My little Iron Ranger {Part 2}

[Iron Ranger]

yeah that core support looks awesome. im in the process or replacing mine and it has turned into a big job. not that the core support was hard to get out but once it was i could resist from cleaning up everything and then using por 15 on the inner fenderwell, on the fire wall and then on the insides of the outer fenders. then i sprayed bondo undercoating on everything and then dusted it with high temp black spraypaint to make it a uniform color. that por15 kicks ass i did my whole frame and cab and bed in it. are you using the metal ready to prep with? that stif lays down a nice zinc coating for the por15 to stick to. sweet build!

That stupid core support is such thin sheet metal that I had to stretch my fab. to the front body mounts. Everything around those 2 bends was eaten away on both sides.(Minnesota road salt, thats why this is now a summer truck). It took me 12 hours to completely "fix" both sides, I didn't like the lack of support in the mount area, so I reinforced it with 1/8" plate all along the bottom.

I used weld through primer for the job($28 flippin' dollars a can!). I used the POR-15 on the engine cross member and behind the side seat areas of the supercab(I'll try to post pics). When you flip out the seat, the sheet metal on the inside wall was pretty rusted, so I applied a few coats of POR after I used the etch spray on it. It looks pretty darn good, but the POR is so watery that it seeped through the body line cracks on the bottom. So, it's sealed for good, but I have to keep an eye on moisture build-up.

 

[Iron Ranger]

you are going to use the tranny Borg w t-5 with transfer ???

Nope. This is a 2wd street truck. The ranger was built a 2wd and she stays
2wd.

 

[Iron Ranger]

Here's the POR'ed inside of the cab corner(behind the side seat)

Here's the passanger side. I'll rip out the jack mount and POR this too

And here's the rest of the progress on the truck........

And, NO, the truck isn't broken, I only got the cab half of the body lift installed

And the motor so far, it does have the serp. belt installed now.....

I just got the I-beams painted red today, they need to dry for a day before I put on the clear. I'll take pics of it when they are done.

 

[Iron Ranger]

Here's the painted I-beams. I know that the paint won't last, but I figured that it will look good at least once.............

 

[Iron Ranger]

I got the front put together with 4.0 springs and all new poly's. Man, the front is super stiff! Next is tackling a rust hole on the passenger-side kick panel. I used the air body saw(GET ONE, THESE WORK FANTASTIC!!!) and hacked a good sized hole in the panel.

It's been -30 degrees up here for a while now, so work is slow. When the patch is complete, then it's time to install the motor..................

P.S. Are the photos too big to load up on your computers? Seems like no one is putting any imput into the thread.

I dunno. I'll still keep you updated whether you like it or not.

 

[bobbywalter]

pics pop up no prob for me.




i have to say though half ass detail is worse then no detail in my opine. beams just dont look right. the por 15 has not panned out too well for me either with what i have tested with it, but it does work for most stuff if it is dry. i think there was water and salt still trapped inbetween the members i used it on and they kept rotting till they failed....wouldnt have known from the outside it was still rotting.

for the most part i shred the core supports with v8 swaps to open it up for max airflow and fan/pulley clearance, just depends on what being used for a radiator. the idea of putting a body lift on a 2wd cringes me still but it sure does make for easy maintenance with v8 swaps.

hell the idea of a 2wd truck makes me cringe

but if it has to be 2wd..seems it needs to be lower or stock height with improved suspension and handling. with tib i will use 1 inch spacers on the body now max.

 

[Iron Ranger]

i have to say though half ass detail is worse then no detail in my opine. beams just dont look right. the por 15 has not panned out too well for me either with what i have tested with it, but it does work for most stuff if it is dry. i think there was water and salt still trapped inbetween the members i used it on and they kept rotting till they failed....wouldnt have known from the outside it was still rotting.

for the most part i shred the core supports with v8 swaps to open it up for max airflow and fan/pulley clearance, just depends on what being used for a radiator. the idea of putting a body lift on a 2wd cringes me still but it sure does make for easy maintenance with v8 swaps.

hell the idea of a 2wd truck makes me cringe

but if it has to be 2wd..seems it needs to be lower or stock height with improved suspension and handling. with tib i will use 1 inch spacers on the body now max.

I am not a fan of lift kits on 2wd's, but the body lift is for clearance issues and it makes the truck look "normal". It looked squatted before, but it looks a lot better now.

I don't expect the paint on the beams to last too long, just wanted to see how it would look.

And what are you talking about in your first sentence?
If you're talking about the POR's paint strokes, I am not a small man and wedging myself inbetween the seat and the cab while holding a flashlight with one hand and applying POR with the other in a very tight spot is not an easy task. Besides, it's behind the kid seat,
whoop-de-do.

I wish the truck was 4wd, but thats not the point. This was my grandpa's truck. When he died I bought it from the family for $200. This is also my first truck and my first vehicle that I bought with my own money 4 years ago. Sentimental value is very high here.

 

[89DangerRanger]

Looks sick man! cant wait to c that motor in there

 

[PaleBlue90]

very nice, that motor looks healthy

 

[Iron Ranger]

Thanks!! I got the motor set in, but I'm having issues with the AllStar Performance motor mount setup. The engine mounts are one angle and the crossmember mounts are a different angle. It seems that I need to bend the engine mounts up in order to match the angles.

Plus, the studs aren't lining up very well. I'll post pics when the problem is solved.

 

[DRanger024]

your a lefty hey? welds on that lifting plate look pretty damn good! (they better for a pro fabber!) what brand of welder do you have?

 

[Iron Ranger]

your a lefty hey? welds on that lifting plate look pretty damn good! (they better for a pro fabber!) what brand of welder do you have?

Well, I won't lie to you. This was from the welder at work. An old miller 480V with .035 316 stainless steel wire(since the lifting plate is steel and the base is stainless steel). Otherwise I have a Handler 140 at home that can do anything I need to. Check out my other welds here, if you're bored:http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32406&page=2

The first one is from work, the second at home. I built my own hitch, saved me $100.

 

[bobbywalter]

no...not the brush stroke...didnt even see that, i was referring to the por not stopping rot.


i can appreciate sentimental, but doing a v8 kinda puts it past being stock a little bit doesnt it? you would be better off sending those mounts back and doing plates or vert mounts..new vert mounts are like 25 bux a set at rock auto last i knew..


its a great starting point for a v8/sas setup.

but its your truck, have fun with it.

 

[Jrod-13]

wow.. should be a cool truck... and a brottem motor none the less!!
What part of the range are you from?

 

[Iron Ranger]

Hibbing-Buhl area.

Ya know, I work with a guy nicknamed "Chicken" and he has a friend named JRod, it's a long shot, but are you him?