally been a manual I would have stayed with one. OD would be nice, but since it will never be the long distance cruiser than my F-150 is anyway... it works fine.

 

[dangerranger83]

If your upgrading the rear, you should do the front next.

So theres no way to adapt a ranger transfercase to a full size tranny for those...???

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If your upgrading the rear, you should do the front next.

So theres no way to adapt a ranger transfercase to a full size tranny for those...???

I will upgrade the front eventually, but I am trying to get it more drivable for the moment. I gotta tire that has a really nasty shake above 45mph (actually the one that is off right now) and with the current spring sag I can't fit the 31's I have sitting in the shed. It also horribly needs aligned. I am wanting to get this thing drivable so I can get some rust fixed on my F-150 before winter.

Everything I am doing now (4.0 Explorer springs and RA bushings) will carry over to a D35 so I am not out much there.

You can get adaptors, they are major $$ to run a weaker t-case IMO. Yeah the stock t-cases will take a mild V8 (like mine) but why spend several hundred bucks ($3-400 IIRC) to keep one?

I considered a manual for the OD, I am not a die hard manual guy. It just kinda came down to what I found first and for how good of a deal I thought it was. It might get something different down the line, but the C5 made for a quicker turn around doing the swap and works great for now. It wouldn't be that hard to go back in and switch out tranny's if I wanted to.

Edit:

http://www.advanceadapters.com/search_results.php?keywords=ranger

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Went back into battle tonight. Hit the sway bar mount with the impact, tapped it out with a hammer and punch (that will be fun to get hooked back up) The beam dropped enough to get the spring out. I tried a breaker bar and a big box end wrench and can not get it the nut off, took it to the shop to try a deepwell socket and a impact but because of the cone of the bottom washer a deepwell impact socket won't engage on it. Going to have the guys take a look at it tomorrow.

Comparing new to old, the old looks longer but the new has thicker wire.

BTW my camera was still fogged up 1/2 hour after I went out of the house... gotta love humidity.

And in referance to my family issues I mentioned earlier, this finally came in for my brother.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

What changed in that stud from '85 to '86?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

We attacked it over lunch.

I bead blasted the threads it had left to go, let it soak a little while with penetrating oil. Then dad held the stud up in there with a prybar and had a box end wrench on the nut, and I rattled on the stud with a impact, slowly it came and then once it was on the clean threads it came right off.

The threads look perfect once cleaned, with no torch used to compromise any temper the stud had I am going to go back together with it.

 

[doorgunner]

The truck is looking great-----we're saying a prayer for your brother.