'85 Ranger Restomod

[Dirtman]

If I had that thing in my garage I wouldn't have room for my truck lol.

Life is simply a series of choices...

 

[Shadowrider6661]

If you want to get a little more weld from the new welder, like penetration, pre heat the metal before you start the weld. This allows me to weld 1/2" steel with my Lincoln 140 flux core welder.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Well, it is better.

At first when I put it back on I was kinda bummed, it still seemingly flopped around. Then I played with it in the daylight and I actually only have about a quarter inch up and down of flex at the end of the swing out. It still "moves" because with a basically 8' lever from the rear Axle to the end of the gate one can do a lot of picking up/pushing down on the truck itself.

Bumper goes down maybe 3/16" and the other side goes up the same. Same for if I lift up on the swing out.

So the bumper is pretty rigid, it is the bumper brackets now. Still scheming on how to change that, I have a couple ideas.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

New phase for the tire carrier:





Kinda stupid but my 1943 USMC jerry can from my grandpa will look neat on the back.



Not sure if I will "use" it, I do intend on cleaning the varnish out of the inside, lining it, cleaning the old paint and rust off the outside and repainting it. More or less restoring it.

 

[MikeG]

The old gas can is way cool!!!!!!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Plates for mounting the sliders and my rear camper tie downs came back from the local fab shop today.

 

[Curious Hound]

Plates for mounting the sliders and my rear camper tie downs came back from the local fab shop today.

View attachment 57907

View attachment 57906

Pick a card. Any card.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Marked up where the braces are going to land:



My scientific method for center punching holes...





Everything kind of mocked up:



Kind of hit a snag. I forgot during my engine swap days that a Ranger frame has the straightness of a wet noodle. I have the distance set about right with the front one, as you can see with two in place the slider is kicked way out at the back compared to the rocker panel... so I need to fiddle with it more to get it square.

Also played with my welder a little bit. I think it is an arts and crafts thing from Hobby Lobby or something, cranked all the way up playing on a new 3/16" plate/scrap going slow I had 0 discoloration on the back side.

It might work for tacking this... we will see. I am going to mark it with a marker too just in case it can't survive the truck ride to a real welder.

 

[BlackBII]

Damn man that all looks great! I bet those laser cut plates are nice to work with; one of my biggest annoyances with fab work is cutting out the brackets and drilling 100 holes. Welds on the tubing look perfect as well.

I dig the jerry can

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Damn man that all looks great! I bet those laser cut plates are nice to work with; one of my biggest annoyances with fab work is cutting out the brackets and drilling 100 holes. Welds on the tubing look perfect as well.

Yeah, measuring and drilling holes in 12 plates would have gotten old pretty quick.

I probably wouldn't have had to do backing plates but the idea hit me for the mount that is going to get blocked by the fuel tank. If I just welded the bolts to a plate I wouldn't have to drop the tank to take the slider off. Then it hit me it would help support the frame if I had plates on all of them. I am only welding the bolts for the one mount though.

Welds do look really nice on the tubes, they came that way though.

 

[dvdswan]

Yeah, measuring and drilling holes in 12 plates would have gotten old pretty quick.

Like after the 1st plate was done.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Angle grinder and hand drill huh? lol

 

[dvdswan]

So people are just not lucky enough to have a CNC around and local shops want an arm and nut to make them.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

So people are just not lucky enough to have a CNC around and local shops want an arm and nut to make them.

I had jokingly implied in a text to @Uncle Gump that I made them by hand.

 

[Curious Hound]

I had jokingly implied in a text to @Uncle Gump that I made them by hand.

I made mine by hand. But they weren't that pretty.