'85 Ranger Restomod

[scotts90ranger]

I looked at that link earlier and saw there's off brand versions for $14, I should probably get one... 3.5" bearings sound like it might be able to handle D60 bearings... and a supply of marine grease (unless there's a real downside... other than price I'm not seeing an important one for general purpose wheel bearings)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I put candy out for the little POS's... apparently not quick enough.



Yup, decided to take the ol' girl to the Creepy Crawl. It has pretty much been waiting for a trip and not really needing much.

Checked header bolts, checked trans oil, checked tire pressure, set the clock from the big wiring overhaul, put the Trasharoo on, update GPS, resynced my phone since I got a new one like 2 months ago etc. She is in theory ready for battle. Its never pulled a trailer very far and personally I have never pulled a trailer this far either. Test runs to the lake at 80* it was cooling fine though.



My good LED lights are in the camper so I had to resort to my old school light. Yes it isn't a incandecent oil burner but dang does this thing suck. It was awesome back when I used it to build like 80% of my truck (engine swap until like 5 years ago)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Last weekend I pulled our camper down to Kansas:

Post in thread 'Kansas Rocks Creepy Crawl'

Oct 19, 2025

Broke the oldest out of school a couple hours early and hit Missouri:



The ratchet strapped road cover really completes the look...



Had some fun with books on the road



Kansas!



Yeah, we saw this later...

• 85_Ranger4x4

• 

Anyway, after action battle report for the tow pig.

Really it did great. On the way down it was between 85-90* outside and it ran between 200-210*, upper side of what I consider normal. Usually 205 and it would creep up to 210 on longer hills. We hit construction and in stop and go it was down to 195 which was a relief. On the way home it got up to 75* and it never broke 200.

The canvas cover on the camper isn't super great, I generally run 5 over but this time I limited it to 65 to try to keep some of the strain off the cover. I still had to pull over a few times and resituate it on the camper.

The one time I checked I was getting 12mpg which wasn't horrible.

The trailer taillight module for the Bronco came in while were gone so for long distance towing the Ranger is probably going to get bumped. If the Bronco had trailer lights there was really no need for the Ranger to go this time. Arguably the F-150 would have been better... but given the option the Ranger's topper made for a nice storage shed while were there.

Limited slip is still very unhappy, I need to rebuild that this winter. Still works great at spinning both rears in the mud but it makes the truck sound like a POS that is trying to rip itself apart in a parking lot.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

15 years ago I started to make a truck out of it, it has really came a long ways.

And we are going to totally ignore the truck was one of the older trucks in the parking lot when I got it... when it was 15 years old.

$200 302 out of a fencerow under a blue tarp has sure held up better than the 2.8. (I've actually also taken care of it)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I noticed last year when I had the Skamper in the truck the front of the truck felt "soft" when turning right. It really felt wrong, like the spring bucket was loose or maybe the frame had a crack or something. Only with the Skamper though. I never could never see anything wrong so I kinda kept in the back of my mind after I pulled the camper out.

I was poking around taking measurements for a deflector to keep water and debris out of the fan last night and noticed the DS sway bar bracket was really loose on the frame. It looked tight and felt tight until I unbolted the sway bar from it.

So now I gotta wait until next summer to see if that made a difference...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Drove it to town to fight with the combine, had a nice view as I worked if I didn't look at what I was working on.



Compared to getting that cross shaft out...



My wife wanted to incorporate it into the family Christmas pictures... ok. It was an excuse to wash off the now weathered mud from Kansas. Snapped a couple pictures after I got all the props picked up.





Then I divested all my recovery gear that was in the tote that ended up in the Ranger after Kansas so both DD's have a strap, a couple clevises, tow point and a air compressor for the winter.

After that I also pulled the traction boards and the fullsize CB antenna so the truck will fit in the garage. The boards are mostly for winter and they won't do me any good on the Ranger backed into the garage against the wall. I also finally pulled off the big dorky receiver hitch too.

 

[ryan]

Great shots there

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I haven't had it running in over a month. I am off work until 1/5 for the holidays... so I wanna drive my Ranger dangit.

So I woke it up today. Pulled it out and let it get up to temp, it was kind of fun. Had a Christmas thing so I didn't have time to take it for a spin.

I got my Christmas bonus yesterday so I splurged on a water system for my truck when we go camping:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-15-gallon-economy-spot-sprayer-boxed-2336035

The wand (which I need for my sprayer trailer) was worth over half the price of the whole thing.

 

[Lefty]

I haven't had it running in over a month. I am off work until 1/5 for the holidays... so I wanna drive my Ranger dangit.

So I woke it up today. Pulled it out and let it get up to temp, it was kind of fun. Had a Christmas thing so I didn't have time to take it for a spin.

I got my Christmas bonus yesterday so I splurged on a water system for my truck when we go camping:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-15-gallon-economy-spot-sprayer-boxed-2336035

The wand (which I need for my sprayer trailer) was worth over half the price of the whole thing.

Merry Christmas everyone. It's been fun to follow your thread. Keep up the good work. My own Ranger spent Christmas eve all alone in the garage. I'm glad too. We've both been working hard. I'm tired. We go together into homeless camps, truck in blankets, tents, sleeping bags, and meals. And when we run out of road, I dismount and we drag sleds from tent to tent and hand out supplies. The terrain is not too bad, really, but right now, this is all snow on top of ice.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yesterday when I went to start it the choke wouldn't set. It really annoyed me as I have been fighting cold start issues off and on for over a year at this point. I pops the lid off the aircleaner and the choke plate is hard open. I finagle the throttle and get the choke more closed and it fired right off. Like RIGHT off.

I don't know if the linkage is getting worn or what its deal is, it had been perfect until like a year and a half ago.

Again this BS is getting really old.

On the other end of the spectrum is hot starting, if it sits for a bit after being up to temp the fuel boils out of the carb bowls and floods the engine so it takes more crank time to clear the cylinders to fire. Edelbrocks are known for this. Nothing a $800 Holley Truck Avenger won't fix...

Holley 0-90670 Holley Truck Avenger Carburetors | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Holley Truck Avenger Carburetors with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Carburetors at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

Yesterday it poked the bear at the wrong time.

Aces has a sale going for Christmas... so a Killshot Fusion is on the way.

Killshot Fusion (Christmas Countdown)

The Future of Throttle Body EFI is Here Engineered Precision. Integrated Simplicity. Real-World Durability. The Killshot Fusion is the next evolution in throttle body EFI systems. Building upon the success of the original Killshot, the Fusion takes everything users loved, robust hardware...

acesefi.com

I need to figure out how I want to do the fuel system, it needs more fuel pressure so I need to change the pump, lines and regulator. I will just add a high pressure pump to my pump hanger assembly so that is easy but the lines and regulator will need redone.

To complicate things the system will do a lot of things that will simplify things in many other places.
- Bump the idle up when the A/C compressor cycles (the part to get a Edelbrock to kind of do that almost costs as much as the EFI kit

Edelbrock 8059 Edelbrock Throttle Solenoid and Bracket Kits | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Edelbrock Throttle Solenoid and Bracket Kits with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Carburetor Solenoids and Brackets at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

- Control the efans (even separately if I want)
- Control the fuel pump

I still need to decide on the fuel pump, I kind of like having that separate but it may clean things up. I like the idea for troubleshooting to go to the fuse panel and go from there though.

 

[SenorNoob]

At that price point, almost wonder why anybody bothers with carbs on new builds?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

At that price point, almost wonder why anybody bothers with carbs on new builds?

Cause its easy! Lol.

If nothing else its a tough swallow for me just because the price of carbs has gone nuts. Sure a Holley Sniper is $1200 regular price... but a Truck Avenger at $800. A Edelbrock 1403 just like what I have is more than the efi kit.

 

[sgtsandman]

That Killshot should solve the questions about the truck's ability to handle a Colorado run, if I'm understanding what it does correctly.

 

[SenorNoob]

I said almost. I get that that won't work in a nuclear apocalypse type situation where a carb would as long as you could find some way to provide ignition.

 

[sgtsandman]

I said almost. I get that that won't work in a nuclear apocalypse type situation where a carb would as long as you could find some way to provide ignition.

If there is a nuclear apocalypse or an EMP, I'm pretty sure we'll have bigger things to worry about than whether the vehicle is running. Plus, if you have a running vehicle, you are now a prime target more than other people would be for whatever they have or are perceived to be having.