Mirage's '03 Edge 4x4 Build

[Mirage775]

I've been lurking around on these forums ever since I bought my 2003 Ranger Supercab EDGE 4x4 in November 2015, but haven't posted much. Mostly used this site for tech info or how-to stuff. But, with the recent release of Rough Country's 5" lift for my truck, I'm finally about to build it the way I wanted too, when I initially bought it!

Anyway, it was a 2 owner truck, with a clean record, that spent its' first 2 years up North and that hurt the drivers' side, (mostly), but we'll get to that later on in this build.

This is what it looked like the day I bought it!
[URL=https://s43.photobucket.com/user/Mirage775/media/82717c5d08874ea3911a97e48b8c042e.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

Over the 4 day holiday, (Thanksgiving '15), I discovered some concerning rust-thru spots.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/QxqnqK]IMG_20151127_182411757 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcGNWJ]IMG_20151127_182424121 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/QxqmUK]IMG_20151127_182431859 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

Wasn't much I could do, as nobody makes a pan/rocker patch kit for 98-11 Rangers and local junkyards won't let you bring any kind of cutting device in their yard to cut said piece needed for repairs...

So, I cleaned/cut out the rusted areas, got some thick metal and sealed and riveted it to the existing floor pan. It does the job and keeps moisture/air out of the cab and that's all that matters to me!

 

[Mirage775]

One of the previous owners couldn't back to their trailer without destroying the rear bumper... You can see several smashed in spots below. It was so smashed in, that I couldn't remove the bolts holding it to the frame brackets... I had to hack open a spot on the outside of the bumper to be able to remove the mounting bolts...

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaB9Qj]IMG_20151206_120654831 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

I found a nice straight bumper in a TN junkyard that was already removed from the truck for $35!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23Ggj74]IMG_20151130_164435956 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

Still in Thanksgiving '15 off days, I cleaned up the rusted through spots on the rocker panel and repainted it.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23GgjBH]IMG_20151128_145107180_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/23GgjjP]IMG_20151129_164842489_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

In January '16, I ordered 4 new 16" FX4 wheels and bought some 265/70/16 Cooper Discoverer RTX All Terrain Tires!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2eiM7d2]IMG_20160109_091532840_HDRf by Jason M., on
Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBpKE]IMG_20160109_091532840_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

In February '16, I installed Upper (with compass and temp) and Lower Explorer Consoles, as well as the white-faced OEM Explorer instrument cluster (no pic).

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBpBJ]IMG_20160210_150327702_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2eiM7yc]IMG_20151226_133826461 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

Also, instead of replacing the interior overhead light the correct way, one of the previous owners hacked up the wires and had this goofy looking 70's/80's chrome light rigged up. Not only that, but when they hacked up the wires, it's killed power to the 3rd brake lights/cargo light.... Well, that wouldn't do in my possession! I ordered new Ford connectors, an OE interior overhead light and some misc parts. Here's the little connectors I had to rerun.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBpSy]IMG_20151227_083417841 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

In April '16, I decided that I'd just repaint the truck to the OE Sonic Blue Metallic Pearl. When my dad and I used to restore vehicles and paint them, we'd also remove as much as we could, to make the painting process much easier. So, we decided to remove the bed and this is where it got super sketchy! I didn't mention this earlier, but one of the previous owners, (I assume the original owner), go something sprayed in the bed. It's not Line-X or anything thin based like it. It was super thick and very rubbery and that's the only thing I hated since the day I bought it! Anyway, they covered the 4 mounting bolts in this crap! It took us a day to get to the bolts to try to remove them, only to end up torching/cutting them off in the end, (We were trying to save the bed, as I thought I was going to reuse it at said time, LOL)! Once we got the bed removed, this is what the underside looked like!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBoQ3]IMG_20160408_165527385 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

The support rails that hold the bed floor up, were pretty much rusted through. We also noticed this, when I removed one of the rear fender flares!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBpiN]IMG_20160403_132128045 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

Also, one of the fuel tank straps had disintegrated at one point in time and only one was holding up 20 gallons of fuel!!! I wrapped a very strong ratchet strap, (not the blue one in the pic), across it and it's worked ever since!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBp3s]IMG_20160408_164106146 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

Also replaced the fuel pump, while everything was out of the way!

 

[Mirage775]

Found a bed about an hour away for $25 bucks. It was red, but was about to be repainted, so it didn't matter.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBpxA]IMG_20160402_091414484 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

Next, we started sanding, taping and cleaning the truck, getting ready for the Sonic Blue (Purple) repaint.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBoCu]IMG_20160408_192241173 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBorC]IMG_20160410_113328182 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBoeU]IMG_20160410_122017394_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

Next pics are of it painted, but even though we used automotive paint, the red bed kept bleeding through the new paint and we ended up eating a gallon of Sonic Blue!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SaBo4d]IMG_20160416_130752504 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

Sometimes, we'll get a bad spot and have to wait a few days before re-sanding and repainting it. I bought a quart of paint this time and my dad sprayed the areas that were bad; front fenders, hood, tailgate. The 2nd batch of paint is the correct color, but the first batch was not... The truck looked awful and the guys at the paint store apologized and refunded our money, stating that the first batch was mixed by an amateur...

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ee8svh]IMG_20160416_130807614 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

I dealt with the awful paint for a couple of months. I found a hard folding bedcover that actually was made for a 98-11 Ranger and was on a Park Rangers Ranger (see what I did there), made by a company called Fold-A-Cover. Picked it up not too far away from me, but it was in Tennessee, for $90. It was good for a while, but too heavy and too easy to break in to...

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ee8sjW]IMG_20160724_091755486_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

In July '16, I replaced all the speakers with Pioneers and the head unit with this nice Double-DINN Kenwood.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ee8s7m]IMG_20160724_195022367 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

At the end of July '16, I decided I was going to repaint the truck, but this time, 2015 Mustang Grabber Blue! Here's the paint chip and actual lid of mixed paint!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ee8rWb]IMG_20160725_090316860_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH5wb]IMG_20160725_090654742 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

August '16, I decided that the new paint choice would look best with a 2011 body conversion!

So first pic is removal of everything '03, with the exception of headlights and side markers.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH5j7]IMG_20160730_153652563 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

The Hood and Header Panel were bought at the local LKQ junkyard for not much. The remaining Black pieces, (Mirrors, Grille, Bumper, Fog Lights and Bumper Cover), are from Rock Auto.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH51m]IMG_20160730_184138938_HDR by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

 

[Mirage775]

Early August '16, we were waiting for a nice sunny day to spray the Ranger outside, but seemed like every day was saturated... So, one day, we just decided to spray it inside my dad's barn.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH4Ly]IMG_20160802_100726570 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH4pG]IMG_20160802_102641449 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH48j]IMG_20160802_104826749 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2dcH3KA]IMG_20160802_125145839 by Jason M., on Flickr[/URL]