'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

That hose is going to give you a run for your money, isn't it? You're going to have to get creative with some pipe.

I dunno, I have checked out Mustang, F-150's and even the 4.0 Explorer... I haven't found much that looks like it will fit. If I could somehow invert a foxbody hose I think that would work with some trimming...

So is the 5.0 explorer FEAD, the most favorable?

I will let you know if I find a hose and can get the thing timed.

It is a lot of work, it does look nice when it is all together though.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I think if I cut off the first leg of the hose coming out of the thermostat housing and rotate it a little it would fit. My engine sits both higher and closer to the radiator neck than the Explorer does so I think I might be able to get by with it. It wants to rub on the alternator during mock up but maybe I could put a little extra twist on it and pull it away.

Every pic on here I find with somebody using the Explorer hose they are in a 96+ truck also running the Explorer radiator.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Tonight was a cooler than normal night so I got back to the Ranger.

Disassembled the airbox and cleaned the spider webs from storage out of it, cleaned and painted the blower motor and picked up a new set of valve cover gaskets. The Fel-Pro gaskets are made a lot better than my Victor ones.

 

[shane96ranger]

I like those. Are they the perma-dry gaskets? What is the core of them, plastic?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yeah, they are the perma-dry ones. I think they are a steel core but nothing really says what they are. They are flimsier than the Victor ones which are steel but they put a lot more effort into making them.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have gotten lots of pidly crap done so far.

The valve covers are on (alternator has to come off for valve covers to fit), radiator is in, the cut down Explorer upper hose fit very nice, shorter flex hose for down below (I think the port is at a different angle than the Crown Victoria water pump) coolant is in and I think so far holding, airbox is cleaned up and in, inner fender and chrome molding is back on, new plug wires are on and nicely routed, carb is on and hooked up, new air filter is on.

I cranked it to check oil pressure, we are good there. Hoping to fire it up tomorrow...

If that goes ok all I have yet to do is mount the efan, tranny coolers and grille... if that doesn't go ok I will have a lot of work to do.

I do wish I would have just mounted the radiator with the hoses without the FEAD on and let it sit with coolant in it for awhile, with the FEAD in place you can see nothing of the timing cover and water pump.

 

[dangerranger83]

Now it is seeming like its more trouble then it is worth. Then again, Im knee deep in my swap atm and what knows whats going to come at me next.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Now it is seeming like its more trouble then it is worth. Then again, Im knee deep in my swap atm and what knows whats going to come at me next.

Its the same amount of work either way, only major difference is you won't be able to tell if it is the water pump or the timing cover.

It was a major bummer tearing my truck down right after the swap to change the water pump cover gasket... and that is with the old long pump.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

No fire.

Back when I originally put the engine in I fought connection problems where the truck pigtail plugs into the distributor pigtail. It took a little work but I did get it to work, apparently sitting unplugged for uncomfortably close to 5 months didn't do it any favors. If I fiddle with it I can get a blip initially on the timing light but after one spark on number one it won't say another word until I wiggle the heck out of the connector. So I reach back to my swap days and remember that the P/N for a new connector is in the Duraspark swap article. I call around and locate one for a cool $20... and it won't fit. I can't find the regular plug anywhere, neither for the '80 F-350 the pigtail is from, '85 Mustang GT the dizzy is from or the '78 Pinto the 2.8 dizzy was from. I could drive an hour and get one out of a JY... seems like a lot of driving for a stupid pigtail though. I am really tempted to just go John Deere and covert it to a weatherpack connector and be done with it for a couple bucks.

 

[dangerranger83]

I made my own pig tails.

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[85_Ranger4x4]

I made my own pig tails.

I lack the molding equipment to make my own.

The ones I am going to use are a really slick setup, you can put the whole thing together yourself, they are rubber sealed against the elements (which should be nominal under my hood)

JD and Kinze uses them by the truckload on their planter moniter systems, back when I was designing bucket trucks we used the same thing for pretty much everything we added as well.

 

[dangerranger83]

I just used wire, female ends to go into the make connectors in the dizzy and dura box then put blue silicone in it all to protect from the elements. It worked for two years with no problems.

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[85_Ranger4x4]

I just used wire, female ends to go into the make connectors in the dizzy and dura box then put blue silicone in it all to protect from the elements. It worked for two years with no problems.

Could you unplug/plug that mess? I would think for cheap three plasticless butt connectors, a little solder and some heat shrink would be a lot easier/cheaper.

For $8 I picked up my two connectors, six seals and six pins... less than half the price of the one Napa connector. And if need be I can unplug/remove my distributor down the road.

 

[dangerranger83]

Yup it all unplugged for me. And it costed me nothing, had all the stuff laying around to do it.

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[85_Ranger4x4]

It runs. ... and then it dies.

Sounds good when it runs though, I suspect a vacuum leak but ran out of daylight and it was trying to rain so I called it a night.

And yes I had the dizzy port capped...

EDIT: Runs slightly better with the brake booster hooked up