'85 Ranger Restomod

[Bird76Mojo]

Ah, the ol' WD to the rescue.

A good ol' WD almost never fails at the task at hand.. Unless you're severely over-estimating it. Definitely been there before.



GB

 

[bobbywalter]

you got to be smart with them....they flip right over




squash ya like a bug.






you should have put it in 2wd and drove right out. they will go anywhere.














best way to do that snorkel. i priced a 400cfm swirly style prefilter.........600 bux. i had to call back to make sure....


i will be shopping around for that.



i have a stang dual somewhere.

 

[bobbywalter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbZdbiby7P4



https://www.intakehoses.com/

https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/air-intake-tubes/air-intake-tube-style/flexible



summit...allstar....jegs and speedway and stuff...



https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/air-intake-tubes/air-intake-tube-style/flexible

 

[Bird76Mojo]

We've had 3 generations here on the farm working the same "tricycle" front end WD45. Never an accident. They're harder to flip than one might imagine. We've worked ours on some pretty serious inclines over the years, and while it seems like it's getting pretty hairy, as long as your tires have fluid in them and you've got the wheel weights mounted, it's awful hard to flip.

The most dangerous thing about the WD series is the snap coupler hitch being worn in the front coupler. One should NEVER operate a rear snap coupler implement without safety chaining it up so it can't fall and dig into the ground. A local man was using a snap coupler plow when I was a kid, without safety chains, and it popped out of the snap coupler but remained attached to the two upper lift arms. The front of it dug into the ground, and before he could get it shut down, it flipped the implement over on top of the seat and squashed him so bad he was unrecognizable. They were basically pulling his body parts and guts out of what was left of the rear of that tractor. His family had it cut up for scrap after that.



GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

This is how I did my snorkel on TRS-1:

https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to/engines-fuel-systems/ford-302-carburetor-snorkel/

That is pretty clean, looks a lot better than the homemade ones that go out the fender. I don't think I have ever seen an underhood shot of TRS1 so that is an added bonus too.

Ah, the ol' WD to the rescue.

A good ol' WD almost never fails at the task at hand.. Unless you're severely over-estimating it. Definitely been there before.



GB

It is kind of the honeybadger of my place. The '45 don't care. Mildly amusing, I stuck a 4wd truck of similar weight in that drift. Steering with the brakes the tractor went right thru it and once straightened out I dropped the blade and took the drift with me.

you got to be smart with them....they flip right over




squash ya like a bug.

Yeah, I keep a good account of where my terrace is and get along pretty good. I am the the fourth generation owner of that tractor.

best way to do that snorkel. i priced a 400cfm swirly style prefilter.........600 bux. i had to call back to make sure....


i will be shopping around for that.



i have a stang dual somewhere.

Yeah, the turbo style precleaners are not cheap. I don't know if a NA engine draws enough air to make them work consistently though.

4.5" Turbo III is $252 list thru our go-to vender.

http://www.turboprecleaner.com/products/turbo-iii

I started out wanting the Mustang housing, glad I didn't get one because I am going to have to change where the snorkels meet the housing and the snorkels themselves anyway. BTW, they are on Ebay for stupid amounts of money...

We've had 3 generations here on the farm working the same "tricycle" front end WD45. Never an accident. They're harder to flip than one might imagine. We've worked ours on some pretty serious inclines over the years, and while it seems like it's getting pretty hairy, as long as your tires have fluid in them and you've got the wheel weights mounted, it's awful hard to flip.

Sadly it still happens. I keep the rear wheels out set in the middle for more stability. '45 has wheel weights, fluid and front end weights. That is why it is the snow pusher. The WD is naked and dry at the moment, I need to find a correct rim for it so I can get the right sized tires back on it.

One of our customers was mowing weeds with his 504 IH, got distracted and ran over the front tire of another tractor he lost in the tall grass. Tractor went over and pinned him overnight. He could see the highway but couldn't reach his phone so he was there for the duration with the thing upside down on top of him leaking gas. He came out of it ok which was good, most don't. It really freaked his wife out when she found him...

It can happen stupid fast and to anybody.

The most dangerous thing about the WD series is the snap coupler hitch being worn in the front coupler. One should NEVER operate a rear snap coupler implement without safety chaining it up so it can't fall and dig into the ground. A local man was using a snap coupler plow when I was a kid, without safety chains, and it popped out of the snap coupler but remained attached to the two upper lift arms. The front of it dug into the ground, and before he could get it shut down, it flipped the implement over on top of the seat and squashed him so bad he was unrecognizable. They were basically pulling his body parts and guts out of what was left of the rear of that tractor. His family had it cut up for scrap after that.



GB

The pre snap coupler WD's (and I think Snap-Coupler was an option for awhile on the WD-45's) were the bad ones. They had the pin hitch underneath and shear pins in the lift arms. Something bad underneath happens and if both shear pins don't shear (and I doubt on a good day many used the correct pins to start with) what you describe would happen. With the snap coupler the lift latches they are supposed to blow open and let go of the implement.

Here is the stock hitch on my WD when I got it (it is snap coupler now, you can see the bell on the platform)

If you are into A-C's here is the thread on my "free" WD:

https://therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162028

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I was just on the Allis forum last night and a guy on there still has a bad back to this day and was complaining about it, because his WD flipped an implement on him when the snap coupler let loose decades ago. The spring loaded release latches didn't release the implement. So safety chains on the front of the implement are paramount. Don't wanna rely on those latches as your only failsafe..





GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I was just on the Allis forum last night and a guy on there still has a bad back to this day and was complaining about it, because his WD flipped an implement on him when the snap coupler let loose decades ago. The spring loaded release latches didn't release the implement. So safety chains on the front of the implement are paramount. Don't wanna rely on those latches as your only failsafe..





GB

I don't do much plowing or ripping with it. I do use it on a 12' snap coupler disk but that is a different kind of cat. It spends most of its time either the three point rig (winter) or a snap coupler carry-all platform (summer) on it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Air cleaner lid polishing was a good snowy stuck in the house weekend project and is progressing nicely.



And the F-150 redeemed itself today. Wife hung her Edge up on the berm the state puts on the end of our road. I rumble out there, neuter the traction control in her car and get it backed out, give it two good runs (uphill thru a 4' thick 1-1.5" deep berm of frozen slush) and fail to get it out. Turn her around and send her back home, jump back in the truck and waltz right thru it (went around to come in the back way to see if it was any better from that direction, it was better but a lot more drifts before you get to the highway)

Then I picked her up at the house and drove her to work and got to bust that berm again.

If I go looking for trouble I can easily find more than it can take but day to day the thing is faultless. I really enjoy its lack of electrical nanny stuff, the stupid TC in the Edge is my nemesis.

 

[Curious Hound]

Air cleaner lid polishing was a good snowy stuck in the house weekend project a:

I refuse to ever be that bored but I applaud your efforts at beautification.

This message composed solely of recycled electrons. Go green!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I refuse to ever be that bored but I applaud your efforts at beautification.

This message composed solely of recycled electrons. Go green!

That's about an hour with a dremel, buffer wheel and mother's wheel polish. I might have another hour into it before I am ready to swirl it.

If I could find a lid ready to go I would have, the regular Mustang ones are stupid priced. So I am polishing out 30 years worth of stains and oxidation so I can chuck it in a drill and redo the original brushed finish.

A new chrome Saleen lid is $80 but I like the brushed aluminum look better. And yes I am going to clear coat it so I don't have to go thru this again.

Nice slightly earlier one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Snork...h=item214be72df0:g:VEcAAOSwAOdbO51c:rk:3:pf:0

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Buzzed down to the local fab shop and picked up my gauge pod:



Was a little skeptical when he handed it to me, didn't know how it was going to bend. It is a little thicker than I had imagined. Went pretty good though and is plenty beefy.

 

[fastpakr]

How thick is that material? That looks intense.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

How thick is that material? That looks intense.

1/8"

It wasn't bad to bend by hand though, not really any complaints with how it worked out.

 

[1991fordranger1]

14 gauge would of been plenty lol but looks hardcore!!

Those notch outs on the bend lines will really help.


Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

14 gauge would of been plenty lol but looks hardcore!!

Those notch outs on the bend lines will really help.


Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

It is a quarter inch between the slots so there is 3/4” of meat on the outer mounts and 1-1/4” on the center.

I got the notch idea from pen holders they made, for low stress stuff like this they work great.