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Street Rod Ranger


Still not entirely sure. I'm sure I'll use them all at some point, depending on the type of show/cruise I am going to.
 
it would need to be tucking those 22s for it to look good with em!
 
I made a little progress on the truck this weekend. I mounted my driveshaft, which is the original driveshaft shortened 1.25", straightened and balanced with new u-joints. I also mounted the rear sway bar, which is stock with Energy polyurethane bushings, and finished the install of the Comp Engineering traction bars.

I also mounted the remote oil filter. I attached it to the driver's side core support body mount. I figured it came out pretty clean looking.

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Man this thing is looking good! Not crazy about the gold, but it looks good none the less.
 
I've never seen that with the rear sway bar and such. That's pretty cool!!!
 
It was a Ranger Sport, maybe that's why it had a sway bar? I just assumed they all would have. It is one butt ugly sway bar. It looks like a guy bent it by hand over his knee and then bolted it up.

I'm not sure I'm crazy about the gold anymore either. I loved it on the engine, calipers and drums, but if I had it to do again, I'd probably do the springs and steering box black. BUT, those parts might not even be used anyways. I'll see how the hide height looks once the truck is done, and if I don't like it, then I'll be getting new springs anyways. I don't find them THAT offensive either, not enough so that I feel like tearing everything apart again. I have so much moving forward to do, I hate going backwards.

Last night I picked up another armful of new parts to put on. Driveshaft loop, 90/10 drag shocks, ignition coil, Lokar throttle pedal / cable and shifter boot, and a set of Ford Racing guages. I have the matching tach as well, just not pictured.

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Figured out where to mount the coil. I was able to use existing accessory holes in the cylinder heads. I got lucky and the coil wire is the right length to reach the dizzy. I also finally bought the right length belt for my abbreviated front accessories. I ditched the air pump, a/c compressor, and power steering. Emissions control and interior comfort be damned!

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I also installed my front drag shocks. Nice to see the big warning on them "NOT FOR STREET USE!". Pfff!
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The biggest job of the weekend was putting in the driveshaft loop. Not like it was a bad job, but it wasn't just turning wrenches like the last few. I had bought a universal kit which came no where close to fitting initially, but it looked nice after an afternoon of mucking around with it.
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Next plan is to get these mofoes into the dash.
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And I really need to tidy up my workshop. Too many bikes laying around. I need to learn to pick up my toys after playing with them! I want to make room in here for an arcade pinball machine. And for some inexplicable reason, the one bike that doesn't need any work on it this offseason is the bike I have up on the lift.
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Snoop and Pac approve.
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This will be the last update before the new year. Hopefully, I'll have some serious progress to show then.

This week, for some reason, I forgot to take any pictures of what I spent most of the time working on... which was getting the seat to fit.

The seat had been in my computer room here in the city for almost 4 years. I figured it was going to drop right into the truck, since it came out of an 83-88 Ranger.

WRONG, apparently the floor pans are different on 83-88 vs 89-92 despite the cabs appearing to be the same. I set the seat in, and the rear mounts were about 2 inches out, while the fronts were about 30 degrees wrong angle, and 3 inches narrower. So, not even close.

The rear was easy enough to deal with, just drill new holes in the floors. Luckily, it avoided any of the under-floor braces. In the front, I cut off the front part of the seat track, and made a bolt on piece to adapt to the original threaded holes in the floor. Once the carpet is in, they'll not be noticeable. After that, the seat fit well. It really tucked in to the cab nicely.

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The seat back looked like ass, all faded and chipped so I dealt with that as well. I redid the seat back, and attached it with new clips.
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This seemed like a fun time to install the headliner, so it went in with the visors.
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After playing around with the interior parts, I put the rear shocks on. I put on KYB's just because they are silver and match the appearance of my drag shocks up front. Yes, I am that lame. "I like the color". I figured they must be decent, my KX500 has all KYB suspension. That reminds me, I need to change fork seals on that bike. Uh oh.
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I then took apart my steering column to fix a rattle and an on-center dead spot in it. Again, forgot to take pictures of any of that, but was successful.

Then, I modified my pedal assembly to get rid of the clutch pedal, and mounted the pedals, steering column and shifter back in the truck. The purpose of all this is so that I can locate where to mount my throttle pedal. EVERYTHING is coming out again, as the cab is again being separated from the chassis over christmas. Sitting in the truck I was very happy with how well I fit in it. The steering column is non-tilt (trying to save weight), and the bench seat has no adjustment for anything other than front-back. I have a quick-detach on the steering wheel, but it isn't even needed. With the seat all the way back it just feels great. And the shifter is just in the ideal spot, and clears the seat perfectly with the double bend. It's almost like I've been planning this stuff out. And I got lucky.

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I love that kx500. It's getting a fully built engine this winter as well. It should be FUN next year. Heck, it was pretty fun as a basically stock bike.

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Plans for christmas are to finish the rear brakes, both hydraulic and park brake portions. Plumb the fuel system, as long as the braided line and AN fittings show up on time. I just ordered those last Thursday. Make a gauge cluster to mount the gauges shown in previous posts into the stock dash. Make aluminum filler panel to fill the hole in the floor around the shifter. Replace intake manifold gaskets and header gaskets with ones with large enough ports to match the heads and intake (current gasket is smaller than heads or intake). Machine valve covers to accept bolt on breather. Find suitable mounting location for MSD 6-AL box. Find lower rad hose with proper bend. Mount gauge senders in engine, and plug all other water and oil gallery plugs. Mount Lokar throttle pedal and cable. By that point, I should be ready to prime up the oil pump and fire the engine. I doubt I'll get that all done over Christmas, but it's the goal I'll be working towards.
 
I love that kx500. It's getting a fully built engine this winter as well. It should be FUN next year. Heck, it was pretty fun as a basically stock bike.

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Very nice, I bet it hauls ass. I also see you have a KDX? I have an 88 myself and it's a lot of fun.
 
The headlight could fool a guy to thinking it's a KDX, but it's actually a 1993 KLX650R. This was Kawi's attempt at an open-class 4 stroke Baja 1000 type bike. Not street legal, kickstart only, no battery, etc. Only sold them in North America for 3 years, very poor sales. Depending on available traction, it has beaten the kx500 in drag races, so it isn't a slouch. It's at least 60lbs heavier though, which makes jumping a chore. The geometry is really stable though and feels great at triple digit speeds. Far better than the KX500 for that. The suspension is quite a bit softer, and isn't great for jumping. It might just be the extra weight though, as it is sharing the same inverted fork with the kx500. If I remember right the KDX always kept the conventional fork. They're actually a pretty good matched pair for riding together. BUT, this bike will burn $10 in premium pump gas in a day, while the KX500 has no trouble going through $150 of VP. That's usually how I determine which I'll ride. If I am going with slower riders, no sense wasting money on riding the KX when the KLX will do, but if the riders are fast, then I'll have some fun with the KX.

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These bikes are good for big, open, fast trails. A kdx200/kdx220 and klx300r would be better for tight trails. Luckily bikes are small and easier to store than cars, so a fella can have lots.
 

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