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86ford
Well-Known Member
A friend of mine picked up a 89 2.9/5spd/1350M long bed ranger for 300 bucks. I set out to build him a trail rig for DIRT cheap.
First order of business was welding up the rear, simple, cheap and effective.
Second order of was tossing the d28 because it had a bad u-joint and I knew it was not long for this world anyway. A d35 with matching gears and manual hubs was picked up, swapped in and a driveshaft bastardized in a matter of 36 hrs.
Third was setting out on a mission to get maximum front flex without buying a expensive over priced lift that just raises the center of gravity.
I had a set of stock XJ coils sitting around, they failed miserably and were not even close to the right ride height. Next we went to the junk yard in search of v8 ZJ (grand cherokee) coils. We scored a set sitting on the ground next to 2 v8 ZJs! We installed the coils and still did not have a acceptable ride height so while hunting through my garage I found two 2inch spacers for a jeep. Knowing that one side always sags out more than the other I nipped 1/2 an inch off one spacer and attempted to put it in on the higher riding side. The install failed so we had to rent a coil spring compressor and they dropped right in.
Finally we had the ride height we needed and camber was slightly negative BUT when it was driven the front end unloaded. This allowed the camber to come within spec but ONLY while driving.The next challenge was the fact we were going to forcefully tear the brake lines if we did not get some brake lines that measure at least 24 inches. 75 dollars later we had 28 inch brake lines. Having around ten inches of suspension travel while running 205/70/15s just did not fulfill our offroad ambitions so we picked up 4 31/10.5/15s for 50 bucks. 2 of them are nearly new and 2 of them are chopped but who cares. This POS is just going to spend its life doing burnouts, drifting and using a wheeling style called "get the cab past and drag the rest".
The new tires will suit our purpose just fine (well until some 33s are found for 50 bucks). As I am sure you can imagine now the fenders required some serious cutting and they got it. Obliviously sway bars were sent to that big scrap pile in the sky.
The first "test run" will be the weekend following New Years. I anticipate this Ranger will out run any stock height rig we come across with ease. Even if its locked front and rear. We will hopefully have some RTI ramp scores this trip.
Now, I am sure someone wants to know if we drive this contraption that was sponsored by cheap beer and booze on the road, my response is YES. If you can imagine a dingy in a hurricane thats about what this ranger feels like on the road. With that being said, it does not bother me one bit. My old b2 was my winter DD when needed and it was on Bias ply TSLs with a mini spooled rear, so this is like a brand new caddy in my world.
Total cost to date is roughly 650. I left out all the stupid repairs that totaled about 150 dollars.
86
First order of business was welding up the rear, simple, cheap and effective.
Second order of was tossing the d28 because it had a bad u-joint and I knew it was not long for this world anyway. A d35 with matching gears and manual hubs was picked up, swapped in and a driveshaft bastardized in a matter of 36 hrs.
Third was setting out on a mission to get maximum front flex without buying a expensive over priced lift that just raises the center of gravity.
I had a set of stock XJ coils sitting around, they failed miserably and were not even close to the right ride height. Next we went to the junk yard in search of v8 ZJ (grand cherokee) coils. We scored a set sitting on the ground next to 2 v8 ZJs! We installed the coils and still did not have a acceptable ride height so while hunting through my garage I found two 2inch spacers for a jeep. Knowing that one side always sags out more than the other I nipped 1/2 an inch off one spacer and attempted to put it in on the higher riding side. The install failed so we had to rent a coil spring compressor and they dropped right in.
Finally we had the ride height we needed and camber was slightly negative BUT when it was driven the front end unloaded. This allowed the camber to come within spec but ONLY while driving.The next challenge was the fact we were going to forcefully tear the brake lines if we did not get some brake lines that measure at least 24 inches. 75 dollars later we had 28 inch brake lines. Having around ten inches of suspension travel while running 205/70/15s just did not fulfill our offroad ambitions so we picked up 4 31/10.5/15s for 50 bucks. 2 of them are nearly new and 2 of them are chopped but who cares. This POS is just going to spend its life doing burnouts, drifting and using a wheeling style called "get the cab past and drag the rest".
The new tires will suit our purpose just fine (well until some 33s are found for 50 bucks). As I am sure you can imagine now the fenders required some serious cutting and they got it. Obliviously sway bars were sent to that big scrap pile in the sky.
The first "test run" will be the weekend following New Years. I anticipate this Ranger will out run any stock height rig we come across with ease. Even if its locked front and rear. We will hopefully have some RTI ramp scores this trip.
Now, I am sure someone wants to know if we drive this contraption that was sponsored by cheap beer and booze on the road, my response is YES. If you can imagine a dingy in a hurricane thats about what this ranger feels like on the road. With that being said, it does not bother me one bit. My old b2 was my winter DD when needed and it was on Bias ply TSLs with a mini spooled rear, so this is like a brand new caddy in my world.
Total cost to date is roughly 650. I left out all the stupid repairs that totaled about 150 dollars.
86
