Time for a restore......again.

[Andy D]

Wow just wow. It would probably cost as much to restore the Rat as a new Ranger Hmmmn Thank you for posting smudvapor. Happy 4th everyone!!

 

[smudvapor]

The tank and fuel system are in. I am still waiting for the brake lines and the exhaust. I was hoping to install those before there was a cab in the way. I finally got the opportunity to have a bunch of friends over today to put the cab on the frame so hopefully, that will happen. I will just have to work around the cab for the rest. I have already lost about a week waiting to put the cab on. Once it is on I can really go to work.

 

[smudvapor]

Well, some friends came over today, and in between thunderstorms we got the new cab put onto the frame! It took some ingenuity but we got it done!

 

[Shran]

Nice! Looking great!

I have a repurposed patient lift in my shop that I use for lifting stuff like that, I used it for swapping cabs last year. A cab is probably at the very high upper limits of what it would do as far as weight goes so I didn't take pictures, but I did when I put the box on. It's stupid handy but it looks like I have a higher ceiling than you do.

 

[smudvapor]

You are right, my ceiling is much lower. I called about renting a gantry but it was too much money and too much work for about five minutes of use. It turns out that a cherry picker and four friends work just as well.

 

[Roert42]

Are you going to paint the cab white or try to find a box that matches?

 

[smudvapor]

Are you going to paint the cab white or try to find a box that matches?

No, I am going with blue this time. I have another bed to replace the old one.

 

[Roert42]

No, I am going with blue this time. I have another bed to replace the old one.

Blue is the correct color.

 

[smudvapor]

Blue is the correct color.

It was blue when I got it, and since then it has been white and black. I think I am going with midnight blue metallic this time.

 

[smudvapor]

I got the cab mount bushings in today and removed all of the engine compartment wiring. I am almost finished with removing all of the interior parts. After that is complete and I want to wash it all down and reseal everything before I start putting my interior back in. The heater box is different between 1988 and 1989 so I had to pull that out also. I have my old one so I will get that put back in, in the next couple of days. I have to start ordering more parts!

 

[Bird76Mojo]

How is the heater box different between 88 and 89? I used an 89 or 90 BII box in my 86 V8 truck. I didn't notice any differences.

Genuinely curious here.

 

[smudvapor]

How is the heater box different between 88 and 89? I used an 89 or 90 BII box in my 86 V8 truck. I didn't notice any differences.

Genuinely curious here.

I have air conditioning so maybe that is the difference. I would have to take pictures to show you the difference but they are different. Not in the engine compartment but in the cab. The box fits the dash. The 88 and 89 dashes are very different.

 

[Shran]

To clarify things in my mind - your truck is/was an '88 with a second gen front clip? And now you're using an '89 cab but putting your '88 dash back in?

That is going to be a treat. The dash, pedal assembly, and steering column mounts are all very different between 1st and 2nd gen trucks. I did the opposite, I put a '92 dash/pedals/column/HVAC ductwork into my '88. If you haven't hauled off your old cab yet, don't, it REALLY helps to have basically the firewall section to compare and rob sections from. I had to use a lot of stuff from a donor cab I had on hand... check out my build thread, starting at post #60 for an idea what you're up against, it's basically what I did but in reverse.

I bought a High Rider...

I will post up more info concerning shocks, drop radius arm bracket, sway bar, springs, and bump stops once I get everything cleaned up. This truck is unbelievably filthy underneath and everything is getting run through the parts washer before I can take good pics.

www.therangerstation.com

 

[smudvapor]

To clarify things in my mind - your truck is/was an '88 with a second gen front clip? And now you're using an '89 cab but putting your '88 dash back in?

That is going to be a treat. The dash, pedal assembly, and steering column mounts are all very different between 1st and 2nd gen trucks. I did the opposite, I put a '92 dash/pedals/column/HVAC ductwork into my '88. If you haven't hauled off your old cab yet, don't, it REALLY helps to have basically the firewall section to compare and rob sections from. I had to use a lot of stuff from a donor cab I had on hand... check out my build thread, starting at post #60 for an idea what you're up against, it's basically what I did but in reverse.

I bought a High Rider...

I will post up more info concerning shocks, drop radius arm bracket, sway bar, springs, and bump stops once I get everything cleaned up. This truck is unbelievably filthy underneath and everything is getting run through the parts washer before I can take good pics.

www.therangerstation.com

This is the third time that I have done my truck. It was an 88 and I already had an 89 cab on it once before. I am doing the same thing again. I kept all of the parts from the old cab that I need to transfer to the new one. All of the hard work of figuring out how to make everything fit I already did the last time so this time it's no sweat.

 

[Shran]

Nice! That will make it easy. I had a ton of time into figuring out how to mount all that stuff.