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Lefty
Well-Known Member
I've never really posted a build thread, mostly because I never really thought about my own Ranger as a build. It's been more of an evolving process, restoring, repairing, problem solving ever since I bought this 2003 3.0 liter V6 Edge a few years ago.
I've always like the Ranger regular cab because it is a true minitruck, perfect for chores and errands especially in the city where I do almost all of my driving. I wanted something more nimble and more easy to park. I paid $4K for it three years ago. I didn't really care about the price. I wanted one with a tight drive train and a frame that wasn't rotting out.
This is how it looked the day after I bought it.
I've always like the Splash and the flare sides, a nostalgic nod to the old school style that served this country so well for eighty years. The Ranger is the last of the breed.
That's sort of where I began. My buddy Dave has kept this truck running for many years. He's made a few upgrades like any mechanic would. He put a flathead eight inside and a few other things. I wanted the same, strictly old school, neat, dependable, four square.
First, because my wife had a hard time climbing into it, I bought a pair of nerf step rails. But that wasn't all. I wanted a full restoration. I had it painted too. And while they were at it I bought a lot of stuff at the Upull yard, everything I needed to restore it. I did not like the heavy fiberglass hood so I replaced it an aluminum hood. It looked older. I also liked those egg crate grills so typical of the last generations of Fords. I pulled two from the yard and epoxied them together and shaped them to fit the Ranger grill opening.
My truck in the paint shop.
The new grill and hood.
Perhaps the biggest single modification that sells used cars is a new set of wheels and tires. I bought a set of 15" polished aluminum ProComp billets, nothing too modern, along with a set of Cooper all terrain tires about 10+" wide and 30" tall. I could have done 31s but I'm not really an off road guy.
Next I installed a twin pipe exhaust, hoping for a performance gain. It might have made a little difference but certainly not much. That Vulcan engine is pretty much governed down.
Then I repainted the frame. I removed the bed, media blasted the really crusty stuff away and painted it with POR 15, then a top coat, then a sealer. POR 15 is just a primer. It doesn't last very long without those top coats. The cab didn't really need much so I just crawled underneath and painted wherever I could reach. I painted the new pipes with three coats of Rustoleum high temperature paint. It's held up pretty good.
As long as the bed was off, I lowered the whole truck by about 1". It most definitely improved the handling.
I've always had a winch on my trucks. I seldom use it. So I just bought a small one, a 4,700 lb Vevor with remote control. That's enough to pull a car out of a snow bank. That's all I need. I prefered to hide the winch behind the lower valance. It keeps the weather off. I bolted a 1/4" plate mounting plate between the frame rails.
The Edge does not come with tow loops, so I bolted in an old junkyard set for bigger jobs.
I prefer leather seats, so went hunting for a Mustang or some other Ford product. I never found one so I settled for a Suburu. I thought this would be a difficult job, but it was really rather easy to remove the feet from the old seats and weld them on to the Suburu.
You can see the old Ranger feet welded to a heavy piece of scrap steel wich is welded to the seat frame.
The "new seats" are much more comfortable.
Suspension upgrades are maybe the cheapest and best thing for Rangers. I put new Monroe shocks in the front. The originals in the rear were just fine. I installed a larger 1" Explorer sway bar in the front to improve the handling and reduce body roll. I put a set of spring clamps in the back. They stiffen the springs and assist the rear sway bar. Also a set of James Duff traction bars to reduce axle wrap. I wasn't sure about traction bars but I soon learned that they really assure a nice clean shift.
The 1" front sway bar comes from a Ford Explorer.
James Duff traction bar and leaf spring clamp mounted about 6" in front of the axle.
Also, for safety sake, I installed slotted cross drilled rotors in the front. Normally you wouldn't feel the difference, but if you are hauling a heavy load or forced to make an emergency stop, they really do matter.
Slotted crossdrilled rotors
My pickup bed came with a hole in the floor on the passenger side just above where the old tail pipe was located. Rather than cutting and welding in a new floor section, I chose to lay in a new red oak bed over the top. It was another touch of vintage nostalgia. I added side rails and a tool box too. Five coats of spar varnish protect the finish from the rain and the sun. The floor gets scratched from time to time, but a little sand paper and a dab more varnish fixes them fast.
That retro look is further enhanced by round tail lights, headlights, and fog lights too.
Perhaps my favorite upgrade was a Torsen Locker. It wasn't cheap, but it really improved traction, especially on Minnesota roads. The mechanic who installed it first thought I must be crazy, to spend so much on an old truck, but when he put it up on the lift, he was surprised to see that everything looked like new.
That's my build thread. I hope you liked it.
I've always like the Ranger regular cab because it is a true minitruck, perfect for chores and errands especially in the city where I do almost all of my driving. I wanted something more nimble and more easy to park. I paid $4K for it three years ago. I didn't really care about the price. I wanted one with a tight drive train and a frame that wasn't rotting out.
This is how it looked the day after I bought it.
I've always like the Splash and the flare sides, a nostalgic nod to the old school style that served this country so well for eighty years. The Ranger is the last of the breed.
That's sort of where I began. My buddy Dave has kept this truck running for many years. He's made a few upgrades like any mechanic would. He put a flathead eight inside and a few other things. I wanted the same, strictly old school, neat, dependable, four square.
First, because my wife had a hard time climbing into it, I bought a pair of nerf step rails. But that wasn't all. I wanted a full restoration. I had it painted too. And while they were at it I bought a lot of stuff at the Upull yard, everything I needed to restore it. I did not like the heavy fiberglass hood so I replaced it an aluminum hood. It looked older. I also liked those egg crate grills so typical of the last generations of Fords. I pulled two from the yard and epoxied them together and shaped them to fit the Ranger grill opening.
My truck in the paint shop.
The new grill and hood.
Perhaps the biggest single modification that sells used cars is a new set of wheels and tires. I bought a set of 15" polished aluminum ProComp billets, nothing too modern, along with a set of Cooper all terrain tires about 10+" wide and 30" tall. I could have done 31s but I'm not really an off road guy.
Next I installed a twin pipe exhaust, hoping for a performance gain. It might have made a little difference but certainly not much. That Vulcan engine is pretty much governed down.
Then I repainted the frame. I removed the bed, media blasted the really crusty stuff away and painted it with POR 15, then a top coat, then a sealer. POR 15 is just a primer. It doesn't last very long without those top coats. The cab didn't really need much so I just crawled underneath and painted wherever I could reach. I painted the new pipes with three coats of Rustoleum high temperature paint. It's held up pretty good.
As long as the bed was off, I lowered the whole truck by about 1". It most definitely improved the handling.
I've always had a winch on my trucks. I seldom use it. So I just bought a small one, a 4,700 lb Vevor with remote control. That's enough to pull a car out of a snow bank. That's all I need. I prefered to hide the winch behind the lower valance. It keeps the weather off. I bolted a 1/4" plate mounting plate between the frame rails.
The Edge does not come with tow loops, so I bolted in an old junkyard set for bigger jobs.
I prefer leather seats, so went hunting for a Mustang or some other Ford product. I never found one so I settled for a Suburu. I thought this would be a difficult job, but it was really rather easy to remove the feet from the old seats and weld them on to the Suburu.
You can see the old Ranger feet welded to a heavy piece of scrap steel wich is welded to the seat frame.
The "new seats" are much more comfortable.
Suspension upgrades are maybe the cheapest and best thing for Rangers. I put new Monroe shocks in the front. The originals in the rear were just fine. I installed a larger 1" Explorer sway bar in the front to improve the handling and reduce body roll. I put a set of spring clamps in the back. They stiffen the springs and assist the rear sway bar. Also a set of James Duff traction bars to reduce axle wrap. I wasn't sure about traction bars but I soon learned that they really assure a nice clean shift.
The 1" front sway bar comes from a Ford Explorer.
James Duff traction bar and leaf spring clamp mounted about 6" in front of the axle.
Also, for safety sake, I installed slotted cross drilled rotors in the front. Normally you wouldn't feel the difference, but if you are hauling a heavy load or forced to make an emergency stop, they really do matter.
Slotted crossdrilled rotors
My pickup bed came with a hole in the floor on the passenger side just above where the old tail pipe was located. Rather than cutting and welding in a new floor section, I chose to lay in a new red oak bed over the top. It was another touch of vintage nostalgia. I added side rails and a tool box too. Five coats of spar varnish protect the finish from the rain and the sun. The floor gets scratched from time to time, but a little sand paper and a dab more varnish fixes them fast.
That retro look is further enhanced by round tail lights, headlights, and fog lights too.
Perhaps my favorite upgrade was a Torsen Locker. It wasn't cheap, but it really improved traction, especially on Minnesota roads. The mechanic who installed it first thought I must be crazy, to spend so much on an old truck, but when he put it up on the lift, he was surprised to see that everything looked like new.
That's my build thread. I hope you liked it.
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