87 v8 ranger build

[Jgrubbs3]

Its not like she’s special or anything but I wanted to post to get help/tips from the people who have the same passion as I do and have already done it. If anyone has any advice at all don’t be afraid to throw it in. A lot has already changed, finally getting around to signing up for the forum haha. I’ll update with the story later and with more pics

 

[Uncle Gump]

Gotta love a std cab long box... cool truck. Looks a little rough and that left rear tire looks round only on the top.

Welcome to TRS

 

[Jgrubbs3]

Thanks! She was defiantly rough to say the least and yes that one and a second don’t stay aired up long haha

 

[Jgrubbs3]

I’d been wanting a truck I could drive around town back and forth to work so I didn’t have to drive my 17’ f250 all the time. I also wanted a miniature farm truck and being a ford guy a ranger was the only way to go. I was about to settle for a 2wd but realized it wouldn’t be worth the money to put into it unless it was a 4wd. I searched for months trying to find a deal on one, I wanted to spend as little as possible. One night I was falling asleep and got on fb market place and found her posted for $500! I got her from a lady about 45mins away that had to get rid of it before the next day otherwise it would get towed and she’d be fined. It’d had been sitting in her driveway since her son left for college and she didn’t receive any of the notices until the day before. I went at 10:30pm and paid $200 bucks! It was her sons first truck and he was hard on it! They had replaced some internal engine parts in hope of fixing whatever was wrong with it. After that never they never got it running just right again. They said if I brought a battery it might start but I trailered it home(the plan the whole time) after trying with no success. The next day I put a new battery in and jump the solenoid and she was hard to get started but she did! In the daylight I was able to see the interior was in pretty good shape. Everything that was missing I was able to find inside after I cleaned it out haha. I replaced everything in the starting system to try to get it to start off the key but no success, so I kept just jumping the solenoid. The next day I found out she was mixing oil and water. I toke it apart and replaced intake gaskets in hope of fixing it. The intake was loose and looked sloppy so I hoped that was it. After getting it back together after a distributor problem it was still mixing and now it would loose power until I pumped up the gas a bunch and the more I drove it the more and longer it would lose power. Had a friend look at it to see if he could figure it out and he actually fixed the starting problem haha. The wire was on the “S” terminal but apparently needed to be on the other little terminal. My first plan was to fix everything to make it like a new dependable truck but after the engine problems I remembered my child hood dream of a big ass ranger with a 460. I still wanted my “new” miniature farm truck and my first truck had a 351W so that’s the route I wanted to go. I drove 2.5hrs to get a 351 that was suppose to have the dual slump pan and only needed heads. I got there to find it needed A LOT more, had 4 broke pistons, and didn’t have the dual slump oil pan. I still got it for $15 bucks for a core. After a couple months i found a great deal on a 302 I couldn’t pass up and knew it’d be a easier swap. That’s where I’m at now, the 302 sitting on a engine stand inside a shop the ranger sitting out back. In the process of building my house so the ranger is slow going sadly

 

[Jgrubbs3]

Before I stripped “REDNECK” off the windshield? tint was pretty shitty too and back windshield was covered in stickers. It had a toolbox in the bed along with a roll bar with a flag pole holder haha

 

[Jgrubbs3]

Much better with everything off! I sold the ranger roll bar for $50 bucks! If I can sell the tool box for $150 the trucks paid for!

 

[Jgrubbs3]

Like I said previously I want a miniature farm truck so a flat bed is defiantly a necessity. My first plan was to build one, I work on trailers and I’ve built a couple actually so a flatbed wouldn’t have been to bad. I figured finding a small enough flatbed would’ve been impossible. The rangers been on the back burner since my house started but I stay looking on fb market place, Craigslist, etc for parts I need incase I come across any great deals. One day I found a 5x7 flatbed which is the perfect size and I went and got it for $150! I figured it was totally worth it since it would’ve taken me at least a week or two to build one with how much time I have for personal projects(I work 50-60hrs a week). It isn’t the prettiest but it’s a good starting place. I’m gonna prolly cut the roll bar off and cut out the front corners to put in two boxes I found on FBMP for $75 together new with keys! I wanted them under the bed but they’ll be too big. I want to keep as much bed room as possible and putting them just on top of the bed would take away a lot I feel like. Best solution I’ve come up with is like I said cut the corners out and weld the boxes in kinda halfway below half way above but staying as low as possible. You can see the black boxes on top of the flatbed from the behind picture, those are the ones I plan on putting on. I’m Going to sand the bed and the cab down to metal, prime, and paint it to match my 17’. The top of the bed I’ll bed liner and the front fenders were crudely cut before me so i plan on replacing those too. Of course a gooseneck hitch will be going in as well!

 

[Jgrubbs3]

Ok so my first question for the forums! Like I said my current plan is to put a 302 inside her. I know everyone does c4 trannys but is that enough gears for the 302 in this little truck? I don’t plan on using it has a muddling toy, I want it as a daily driver that if I need to I can take off road and not worry about anything. It’s currently a manual. I don’t have a preference to auto vs manual so I’m looking for help. A zf5 is a dream but i think that’s to low of a first gear for what I want. What about a m5od-r2? I know a lot of people do the AOD but I like the idea of a lower first and the extra 5th gear. Is the AOD a better choice though? Like I said any advice is much appreciated, I don’t have a lot of experience and would rather do it right the first time haha

 

[Jgrubbs3]

Needs a new dash or a cover(it’s cracked) and headliner is sagging but other than it’s in pretty good shape! Has a lot of junk inside that belongs to my lawn mower? After I get done on outside I wanna redo inside. Brand new inside and out? sun roof maybe?