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Trucks Of The Month
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Forum
Member 'Bray D' and his Ford Ranger is well known amongst our forum
members. This well thought out trail rig sees regular trail duty, and
Bray and his Ford Ranger even participated in the Petersen-s 4Wheel
& Off-Road 2012 Ultimate Adventure.
This
is how 4Wheel & Off-Road described Bray and his Ford Ranger:
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"Bray
Dierker and his brother/co-driver Brandon from north-central
Illinois were the smooth operators of UA. Bray’s Ranger wasn’t
extraordinary at rest sitting low on 37-inch BFGoodrich tires
and packing a high-pinion Dana 44 front and Ford 8.8 rear, but
when needed this truck tiptoed over obstacles with more grace
and skill than the child of a ninja and ballerina. The Ranger
flat-out works, and Bray drives it well. No trailer queen, this
truck is Bray’s daily driver and weekend wheeler, requiring
simple tough components and a smooth operator who can drive to
keep it alive all week long." |
So what
makes this Ford Ranger so unique? Here's the specifications:
Drivetrain:
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Engine:
1997 Ford Explorer 4.0L V-6 (truck originally had a 3.0L V6)
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Transmission:
M5OD manual transmission
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Transfer
Case: BW1350/1354 doubler
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Front
Axle: Narrowed 1979 Ford Bronco HP Dana 44, Yukon 4340 Yukon shafts,
4.56 gears, spool
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Rear
Axle: 1999 31-spline Ford Explorer 8.8, disc brakes, Dutchman 1541
alloy shafts, 4.56 gears, welded
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Steering:
Ford power steering with custom Branik Hi-steer
Suspension:
All the
custom parts (steering, extended radius arms, sliders, tube doors, etc)
were built by Bray.
BW1350/1354
doubler
Why
the extra gas cap at the rear of the bed? When Bray added the dual
transfer case setup, the stock gas tank was in the way. Bray ditched it
and replaced it with a Bronco II gas tank mounted behind the rear axle.
Don't
think that this is just a summer time trail rig. Bray even uses it to
plow snow in the winter.
To
read more details and see more photos of Bray's Ford Ranger, click HERE.
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