'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

Nabbed a new steering shaft over the weekend, was fighting with it and noticed I kept getting buzzed by hornets... no wonder. I left them alone and they left me alone.

Sheeting shaft dropped right in.

Chased the threads on the mount and the bolts, we now haz a kompressor!

Better pic of the hose clearance, it's a good inch.

Now to figure out the ice cube hoses and digical bits (and gotta refind my harness again)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The late nights are starting to catch up to me.

I snagged the harness out of the barn over my noon hour.

I had plans on deleting the WOT relay gibberish tonight and otherwise getting it ready. Opened the garage door when I got home so it could maybe cool off a bit in there. Just not feeling it, draped the harness across the engine with virtually no effort on the routing. Pretty sure it is going to reach everything... and shut the door and called it a night.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Reglued the rear view mirror button back on:



The instructions basically say nothing about it, I tore the "adjustment plug" on my fuel pump apart to see how it worked and basically a guy can just remove the little brass shims from below the spring to change your fuel pressure. I took out all three and it dropped it from 7psi to 5psi (5.5psi is supposed to be ideal for an Edelbrock carb)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

As many of you know I have circled the wagons on what hoses to use for years until the horses got dizzy, then I switched to mules and they got dizzy too.

So I went I just got brave and tried 2.9 hoses. They looked like with a little tweakage they should be able to reach.

And in real life, they don't look too bad.

Using the intake tube to hold the hose for the pic.



The other hose shows a lot of promise too, the routing needs played with and I need to snip that bracket off but I think it just might work.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Went to put my manifold adapter on... and it didn't fit. The compressor has a boss sticking out where the bolt goes that was too big to go in the center hole of the manifold.



So I drilled it out so that it would fit (with the help of an adapter kit...)



Then dug thru my stash to find a shorter bolt that would fit.



Pulled the battery out, pulled the line off between the evaporator and condenser and put new o-rings in it. Also started eyeing what it was going to take to get the drier in there.



The hose between the compressor and condenser technically fit great... I was not happy with it interfering with my intake snorkel. Both coming out of the condenser and where the tube swooped up.



This was at noon one day I discovered this. Also hit the point of "what am I doing?" "why am I doing this?" "the truck was perfectly functional and was really close to my goal of looking stock now I am going to have to go back to an open element air cleaner"

Then I mull it over throughout the day. If I could clock the tube at the rear to maybe get it out of the way I could probably deal with it at the condenser somehow.

So that is just what I did. I canted the tube over as far as I could. Then I probably did a no-no but very carefully bent the tube (aluminum) coming out of the condenser to point more straight back. I can't see any krinks or tears so I think I am ok.



Then the line between the compressor and evaporator... I just couldn't get thrilled about it. I originally had it routed under the aircleaner but that big steel elbow was hard into the firewall and it just looked weird popping out just to swoop over the evap housing to hit the drier. Without opening the drier I was also concerned about rubbing on the evap housing as well. Also note the heater hoses were too short and interfered with the drier, so I replaced those with longer ones (as well as the vacuum lines going to the vacuum reservoir)





So then I tried to route it up and over like a bullnose. Looked better but the elbow was hard into the wiper motor. So we go over to the vice, I straighten one bend and take some of the angle out of the harder bend. I think it it is going to look fairly decent. Added a second gen firewall wire loom holder to support the hose and it looks freaky good IMO.



Tomorrow I am going to rumble it in to dad's shop, install the drier/suction hose, switch and 134A fittings, charge it and see what I have.

The heater hoses and vacuum lines are long until I can get the drier actually mounted in place and I know what I have to work around for room.

 

[racsan]

Love the “one peice at a time” song reference!
Cant believe youve put that much stuff into a gen 1 engine bay. Hope your a/c works after all the troubles.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Put oil on it, assembled everything. Had to track down a fitting for the pressure switch. I thought I had all of them but I am missing the clip lock for the suction line on the drier.

Really happy with how it came out though.

Pulled a vacuum on it to kinda stress test the system, let it sit awhile and it held it great so that looks good.

Just need to find a clip so I can charge it now...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Treasure has been found!

Drive an hour to spend $3.78 since no parts store in town had ever seen such a thing... I am fully expecting to find one somewhere stupid obvious tomorrow.

 

[dvdswan]

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And I got one that fits!

 

[RobbieD]

Nice work! Fingers crossed that you're good to go after a charge.

I am fully expecting to find one somewhere stupid obvious tomorrow.

That's simply how it works. Happens to me all the time, and I call it the "Curse of the Old Packrat".

 

[BlackBII]

Gotta have AC! I went through a lot trouble to put it in my truck. It's so damn hot.

 

[Shran]

Great work! I can live without AC but it's certainly very high up there on my list of "nice to have" things.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Great work! I can live without AC but it's certainly very high up there on my list of "nice to have" things.

I haven't had air in the truck for the 22 years I have had it.

On long trips the windows down kinda gets to ya. Especially if she had hers down too.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Whatever it takes... the G-Unit will be blowing snow flakes.