Sports car technology in a humble little truck

[bobbywalter]

So...another Mopar anomaly...like the grand Cherokees

Not this particular car as it has yet to get on the rollers....but...

That is a nice sealed intake....all the air comes directly from outside in front of the car..... not like the mustang pictured above.

And the car I am referring to went from an intake just like the mustang pictured above to a version of this sealed wonder....a near 500 dollar up grade in parts....and 2 credits and 400 in Dyno time.

And lost 3 to 7 HP.....on the variance.

hmmmm.....

that was after tabling the fawk out of it for two hours...

This particular guy...works on steering column communications and structures for the air bags and stuff for cars, so I would say smarter then me. . but has yet to build an engine...


After logging for a few weeks .

Gained a consistent 12 degrees intake air at cruise with the sealed box ..so figured that the temp sensor had to be whacked ...so after changing it three times I got a call.


So this was at Cruise. When we were comparing the logs.. I seen right away the old system ran over 30 degrees warmer at idle and held to 35 mph or so....

so there was nothing wrong with the sensors... especially when changing them gave the same results....3 fucking times.





... In town the car runs much better and no spark knock which jacking with timing was the reason for the upgrade in the first place.... when you have the ability to tune....you will.. but it gets to be a pia...

That car did feel sluggish at low speeds compared to this new setup....which ...was not sluggish to me .

So it is a clear win in real life drivability.


But...it runs hotter at cruise....so what. . double digit difference seems bad. But it's not


Me.... I would not have predicted this.

Which is why I say measure it.

It's not hard to do.

 

[cbxer55]

HOT air intake.

There was a reason manufacturers started ducting the intake from the fender/grille area into the carb.. rather than having the carb draw air from inside the engine bay.

Hot air doesn't create as much power as cold air.

The benefits of this design have been common knowledge since.... everything had carbs. I'm sure the first cold air intake (again.. one that draws its air from OUTSIDE THE ENGINE BAY) was probably utilized in the 1970s.. probably even before, if it was a sporty model.

How many times do I have to tell you, there are three sources of cold air being routed to the area the filter resides in. Two small scoops on the hood directly over it and a three inch hose from the grill. Believe me, I can drive the truck 100 miles on a 50 degree day, pop the hood, and the stainless steel filter is cool to the touch. Same with the bracket the MAF is mounted to and the MAF. Go away with your negativity. I've said it before, I tried reinstalling the stock filter box and tube, and my first thought when I drove it was "Where's the beef?" Totally gutless wonder. Took it back off and threw the entire thing in the trash, so I never try to put it on again.

My Seat-of-the-pants is a wonderful indicator, and it tells me my Ranger runs MUCH BETTER now than it did when it was stock. Same with my 4.0 Mustang after I put a CAI on it, yes, with a snorkel to a velocity stack in the grill. My Lightning has two three inch hoses feeding the area the filter resides.

And btw, some Lightning guys have done tests with the stock filter muffler and an open cone filter. They all get hot when the vehicle is stationary. Every single one of them. And they all cool down after the vehicle starts moving.

All three of my vehicles have vents on the hood to get rid of excess hot air. You wouldn't believe how much cooler everything under the hood is when you allow some of that hot air a place to escape. And best of all, I did all of them
myself.

 

[cbxer55]

About how much did those gears cost?

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$242.00. But check to be sure, because the axles may all be 7.5's, but I believe the latter years are GM 7.5's. Not sure what year the change occurred.

 

[Lefty]

How many times do I have to tell you, there are three sources of cold air being routed to the area the filter resides in. Two small scoops on the hood directly over it and a three inch hose from the grill. Believe me, I can drive the truck 100 miles on a 50 degree day, pop the hood, and the stainless steel filter is cool to the touch. Same with the bracket the MAF is mounted to and the MAF. Go away with your negativity. I've said it before, I tried reinstalling the stock filter box and tube, and my first thought when I drove it was "Where's the beef?" Totally gutless wonder. Took it back off and threw the entire thing in the trash, so I never try to put it on again.

My Seat-of-the-pants is a wonderful indicator, and it tells me my Ranger runs MUCH BETTER now than it did when it was stock. Same with my 4.0 Mustang after I put a CAI on it, yes, with a snorkel to a velocity stack in the grill. My Lightning has two three inch hoses feeding the area the filter resides.

And btw, some Lightning guys have done tests with the stock filter muffler and an open cone filter. They all get hot when the vehicle is stationary. Every single one of them. And they all cool down after the vehicle starts moving.

All three of my vehicles have vents on the hood to get rid of excess hot air. You wouldn't believe how much cooler everything under the hood is when you allow some of that hot air a place to escape. And best of all, I did all of them
myself.
View attachment 72557View attachment 72559View attachment 72560

a wonderful Ranger

 

[Lefty]

You have to build brackets for the corbeau seats....unless your short


I had to do the Same to fit the 05 seats in the bronco 2... They are setup more for bob and Madisyn then me...but the corbs should be middle ground.

You have to build brackets for the corbeau seats....unless your short


I had to do the Same to fit the 05 seats in the bronco 2... They are setup more for bob and Madisyn then me...but the corbs should be middle ground.

The Rolling Thunder videos make a very good point: that a Ranger short bed regular cab can be converted into a very nice street rod provided that you have time and money and plenty of skill.

 

[stmitch]

I'm sure that most of the regulars are sick of seeing my truck, but if we're posting pics of sporty Rangers, I'll throw mine in there

2003 Cobra disc brakes all around

Built/boosted 3.0 flex fuel

Carbon backed Procar Evolution seats

Cobra pedals/hurst shifter

 

[Lefty]

Well, I never get tired of looking at other Rangers, this one especially! It must certainly ride and handle just like a sports car. It's loaded with the kinds of things that the rest of us can only dream about. Personally, I'm more into handling and braking than massive cubic inch displacement,

Those brakes are wonderful! A good mechanic can build a beauty, only to lose it all because somebody carelessly pulls out in front of him. Those Cobra brakes must be better than a good insurance policy. I'm hoping for even any kind of good rear discs when winter is finally over and I can scour the boneyards again.