'97 Ranger Build

[GJ123]

Today I addressed the old seats, mounting the two B3000 seats I picked up at the junkyard.

These seats were from a standard cab, so I did have to swap them on to my stock tracks.

The seats are like brand new, and I dig the two-tone pattern compared to the plain tan of the old seats. They obviously don't match, but they were cheap and I'm not too worried about it - I'll get a seat cover if it starts to bother me.

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[GJ123]

Continuing to assemble parts for the explorer 8.8LS swap.

Belltech shackles came in the other day, and Kartek Drop Hangers showed up this afternoon. These are supposed to account for the height lost by the larger shackle, and help them clear the bottom of the bed. I will be checking on the F150 leaves that I plan on using tomorrow morning.

Ruffstuff flip kit is on the way, and now I'm looking an diff covers and rebuild parts. Any suggestions?

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[GJ123]

Update:

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[GJ123]

So I'm still working on the rear of the truck, I have my explorer 8.8 with LS and 3.73 gears stripped and ready to start getting things together once I pull my F150 leaves. I also bought new inner tie rods, 4" drop pitman arm, and new adjusters that I'm hoping to install this weekend.

However, I came across an '03 fx4 level 2 on Craigslist near me that had been hit in the rear. Bed is trashed but cab is clean (for a 15 year old MN truck). I always thought the four door supercab on ttb chassis would be the way to go so I hopped on it and picked it up last night.

I'll be swapping the cab on my truck and keeping everything I can, I just need to figure out how the interior wiring/gauges/heating/etc will work.

Seats were trashed (and the whole thing smelt like cat piss) so today I cleaned the interior and stripped everything. There is some surface rust on the drivers side floor but it doesn't look too bad. I'll be removing the stock sound deadening material and spraying lizard skin sound deadener and insulation with top coat.

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[GJ123]

Not much done on the '03 this weekend other than pulling the headlights and marker light. I did put the '97 to work hauling some brush though.

One thing I noticed a month or so after the Solo Motorsports kit install was some clunking from the front end when coming to an uprubt stop or hitting some bumps. I noticed some rubbing of the sway bar end links on the coil, and, since I was running stockers, I assumed that was the problem.

I ordered some Skyjacker end links for 3" to 6" lift only to find out they were no different than stock. So I went to Napa and got some stock rear sway bar end links, which are around 3" to 4" longer. The before and after shows the difference in sway bar position at ride height, and it looks like I've gained room from the coils.

My initial drive seemed to indicate the clunking is gone, but time will tell if it is gone long-term.

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[GJ123]

Small step in the right direction, got the door glass replaced on the drivers side of the new cab.

Only problem is the passenger side is tinted, and the new drivers side is not. I ultimately want the windows tinted anyway, so hopefully I can get the drivers side done to match.

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[Shran]

You could send those '03 seats my way if ya don't like em... I'll clean them up! They'd look sweet in my '86 that has black and blue interior

Great work on everything - truck looks awesome.

 

[GJ123]

You could send those '03 seats my way if ya don't like em... I'll clean them up! They'd look sweet in my '86 that has black and blue interior

Great work on everything - truck looks awesome.

Haha thanks man, I think I'll keep the seats though, they cleaned up pretty well.

I haven't done much else on the '03 lately, but I did finish my bed rack just in time to haul some 20' lengths of angle iron for a bridge project I'm working on. It was originally intended for kayaks, but it worked perfectly for this application.

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[GJ123]

Haven't done much this summer, mostly been using the truck as a truck, hauling lumber, hauling bruh, etc.

However, I had the rear brake line go out so I thought it was a good time to install the parts I ordered thus spring. I removed the bed, and I'll be replacing the hard line, painting the frame, and swapping shackle/hangers. I will likely swap in some '97 - '03 leaf springs and my explorer axle at some point also.

I managed to get the bed off with only one broken bolt, but I plan on replacing it all with standard grade 8 hardware.

Any suggestions on other things I should tackle while I have the box off?

One thing I am contemplating is replacing the rear crossmember with some c-channel welded to the end of the frame rail.

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[GJ123]

Progress has been made - I took some time wire wheeling the frame, and while there may have been some areas in the nooks and crannies of the cross members that I was unable to reach, I think it turned out fine for my purposes.

I removed everything on the frame, and I ordered new brackets for the shock mounts and front spring hangers (Dorman stock replacements).

I also got a coat of Rustoleum rusty metal primer on it, and I'll get a coat of black on it tomorrow. I hope to have it back together before the weekend is over.

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[GJ123]

First coat of Rustoleum Enamel on the frame, and an example of what I started with.

I'll be putting on coat #2 on tomorrow, and possibly looking at a new box...

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[BlackBII]

Ah yeah that looks really good man!

 

[GJ123]

Thanks man! Appreciate it.

Today I bolted up my new brackets, front spring hangers, upper shock mounts, and rear shackle hangers.

The rear shackle hangers are Kartek 1.5" drop units to clear the way for the shackle flip with Belltech 6400 shackles. They come with 1/2" Grade 8 hardware, but I swapped it out with metric units to stay consistent.

The stock holes have to be enlarged slightly, and a new hole is needed on the bottom. My local hardware store only had 8 of the correct bolts, so I'll be bolting up the bottom later. I also went with shorter bolts on the bottom to make room for the bottom bolts and bumper bolts.

I hope to have the axle back under it this week to see how much lift I need. I was already an inch or so short in the rear, so I'm thinking I'll need some 6" lift springs to get it right and drop the blocks.

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[GJ123]

Made a bit of progress today. I flared, bent, and installed the brake line from front to rear soft line; installed the gas tank with new straps; and put the axle back under it.

I still have to get hard line on the axle flared and bent up, finish painting some parts (hitch, gas tank skid, etc.), and fasten the wiring loom on the frame.

I'll be throwing the old box back on for now, and I'll likely be prepping/painting the new box, as well as the new rear end, for install this winter.

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[GJ123]

Well I got tires back on and got it out of the shop temporarily. Hard to tell without the box on but the rear end is lowwww.

I'll be throwing a box on in a few days to see how low it is, and I'm looking at the Superlift softride leaves to replace the stockers.

One thing in concerned with is the shackle angle, it seems to be too vertical? I feel like the top of the shackle should be closer to the cab?

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