The $600 1988 Ranger project.

[BBR]

Been a long time since I posted anything here. Maybe almost 20 years? The old screen name is long gone. Kinda got out of the Ranger scene for a number of years, but here I am again. Haha.

Meet Ranger No. 3. Ranger 1 was a 1984, Ranger 2 was a 1986 and now Ranger 3 is a 1988. Each truck has been different. 1, shortbed 2wd, 4cyl. 2, longbed 2wd V6, 3, shortbed, ext cab 2wd V6.

Both 1& 2 had small block swaps and 2 went on to be the original BBR in all it's unrealized potential.

I have always had a soft spot for these trucks. I continually searched Marketplace for a suitable one. It seems people really think a beat up version is worth $2500. I don't get it. This one was priced right though, $600. No it doesn't run, but that doesn't matter. The body is decently straight, it matches my 1991 dually and it's basically rust free.

The 2.9L in it was partially disassembled so the original plan was a turbo SBF swap. I enjoy Drag-n-Drive events like Drag Week and Rocky Mountain Race Week, so this truck is intended to do that sort of stuff. The SBF idea has transformed to a BBF idea, so down the rabbit hole I go again.

Project intro:

I have several project cars so the original plan was to park this thing for a while and work on other stuff. However, AJE contacted me about a full tubular front suspension that they are currently developing for mid-size pickups (Ranger, S-10, Dakota). They wanted to know if I was interested in installing one in my truck. Sure thing, let's do it.

They crazy part is, I actually had been looking at doing a Mustang II front end on this truck to get rack & pinion steering and a more adjustable ride height. I even looked at front frame stub kits, but decided they were a little too expensive for what I was doing. I had just decided to buy some lowering I-beams and go on. In fact, I was just about to order a set when Anthony initially contacted me. So this opportunity came along at just the right time. It is going to bump up my project time frame a little more than I had planned, but that's fine.

Admittedly, this is pushing me a little more to the "racey" side than I had really planned. It's honestly where I have always wanted to go with a Ranger, but never had the combination of time, right truck or the resources to do so. Now I do.

I am currently on Episode 32 on my YouTube channel ( Thirty Minute Mechanic ) and the truck has undergone a significant transformation thus far. Pop over and watch the videos and I will try to keep this thread updated from here on out.

 

[BBR]

Here is a direct link to my YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/@BigBlockRanger

 

[bba952]

thats a deal for $600! does it have any major rust anywhere?

 

[BBR]

thats a deal for $600! does it have any major rust anywhere?

No, it's a West Texas truck so it's very solid.

 

[BBR]

I've had this pic for a long time and always wanted a truck that was similar. This is sorta the direction this truck is headed. Maybe not quite as low, but close.

 

[BBR]

I'll add a few roll cage pics to this thread. I used a Rhodes Racecars prebent kit. As with most prebent kits, they are somewhat of a compromise and do not offer a separate kit for reg cab vs. ext cab. If I were to do it again, I would probably just bend my own. The halo is a bit narrow so I had to bend my front down bars at the top so they would be better tucked over by the a-pillar.

The main hoop is not as tall as I would like, so that led me to angle the main hoop frame kickers in order to get it up higher in the cab. Not a big deal, just an additional step. I built the kickers out of 3/16" plate and 3/16 wall 2x3 and at the front, I incorporated the cab mount into the kicker. These were bolted, then later welded to the frame.

Rear down bars pass through the back wall of the cab and I have made trim plates with my 3d printer to seal them up.

Edit: Aw heck 2 are rotated..... strange.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I'll add a few roll cage pics to this thread. I used a Rhodes Racecars prebent kit. As with most prebent kits, they are somewhat of a compromise and do not offer a separate kit for reg cab vs. ext cab. If I were to do it again, I would probably just bend my own. The halo is a bit narrow so I had to bend my front down bars at the top so they would be better tucked over by the a-pillar.

The main hoop is not as tall as I would like, so that led me to angle the main hoop frame kickers in order to get it up higher in the cab. Not a big deal, just an additional step. I built the kickers out of 3/16" plate and 3/16 wall 2x3 and at the front, I incorporated the cab mount into the kicker. These were bolted, then later welded to the frame.

Rear down bars pass through the back wall of the cab and I have made trim plates with my 3d printer to seal them up.
View attachment 136424View attachment 136425View attachment 136426View attachment 136427

Edit: Aw heck 2 are rotated..... strange.

The forum software is not treating all pics the same. Apparently if you use the mountain icon at the top of the box it comes out correct.

 

[BBR]

A few more. Hopefully they are not rotated. Dang, they are. I had these plates made at Send Cut Send, I basically just lopped the frame off and welded these on. I made them with multiple sets of holes so I could easily move the front clip up or down when test fitting it.

Once the cage was tacked together, I dropped it down and finish welded it. It's actually not as easy as you might think. It's hard to get my big dumb body in position with the helmet and my reader glasses on. Haha.

 

[BBR]

Front suspension mock up. I used a UPR lower control arm, Strange strut, Team Z coilover kit, Fox Mustang spindle and an old set of springs I had lying around.

 

[BBR]

The front clip is basically done. Currently I am working on the back end. I will be relocating the leaf springs under the frame rails using Explorer front hangers, F250 bolt-in shackle pivots and regular Mopar style straight shackles.

 

[BBR]

One side is all cleaned off. The Explorer brackets looked like they were going to fit with no modifications. But once you slide them far enough forward (jack stand previously was in the way), they are going to need a minor amount of tweaking to fit the bottom of the frame properly.

Once modified, I think I am going to weld them in place and add the supplied bolts for peace of mind.

Flip flopping on whether to keep the big bottom leaf in this spring pack or not. Leaning towards keeping it for now.

 

[BBR]

I'm mirroring this build on a couple of other non-Ranger sites, so you might see this thing in other places. Over the years I have found this to be beneficial because it seems like no forum is forever. They are all susceptible to data loss, It pays to have multiple sites going as backups.

Now not only is this truck going to be powered by a BBF, it is getting a couple of turbos. I am a big fan of the generic GT45's. They are inexpensive, and as Cleetus showed on his channel, they are actually pretty good. I think his quote was something like "I feel like I just made a advertisement for these turbos". Haha.

I have a couple of them on hand and the current thought is to mount them up front at an angle just behind the headlights just like the pic below with my 3d printed mock-up turbo. This will keep the hot side small and the down pipe will travel over the inner fender and dump behind the rear wheel (I hate fender exit exhaust). The cold side will dump down over into a dual inlet, single outlet air-to-air intercooler positioned where the radiator should be.

So where will the radiator be? A post popped up on FB about bed mounted radiators in drag-n-drive trucks and it seems like guys are doing it very successfully these days. The best part to me is I can run as big of a radiator as I want if I stick it back there. My radiator size won't be constrained by the dimensions of the engine bay. I briefly considered bed mounting the turbos, but that would involve a lot more plumbing (hot, cold, oiling feed/return) and other compromises.

The engine will of course be a big Ford, likely a stroker of some sort. Crank will need to be machined and the pistons and rods will need to be decent parts so it makes sense to just upgrade to a stroker crank kit. I have a 552" motor (4.5" stroke) in my '83 Mustang and it has been great, in fact with parts dating all the way back to the original BBR. This time I am leaning more toward a 521 using a 4.3" stroke. The 521 combo has proven to be a very solid platform. Cylinder heads will be the latest version of the Kaase P-51, the P-51D. I snagged a set a while back and they are capable of 800+ n/a on a basic 521. I figure if I can make 750 on motor and add a little boost, this thing will be in the high 8 range without really stressing parts very much at all.

Fuel system will consist of the stock tank with an upgraded pump for street driving and a dedicated 5 gallon fuel cell with a big pump and race gas for drag strip blasts. This will require some serious self control when street driving so as to not put the wood to it and melt it all down. Haha.

That's the rundown on where this thing is headed.