'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

Progress continued on the sliders:







2/3 done!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Well I have most of an A/C system now:

I have the evaporator housing/evaporator, hose from drier to condenser, drier, condenser, hose from condenser to compressor, compressor and the wiring harness plus a o-ring kit and expansion tube. I just need the hose to go between the drier and the compressor.

I got this for my birthday this year:



Kind of impressed, this manifold that came with a compressor at work is going to work to adapt my compressor to use loose hoses.



As far as what to do... I really need to get the slider done and the camper done for a car show in three weeks, that has been my goal for over a year. Then I need to either get it in gear or forget about it for the roundup. I need to do some wiring alterations and front shocks/front swaybar for that at the bare minimum. I would also like to reroute the DS exhaust downpipe so I can have a front driveshaft full time but the way things are going I don't know if I am going to have time.

Maybe A/C too but it is going to take a fair bit of work to install all the bits for that.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

New (to me) cab corners from @ThatOneGuy showed up yesterday!



So now I have to churn around how to replace those...

 

[scotts90ranger]

Duct tape and bubble gum oughta do it... Might need an ax or something to make room...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Pretty much. After seeing the cross section it isnt going to be as easy as I thought.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

The rocker area on pretty much any truck is a nightmare to do rust repair on. If it's caught very early on, then cab corners are an easy fix.

 

[sgtsandman]

Nothing a drill, some pop rivets, and some bondo couldn’t fix...

 

[Ranger850]

Nothing a drill, some pop rivets, and some bondo couldn’t fix...

Maybe pop some drain holes in the new cab corners before they rust away.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have seen a lot worse but mine do need more than the usual little $30 cap you find for sale everywhere. The other side isn't as bad.



Looking at it again it might not be quite so bad.

There is an internal C channel formed inside the corner, that concerns me the most but looking at it and thinking about it more I don't know if it is going to be as big of a deal as I thought it was at first.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I has two rock sliders!

 

[Jim Oaks]

Looking good!!

 

[Bird76Mojo]

A general rule of thumb in rust repair is if you see a pinhole, then the area you'll have to remove to get to fresh usable sheetmetal will be the size of your palm. This was relayed to me from a lifetime auto body tech, and so far my experience with rust repair he's been spot on correct. If you cut corners here, the rust will be back within a year or two if driven in the rain regularly.

When you start cutting that apart, you're gonna have a nightmare on your hands. It will take 3 times longer than you think, and the rust will extend further than you ever thought. The metal will be thin a long way away from the rust you can easily see.

If you just plan to cut yours out and weld those on, you'll only be welding the outside sheetmetal together. Purely a cosmetic repair.

 

[RobbieD]

Those sliders look great, and you have a spotter cat. You're all set.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A general rule of thumb in rust repair is if you see a pinhole, then the area you'll have to remove to get to fresh usable sheetmetal will be the size of your palm. This was relayed to me from a lifetime auto body tech, and so far my experience with rust repair he's been spot on correct. If you cut corners here, the rust will be back within a year or two if driven in the rain regularly.

When you start cutting that apart, you're gonna have a nightmare on your hands. It will take 3 times longer than you think, and the rust will extend further than you ever thought. The metal will be thin a long way away from the rust you can easily see.

If you just plan to cut yours out and weld those on, you'll only be welding the outside sheetmetal together. Purely a cosmetic repair.

Yeah, i have a couple plans on how to do it and a guy I am going to try to con onto doing it.

I asked for about a foot beyond where I think I need it, @ThatOneGuy was kind enough to get me a little extra. I can see both sides of most of what is going on.

It doesn't see much rain and no salt but I get ya, I don't want to do it twice.

Got stuck going to the in-laws so I couldn't stay home and start getting the truck roundup ready... so I drove it for a pseudo shakedown run and to do some work on it tomorrow... and it finally met my FIL's '91.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Maybe pop some drain holes in the new cab corners before they rust away.

They have rubber plugs in them from the factory, if i remember correctly