ForOffRoadDriving's 94 Ranger Build

[86 slo-vo]

100$ For that shaft?

Hell. I paid 25$ for one the other day at a U-Pull-It

thats what im saying holy shit....you can get them for under $10 here

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

around here 100 is a good deal for any driveshaft. if you go to www.car-part.com you can view inventory and pricing for junk yards in your area (if they are participating). I was getting prices anywhere from $75 up to $507 (some place in knoxville tenessee), so i figured $100 was a deal, i just wish it would have been already pulled. last night i finally got my odometer squared away so that it reflects the actual mileage of my rebuild. it was surprisingly simple and only took me about 20-30 min to complete.

i know its probably a felony to tamper with the mileage, but by the time im ready to part with this truck no one is going to want it or even care what the odometer says because it will likely be a heavily used piece of scrap metal.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i was finally forced to fix my wiper switch today as it was raining really pretty good on my lunch break and they were only working on high, which was a litle too fast for the amount of rain. i got some burger king and then proceeded to take my dash board apart to remove the cover from the tilt column (i like the feature but its a pain in the ass to remove the column cover without dash disassembly). i was expecting to see a melted or busted wire but it was an easy fix for once. aparrently someone else (probably the same person(s) who caused the headlight switch connector to melt as a result of taping the double-high beam switch to the column) had removed the harness from the multi function switch or possibly even replaced it but they managed to break the tabs that hold the electrical connectors into the pig tail so when i replaced the switch they just pressed out the back of the plug instead of sliding onto the pins, which explained the stubborness of the wipers to work.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

last night i built a little shelf to put in the back of my truck so that i can put my tool box on it and be able to open the drawers easily. it turned out ok (for my lack of skill with wood it looks good to me) so i think im going to test it out for a few days and see if it ever tips over or gets in the way too much, and if it works out i think ill either cover it in rubber mat or wrap it like a speaker box with the black carpet.

i got these tow hooks when i was at the junk yard ad was thinking about mounting them on my truck somewhere, but then i decided i already had a hitch front and rear, so i should just make reciever hooks out of them. im putting them in the oven today to clean them and then ill POR15 them and paint them yellow. the hitch with the D ring in it sells for $80 so i think my cheapo hooks will do the job just right for the price.

 

[TheTopher]

Really digging this thread, spent a couple hours reading through the whole thing last night. Can't wait for more progress.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

thanks topher, im going to try to get these tow hooks painted tonight but well see what happens at 6 when im off work, its a 50/50 chance if ill have the ambition to do it.

 

[Downey]

looks good man where did you mount those hooks?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i had two days off work again, so i managed to get a few more little things done. i made some real drop brackets for my fog lights instead of stacking nuts under the bracket to drop them and i also painted my recovery hooks and brackets with por15.

i changed the fluid in my rear differential too, since i figured having a freshly rebuilt rear end was like having a new rear end and the teeth still need to wear into eachother now that they are in a slightly different engagement than they were before.

I finished painting the tailgate with UV protectant and also ran the wiring on the bottom side of the truck for my auxillary reverse lights.

i took some front profile pictures to put in my picture frames (terra and i spilt up, so i have to fill the frames with different pics now) so here they are.

 

[TheTopher]

Bummer about you and the lady, but at least you've got a sweet project to keep you occupied. Time for and

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

thanks man, ive definately been spending alot of my new found "free time" in the garage and under the truck, but im afraid im going to get burned out on it if i dont find something else to do, like finish my chopper or get my generator ARC welder running again. ahh, that shit all costs money and im tapped out as it is! i did come up with a plan for some tires to get me through the winter since theres no way in hell im running those mud terrains in the snow. ive got a pair of 15x7 aluminum wheels (http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/images/wheels/88_Ranger_rim1.JPG) with a pair of hankook i*pike 215/75/15 (http://koleso.topof.ru/files/hankook_winter_ipike_w409.jpg)
snow tires on them. i sandblasted 1 of the wheels on my lunch break yesterday and then shot some self etching prime on it. i plan on painting them black and then getting 2 more heavily oxidized ones at the junkyard (the nasty ones are the easiest to get down to bare aluminum) and then picking up a new pair of i pikes (i got quoted $199.xx mounted, balanced, + tax at discount tire) and then i just need to find a spare of the same size so i can be prepared.

 

[Downey]

why dont you want to run the muds in the snow i wont run any tire but muds in the snow on my truck they do great in the snow

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

theyre pretty rotten (cracked badly) and the back two give the truck such a shake that i dont think it would be safe to corner on a slippery road. i figure if i spend $250 on two more wheels and tires then ill have a good amount of time to save up for some new rubber of my choice. i shot the black on the first wheel on my lunch break and it looks good! ill get some pics tonight, i feel like ive been slacking on taking them lately.

 

[Downey]

^^ i understand man but yeah get more pics damn it lol

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

heres some pics of my "new" snow tires and wheels compared to my muds on my brothers truck. theyre 28" tall and about an inch skinnier than the muds.

its been raining alot lately!

 

[Downey]

send me the muds i need new snow tires