88 ranger gettin fullwidths

[Boggin]

Well the 79 bronco i bought was useless, so i plan to take the 351M out and rebuild it and put that in the ranger, and take the front D44 and rear 9" and put in the currently 4X2 ranger

and the ranger already got trs stickers

and I wont be starting this project for a little while, first thing i wanna do is remove the engine from the bronco and carry it over to my house (dad and pop let me use their company garage about 5mins away from me) and rebuild it, and i cant keep the bronco in there this winter because my pop will probably put his boat in there, but you never know

and your probably thinking well why start a thread about it now, well i thought instead of posting a new topic for every question id start a build for her.
specs
Bronco | Ranger
1979 1988
5.8 351M 2.9V6
straight D44 2WD
9" 7.5
C6 Unknown 5speed
NP205 --
-- 3" body lift
-- Push bar
-- Roll bar
Full size Reg cab/Long bed
------------------------------------

so, the first of my questions are
a) will the 351M/C6/NP205 actually fit in there between the transmission hump, frame rails, firewall, etc.
b) for using fullwidth front, instead of having to extend the coil buckets, even though it might not be that much of a job, will it be easier to slap some leaf perches on the axle and leaf spring the front? even though id rather coils
c) for the rad arms, would it be possible to use the stock location for the rad arms on the axle or is the frame on the bronco that much wider, cause i figure the rad arms will probably have a small amount of play in the bushings shouldnt they?

thats it for now, i really appreciate answers and im looking forward to doing all of this
thanks
jeff

 

[BlackBII]

A)Yes, it can fit.
B)That depends on how much fab work you want to do, and if you want coils or springs. I would look around for pictures of both setups and decide which one would be easier with your fabricating skills, and what your looking to do with the truck.
C)You should be able to leave the radius arms where they're at and bolt them to your frame.

 

[Boggin]

thanks man and i want to DD this truck when im 16, shes already inspected and my brother used her until her but hes gone away for school now so shes been sitting for a while and i wanted 4x4 so insteda of putting in a D35ttb i already got the fullwithds so she must be street legal, and ive only been fabbing for about 2 years, only learned how to weld a couple days ago with a arc, but i can grind and cut good and working on my welding, im kinda looking for the easiest setup but that dont mean its gonna be half assed

 

[Boggin]

well the bronco is back home in the garden, im gonna get started on removing the front axle asap of the bronco, when its unbolted and ready to come out, ill strip the ranger, then throw the 44 in the ranger

but first i need a 4x4 trans and tcase

 

[BlackBII]

Aren't you going to use the 351?

 

[Boggin]

oh and shes gonna be keeping the 2.9 for now until i can get a 302 or something like that, 351M is too big for a ranger

 

[Boggin]

Aren't you going to use the 351?

oh and shes gonna be keeping the 2.9 for now until i can get a 302 or something like that, 351M is too big for a ranger

.. we posted hte same time lol

 

[BlackBII]

Yeah, I saw that. lol

A 351 isn't too big for a ranger...

But getting a 4wd tranny and t-case would be easier than swapping in the 351

 

[Boggin]

But getting a 4wd tranny and t-case would be easier than swapping in the 351

exactly

edit; and i already have the trans/tcase ready to swap in

 

[kemicalburns]

the 351m is a pig, its a low powered heavy motor. very unpractical for a ranger. i would sell that motor/tranny and go with a 302 or 351w. or keep that C6 and install a 460.

 

[Boggin]

heres some info i gathered and going to print off after i get some steering options

88 ranger straight axle

notes:

radius arms from the 79 bronco required and the brackets for them will give the ranger 4" of drop

minimum of 6" of lift required cause of the engine crossmember, or grind some off

3.5" coils from a early bronco will give 6" lift on the ranger with the straight axle

use trac bar mount from the 79 bronco for starters of a custom mount between the steering box and coil buckets on the ranger

need a spacer between the coil buckets on the ranger frame

 

[Boggin]

well ive been working the last 6 days so ive gotten nowhere with the sas besides bringing home the bronco to work on her, so from my understanding, 3.5" early bronco coils will give the ranger 6" of lift with the D44 and 6" is minimum because of diff clearance, so i found these
http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-13206_super_flex_coils_3__.htm

ill be ordering those soon, and also a 6" drop pitman arm, correct?

 

[Boggin]

for a trac bar mount i was thinking something like this

id just cut it out of a peice of square tubing, would that be strong enough?

also for the drag link, instead of getting a drop pitman arm, wouldnt i be able to just bend the drag link so it goes up like this:

edit:: i know id probably need to extend the drag link a bit but id just cut it and throw a peice inbetween and weld back together?

 

[BlackBII]

That should work fine for your trac bar, I would be sure to use at least 1/4" thick steel, and grade 8 hardware.

For the steering...well it all depends on how much lift you will be running, you basically want the drag link to be parallel with your trac bar. You shouldn't need to bend your drag link, that is normally done to clear leaf springs...which your not using right? You just have to remember, the more vertical your drag link is, the more bump steer your going to have. As when the suspension cycles up and down, the pitman arm can be pushed either way when the distance grows or shrinks between the knuckle and pitman arm, so when you hit a bump, and your suspension goes up, you get bump steer. Maka sense?

Here are a few to give you an idea:

 

[nate09]

bending the drag link doesnt sound like a good idea. unless you put a gusset in the bend to keep it from bending further and eventually snapping. id consider putting a piece of tubing on the inside of the drag link as well for extra strength. might not need it but it couldnt hurt right?

i dont know a lot about steering setups but its what i would do in your position. im sure someone else more experienced will chime in as well.