My son's first truck. I need ideas!

[Simple Man]

My son just got his first truck. It's a 1993 Ranger 2WD. He will be getting his license in February so I have plenty of time to fix it up for him.

The first thing I will be doing is putting a new paint job on it for him. He's wanting me to paint it maroon so I am trying to find a cool maroon color that would look good. Any ideas here?

I also want to put some black 15" wheels on it and maybe some 30-9.50x15" tires, probably an all terrain like a BFG or something like that. I considered putting a locker in it but for a daily driver that may not be a great idea.

The suspension really needs some help, it's a tad wore out as far as soft springs go. So I would really like to put some new coil springs in it and gain about a 2" lift. I am having a hard time finding 2" lift coil springs. Can someone point me to a place to purchase these at? I have read through tons of pages here and discovered that the Skyjacker coils seem to be popular but I have no idea where to find them at.

I'm looking for other ideas to make this a truck he will be proud to own so any suggestion on what to do with the truck would be great.

Here is a pic of his truck.

 

[WNY964x4]

My son just got his first truck. It's a 1993 Ranger 2WD. He will be getting his license in February so I have plenty of time to fix it up for him.

1.The first thing I will be doing is putting a new paint job on it for him. He's wanting me to paint it maroon so I am trying to find a cool maroon color that would look good. Any ideas here?

2.I also want to put some black 15" wheels on it and maybe some 30-9.50x15" tires, probably an all terrain like a BFG or something like that. I considered putting a locker in it but for a daily driver that may not be a great idea.

3.The suspension really needs some help, it's a tad wore out as far as soft springs go. So I would really like to put some new coil springs in it and gain about a 2" lift. I am having a hard time finding 2" lift coil springs. Can someone point me to a place to purchase these at? I have read through tons of pages here and discovered that the Skyjacker coils seem to be popular but I have no idea where to find them at.

I'm looking for other ideas to make this a truck he will be proud to own so any suggestion on what to do with the truck would be great.

Here is a pic of his truck.

1. There is a member , i will search around to find him , he has a 1990 ranger that is all done up , it has a nice maroon color

2. try an insertable locker like a powertrax or a lock right , they are good for a daily driven truck

3. all the parts you are looking for can be found by clicking on the parts tab in the upper right corner , this directs you to TRS Fab and Off-Road

good luck , and it looks like a great truck

EDIT : found the pics , third post down on this page http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27193&page=9

 

[Simple Man]

Hey, thank you for all of the info. I don't know how I missed that parts page.

That one maroon truck you showed is one sharp truck. I would love to lift it at least 6" or so but he doesn't want to go that high, I think he's just wanting a little more aggressive look but nothing extreme which is why I figured the 2" lift and 30" tires would be about right.

I appreciate your help!

 

[Gotta_gofast]

That is identical to my project truck!... well, it was.

Anyway, you have the 7.5" rear axle, which leaves you with a lock-right option. But, they suck on the road (I had one, it sucks). I would switch out to an 8.8" axle (to expand your aftermarket options) and find something with a 4.10 gear ratio already set up. If you can find a limited slip 8.8 with the 4.10s from a ranger, this will be a bolt in affair. This will give you better DD traction and more leverage so that 2.3L can turn the tires better (you'll probably get better economy, too!).

If you're doing body work, I would recommend purchasing a roll pan. They look good on Rangers (lifted and lowered). Also, color match the grill and the trim pieces that wrap around the headlights. If you're really ambitious, remove the plastic trim on the bumper, fill in the mounting holes and spray that, too.

I would throw a mild exhaust on there too. The louder mufflers tend to make the 2.3L sound "buzzy", but the subtle sound of a magnaflow or gibson will give a performance feel and sound that a young kid would LOVE, I know I did when I was 16!

 

[Simple Man]

That is identical to my project truck!... well, it was.

Anyway, you have the 7.5" rear axle, which leaves you with a lock-right option. But, they suck on the road (I had one, it sucks). I would switch out to an 8.8" axle (to expand your aftermarket options) and find something with a 4.10 gear ratio already set up. If you can find a limited slip 8.8 with the 4.10s from a ranger, this will be a bolt in affair. This will give you better DD traction and more leverage so that 2.3L can turn the tires better (you'll probably get better economy, too!).

If you're doing body work, I would recommend purchasing a roll pan. They look good on Rangers (lifted and lowered). Also, color match the grill and the trim pieces that wrap around the headlights. If you're really ambitious, remove the plastic trim on the bumper, fill in the mounting holes and spray that, too.

I would throw a mild exhaust on there too. The louder mufflers tend to make the 2.3L sound "buzzy", but the subtle sound of a magnaflow or gibson will give a performance feel and sound that a young kid would LOVE, I know I did when I was 16!

So there are some Rangers that have the 8.8 with factory 4:10's that would be an exact swap out? I have done lifts and axle swaps for many years so I have no issues with doing it as long as I can find a direct swap from something else. I am assuming maybe should be looking at the Explorers right?

I do plan to put a roll pan on it and also planned to paint the front bumper when I do the paint. Good ideas!

I may go ahead and do the Magnaflow on it. I am running the magnaflow on my F150 and love it.

I also thought about getting some hood scoops and installing them before I paint that way I can use the fiberglass and make it look like they are apart of the hood. I just wondered if it would look tacky on a ranger.

 

[WNY964x4]

look at any 4x4 ranger with a 4.0L , the axle tag on the door will be an R7 , which signifies a 4.10 geared L/S rear axle , 8.8 inch , an explorer axle takes a little fab to swap in

as for hood scoops

that was my 96 4x4 Off-Road with 31x11.50's

 

[Simple Man]

Awesome dude! That sounds like what I will do then. I have several junk yards around so I shouldn't have an issue finding one. Should I be looking for a certain year range for a direct bolt in?

I like the scoops, that pic makes the decision easy for me.

How much lift on that ranger in the pic?

 

[WNY964x4]

look for a 93 and up ranger for your swap

that truck was never lifted , factory ride height

 

[akalogan]

Are you going to leave the nose tilted down or are you going to level it? You have to be like the coolest dad around. I got a rolled chevy 1/2 ton to fix for my first truck

 

[lepp1892]

Also Summitracing sells skyjacker lift coils. If you have no problem fabing an explorer 8.8 will be good to. All you have to do is swap the spring perches to the top of the axle since an explorer is spring under. Also add shock mounts.

 

[Simple Man]

I will level it with the nose up.

Hey, my dad never did things for me like this and I want to do them for my son. My favorite hobby is modding trucks and jeeps, I have done a lot of them over the years so it's something my son and I can do together and have fun with it. He's lucky that his grandpa owns a body shop so he gets the body work and paint jon for free from his papaw.

All of the other work I can do myself so it's only the cost of the parts. I think I will look for a axle out of a Ranger with the 8.8 and LS. This will give him better traction and gearing to handle the larger tires.

Hopefully he will be pleased with it when it's all done.

 

[adsm08]

Hey man, I think this its great you are doing this with/for your son. My dad threw me a set of keys on my 15th and said here, you have a year to make it run and get it up to snuff. He helped me with some stuff, but I've done most of the work by myself. I'm hoping to get the chance to fix up a car for and with my son some day.

 

[rockin86ranger]

just one question, will you adopt me


and as a contribution an upgraded stereo would probably be cool too

 

[Shawn_248]

Here's mine. Looked like yours when I got it. Maybe it'll give you an idea or 2

 

[Hopman]

There's a nuce deep blue color on some of the newer Rangers that looks sharp.
As for wheels, a nice set of powercoated black steelies would look good, and slap on some Fireston Destinaton A/T's. I've had good luck with the set I those on my Ranger.