Corey and Elise's 1983 V8 Ranger build - aka - Project Interceptor

[CoreyTilton]

here is a picture of the 16" flex-a-lite LOblow fan mounted in there. this fan is advertised as being 3.25" deep, and as you can see, i had to offset it from center and it JUST fits in there.

i also installed a slight brass extension and T splitter for my new Oil Pressure sender and Oil Temp Sender from Autometer.

i also re-routed and changed the configuration a little bit on the remote oil filter setup.
now both send and return come out the same side, got rid of some hose length, cleaned it up a bit. (you can also see in this picture of much of the stock wiring harness has been cut out.

i also made/installed this crazy contraption to deal with the heater hose problem. hard to get a good picture of it
so the metal bent heater hose return in the top of the intake manifold, i cut down to just enough to put a 5/8" hose on, and i turned the fitting so it aims towards the front of the engine. i then trimmed the send from the water pump down pretty low.
what i have here that i put in then, is 2 nrass T's joined together.
its 5/8" hose bottom going in, with an extension on the top of that T to allow me to thread in the Water temp Sensor for the ECU (this normally was in the metal bent heater hose return) . this then goes into another T that has a 1/8" spur ontop for the hose going to the EGR/throttle body. then it ouputs again in a 5/8" spur going into the metal - now cut - return ontop of the intake manifold. i gunked up the ends of all these afterwords with permatex ultra black just to quadruple check that i dont spring any leaks. that stuff is like magic.

i also installed a rollpan from LMC truck. pretty happy with it. although now it REALLY makes those hideous tailpipes stick out even more.

pleased so far. did an oil change. cut out some un-needed brackets from underneath. finally installed the bosche 044 fuel pump and xrp filters.
gonna hopefully run fuel lines some time in the next 2 weeks and do all the AN fittings for them. gotta start chopping up the dash now that all the gauges and switches have arrived and start wiring up the ignition system.

 

[prymetime1]

Sweet progress brotha! Looking good with all the upgrades. Mean lil truck.

 

[CoreyTilton]

finally got around to running all the fuel lines and doing all the connectors on them.
they are -10AN PTFE lines with stainless steel braiding. fittings are mostly Earls and Fragola. had to do some ugly adapters getting back onto the stock Ford fuel rails.

also finally started doing some wiring.
i made up my own custom harness for everything for the back of the truck and ran it all and strapped it all up. including new wiring for all the tail lights, fuel pump, fuel sender, and horn. i layed out and Labeled my relays/relay bank for everything and made a custom aluminum mounting bracket that should also help manage all the wiring. using Fastonix Solutions 40/60amp relays.

then the other night i finally layed out everything on the custom dash face i made, and crossed my fingers and made some holes.
using 1 QuickCar ignition panel for all the usual ignition stuff, then using the other for Headlights, blinkers, wipers, horn, interior lights, ect. using all autometer gauges.
the layout isnt Perfect. some holes arnt quite the right height and spacing and stuff, but im pretty pleased. got the cd player in there too.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It looks really nice!

 

[prymetime1]

Looking goood man, like that dash n cluster set up. What gauges did u go with?

 

[CoreyTilton]

Thanks guys.
So with the gauges I went with AutoMeter Z series for the 2 5/8" gauges. They are some of autometer's more affordable gauges, have possibly the largest selection of gauges out of all of AutoMeter's series, and have a nice kind of old school look to them.
I have - a voltage gauge, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, fuel pressure, and fuel level.
Sadly the Z Series don't have any 5" gauges, and I really wanted a big tach and speedo. So for those 2 I bought a pair of AutoMeter's Designer Black series. They match almost identical to the Z Series in my eyes, except they have a chrome bezel instead of black. But the fonts, dial color, and feel I think look very similar to the Z gauges.
The speedometer is 0-120 and is digital driven. I'll be running it off an AutoMeter GPS Speedometer interface. The original cable drive in the truck was broken off at the transmission, and with the new transmission, rear gearing that I'm unsure of, and big rear tires that I might swap around aLOT depending on what I'm doing, I figured going the gps route would be the most accurate.

I also have a Summit Racing adjustable shift light siting inside the dash back a ways on the steering column. Idea is it will flash through the steering column opening kind of nonchalantly at 5,000rpm.

 

[CoreyTilton]

hey guys, long time no post.

since last post, i finished the instrument cluster.

wired everything in, and made sure the whole setup was accessible and serviceable.

it was around this time that i got frustrated with the stock wiring, and decided to actually gut everything except for the EFI system leads and sensors.
so i pulled out the stock fuse panel and everything associated to it.


this pictures shows the relay system i finished wiring up, along with the 2 fuse panels. one is constant power, and one is keyed power (technically switch because there is no key)

i did cap, rotor, plugs, wires, ignition coil, put marvel mystery oil in each cylinder and let it sit for a bit

then i put some 93 octane in the fuel system, flipped some switches, and everything powered up, no leaks in the fuel system, everything worked as should (horn blew horn, head lights, blinkers, reverse lights, under hood lights, gauges, everything WORKED)
and, the truck started and ran

then i got it registered and put some plates on it

up next i had to make it roll and stop. as the brakes were seized, i did all new drums, pads, springs, just about everything imaginable in the back, then rotors, calipers, pads, all new wheel bearings and seals in front

then i discovered i had to do all new brake lines,
then discovered the brake booster and master cylinder were essentially rusted blocks of non-functioning trash

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

You've accomplished a lot! Yeah, sometimes it's a never ending chasing the tail.

 

[CoreyTilton]

thanks AlwaysFloored.
yeah, all kind of things i wanted to do eventually, just doing them sooner than originally expected. hahaha

You've accomplished a lot! Yeah, sometimes it's a never ending chasing the tail.

 

[CoreyTilton]

speaking of things i planned on doing eventually, and am just going to do now, hahahaha.
i'm swapping the whole fuel injected setup over to Carb.

so it currently starts, runs. drives forward and backward. spins the tires and all that jazz.
but it also has, what appears to be a small crack in the bottom of the intake manifold water neck portion. has some vacuum leaks in other spots. i think the gasket between the egr plate/heating plate and the upper manifold, or throttle body, or something is leaking. so instead of trying to chase weird EFI problems around, or spending money to dismantle the whole EFI system and reinstall with all new gaskets and hoses and fix the crack (not positive its a crack, it might actually be a another gasket leak under there at the water neck or the front cork manifold gasket itself) I'm just swapping the whole thing over to Carb. because i kind of wanted to do that anyway eventually.
i'll get rid of allot of wiring, cleanup the whole engine bay, simplify everything a bit, and maybe even shave a few pounds off (i know it won't be much, but a guy can dream)

so what i'm putting in is an Edelbrock Airgap intake manifold. Edelbrock Performer Carb,
valve covers for looks and proper breather and pcv valve setup, had Performance Distributors set me up an HEI style DavisUnifiedIgnition distributor (the did one for my 4x4 Van when i did the top end work to that and i Love it) and an Edelbrock fuel Regulator to step the 51psi coming from the Bosch 044 pump down to 5 or 6 psi for the carb. i had already designed the fuel system as -10AN ptfe send and -10AN ptfe return, so i just need to cut the send and return lines back to a spot on the fender and put fittings back on, then run another short piece over to the carb.

so if anyone knows of anybody looking for a full fuel injection setup for a 5.0 HO
, im selling everything. computer, injectors, rails, all sensors and wiring harness, distributor, everything. when i actually get it off i post the status of the lower intake manifold.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would have left it EFI but can't really argue with a carb since it is what I have in mine (truck was originally carbed)

If you don't have one yet you will need the rod and jet tuning kit for your carb. I put a 500cfm 1403 on my HO and had to tune it down, it was too rich out of the box.

Thermostat housings are a PITA to seal, I think I had mine off half a dozen times before I got it to quit leaking.

 

[CoreyTilton]

i was planning on swapping it out to carb eventually anyway.
i can't stand efi to be honest.
unless you send the computer out to get tuned by...... someone? and have access to a dyno and money to spend on dyno time, you're kind of limited in power upgrades you can make.

not trying to start an EFI vs Carb argument with anyone.

but for me personally, it's easier and cheaper to have a carb setup, and just be able to throw on afr heads and thrown in a new cam when i want, and not have to worry about the ecu, or injectors, or... stuff.


but yeah. i have the same carb on my 82 4x4 econoline, which is my daily driver. didnt have any problems tuning it properly. and it starts and runs great everyday. even subzero mornings. hahahaha.


and it's not the thermostat housing.
it's the neck portion of the intake manifold leading out To the thermostat housing. could i pull it off and weld it? yeah. but my desire to put it back on after..... not so much.

that mixed with some bad vacuum hoses, and i think all the manifold gaskets are leaking. it gave me some really good reasons to say "forget this" and swap it over. hahaha.

I would have left it EFI but can't really argue with a carb since it is what I have in mine (truck was originally carbed)

If you don't have one yet you will need the rod and jet tuning kit for your carb. I put a 500cfm 1403 on my HO and had to tune it down, it was too rich out of the box.

Thermostat housings are a PITA to seal, I think I had mine off half a dozen times before I got it to quit leaking.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yeah, I have no complaints with my Edelbrock, it fires right up in winter.

And I noticed last night we are pooling coolant on top the timing cover again though.

 

[CoreyTilton]

this is the little ranger with my daily

 

[CoreyTilton]

yeah, i had the front cork gasket in my van shift a hair or something this past spring and i was getting coolant puddling at the same spot. had to pull it off and do it again. nice thing about the van though is i can do intake and head work while sitting in the driver's seat.

Yeah, I have no complaints with my Edelbrock, it fires right up in winter.

And I noticed last night we are pooling coolant on top the timing cover again though.