Kunar's Budget Build

[kunar]

okay, this isnt really gonna be anything spectacular, but i think i have done pretty good as far as money is concerned.
-my goal is to have a very capable daily driver without spending an arm and a leg. i bought the truck in april '07 so my expenditures have been a little at a time.
-future plans include 4.0 swap, d35/8.8 swap, 4" lift, 1pc driveshaft, 32's? 33's? extended radius arms

$350 - truck
$200 - truck & trailer rental, and gas
$150 - lift brackets
$25 - 4" blocks
$55 - 1.5" lift shackles
$100 - 4x 4" lift shocks
$50 - 4" coils
$35 - bushings
$100 - 4.0 clutch, flywheel and starter
$320 - m5od
$220 - complete 4.0
$-100 - sold cap
$-40 - sold junk a4ld
$100 - one piece drive shaft
$80 - dynomax exhaust, shipping and installation
FREE - 30" tires
FREE - 31" tires
FREE - Fog lights and wiring harness (from wrecked bumper from my car)
$15 - front receiver, angle iron, paint and hardware

adds up a little faster that i though...

when i bought the truck, the engine was mostly disassembled in the bed. the transmission (a4ld) was still in it but i was told it slipped. it came with 2 rebuilt 2.9 heads that i put on an old engine i had from my 1st truck. it also came with a brand new engine stand that he had the old 2.9 block on.

how it looked when i bought it (april '07)

pulled the front axle to install lift

High Rider lift, Bilstein shocks, full bushing set, Scorpio intake, 1.5" lift shackles

installed 4" superlift coils that actually got me nearly 7" of lift, and doubled up the factory blocks in the rear (i know, i know)

engine and trans from my 1st ranger (notice the nice clean heads) it got a new set of gaskets all the way around, along with a quick coat of paint on the valve covers and the oil pan.

dropped in the engine

 

[kunar]

so after i noticed that even with the engine in, i had way too much front lift... i had to take it all back out. my other truck (the red one) was my daily driver at the time and it decided to crap out on me. this was on a friday. so over the weekend, i pulled the lift and made things drivable. buttoned up all the small stuff. it stayed that way for a while, but i cant find any pics. i added some front coil spacers i made from body mount bushings:

i also installed a 4" block in place of the factory 2-1/2" block. atleast at this point i was a little taller than stock. so i sold my superlift springs and recouped my investment. i found a set of skyjacker 4" springs on TRS that i picked up for $50 shipped. after i put these in my truck and tried to align it myself, i found that it was still too much lift for stock high rider brackets. i measured from the ground to the middle of the wheel well again and found out it was actually more like 5" of lift. i dont really understand why the springs that i buy give me so much more lift??? so anyways, i cut one coil off the top (about 2" i think) and put those in. thats how the truck sits now. i tried on some 31x10.5's, i like the way that they fit but they may be a little small. these werent mine, i still need to buy something. i think i want 32's. with 4.10 gears it shouldnt be all bad. ill probably need to trim the fenders a little though, im really looking for some cutout flares.

here is my truck sitting at a rest stop on my way to columbus to drop off the cap.

the next day i put my extang soft tonno on the back and put on a new (old) bumper that i had along with my grille guard. it was raining all day so i had a hard time getting any pics

i went out and took a couple poser shots on the snow before it all melted. this is with the front coils i cut down, and with no frot sway bar. the rear sway bar is still there but it looks like the back flexes better than the front anyways.

and i also replaced my dash lights with blue led's

 

[kunar]

so after the trip to columbus, my transmission started making funny noises. it was an fm145 that had never been right for as long as i could remember and it just kept getting worse. i decided to do somethign about it, so i found a transmission on ebay. it was only 20 mins from where i live, pick up only, and the starting bid was $50! and on top of that the same guy had a 4.0 from the same truck with another $50 starting bid. so i put a $50 bid on each of them and it didnt take long before i was outbid. by the end of the week, i was up to $220 on the engine and $320 on the transmission. that was the highest i was gonna go and apparently thats higher than the other bidder wanted to go. i drive out to get my parts from the seller only to find out he had 3 rangers of his own and is a member on TRS! i also got my 4.0 clutch, pressure plate and fywheel (in nearly brand new condition) along with a decent starter. he also sold me the clutch hydraulics i would need for the transmission swap.

engine and trans

new vs old

clutch parts - new vs old

fortunately i had the driveshafts i needed for the swap because when i bought the truck it had an a4ld, so i used all the original driveshafts. for the hydraulics i ended up using a 2nd generation master, and a 1st gen explorer (93) slave and line. i plan on getting an entire matching set for the hydraulics from a 90ish ranger and swapping them in when i do the engine swap.

 

[bobbywalter]

in this case i say cut the fenders with a shear to mitigate rust and facilate whatever size tire you want.


it is really cost effective...5 dollar set of welding pliers and alot of patience and alil rattle can paint it can actually look ok and work excellent.

 

[kunar]

in this case i say cut the fenders with a shear to mitigate rust and facilate whatever size tire you want.


it is really cost effective...5 dollar set of welding pliers and alot of patience and alil rattle can paint it can actually look ok and work excellent.

well rust removal prompted the decision, i just wanted something to clean it up a little. i might not go for the expensive flares, but i have to find something to dress up the cut edge

 

[bobbywalter]

i just roll em ...i tried it out a few different ways and seems they need to be rolled under...to keep from splitting.

 

[Jspafford]

Who was the TRS member?

 

[spdcrazy]

another easy way to keep them from splitting is to use some small angle iron, and use some heat to bend it, and then attach it to the fender lip, with a lip sticking out, then drill some holes in the lip, and use some big nylon hose, cut down the tube leaving about 90 degrees of curve, then attach... great with the mud, and easy and cheap!

 

[kunar]

Who was the TRS member?

i dunno, all i know is his name was ed, and he was a great guy. he got me all the parts i needed so i could do my swap.

 

[kunar]

this thread has been neglected. things arent progressing very quickly, but theres a few things that have been done since... well, march of 08? wow. im lazy. on top of that, income is down thanks to the current economy, so free csh to buy parts isn't exactly in surplus. additionally, the car i bought to save gas has turned into another project vehicle (not that i have a problem with that)

stock coils with spacers were replaced with 4" lift coils. i cut about one coil off the top to shorten them to about 2-1/2" lift to keep my front end geometry happy with the high rider brackets.

i've installed the mazda transmission and 4.0 clutch behind my 2.9

the 4.0 has been completely disassembled, hot tanked, inspected and rebuilt with new rings and bearings.

AllanD hooked me up with a one piece drive shaft to fix my annoying vibration from the junk 2 piece.

found a set of 30" tires while cleaning at the shop i work at. when i asked around, boss told me to take them home. mounted them in my garage with a couple pry bars.

my dad picked up a new set of 31" bfg's for his truck, so they mounted the old ones on a set of wheels for me.

i took advantage of the $75 mail in rebate on dynomax exhaust. my kit was only $100...

30" tires

on the truck

exhaust. the old muffler fell apart as i was taking it out.

2-1/2" stainless tip.

drive shaft and exhaust

free 31's

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

wow seems like a good work considering its a thight budget
looking nice! and i really like blue leds on the gauges

 

[kunar]

over the past couple days, i built and installed a front mount receiver. the pics dont show it well, but the tube goes through square notches in the angle brackets, and are welded on both sides. the last pic shows it a little better. btw, the receiver i started with was given to me, the angle i payed $5 for, and i had about $10 in paint and hardware for a total of about $15

before- i dont know what it fit, a newer explorer or ranger maybe?

brackets welded on. made from 3x3x1/4 angle

im no pro, but these look pretty good i think.

painted

bolted on

 

[zainyD]]

Nice job so far. Any plans to swap out the axles for a D35 and a 8.8?

 

[kunar]

Nice job so far. Any plans to swap out the axles for a D35 and a 8.8?

definitely, i just dont have the cash. since the d28/7.5 combo is geared 4.10 already, it will be fine for now. i just hope they hold up to the 4.0, once i can afford to swap that in...

 

[kunar]