88 Turbo Ranger resto

*copied and moved from General area*

I have a 88 longbed with 42k miles that I picked up 4 years ago to build into an all out drag radial racer and even built a 410w and a 75mm turbo. Well the motor never made it into the truck and now I wana use the truck for daily driving so Im going back to my roots and dropping a nice 2.3t in it.

The motor is a fresh stock shortblock, worked over head with custom roller cam,Bobs intakes and header,custom .70/.63 turbo by Evergreen,LA3,35lb injectors {for now},Centerforce II clutch,TC t5 and a NPR front mount. I will upgrade to Stingers PIMP setup at a later date.

I have a drum brake 8.8 out of an Explorer and I want to use it with a Aubrun Pro I have with the stock 3.55's. Will be doing a shackle flip as well for the 2" drop.

I have a set of 90 Lincoln LSC 16" wheels with 225's on them that will be getting some powdercoating done.

Truck will be getting fresh white paint after its running and it already has a glass 2" hood. Truck has zero rust other than where factory paint has flaked off and the bare metal was exposed.Nothing more than surface rust you can wipe off with a finger.I will be replacing all bumpers,trim,grill and seals with new stuff from LMC. Im keeping all the chrome also. Gona be Oxford White with the top of hood done in black with lots of new chrome...I want it to shine like a piece jewelry!

For the interior I really want to do something special. Im changing the factory blue to either grey or black or maybe a combo of both. I have a set of leather SVO seats I would love to use.I already had a 2.3t 87 Ranger with a t5 and bench which made for some really crappy shifter handles...buckets it is this time. I plan to use Speedhuts Revolution GPS speedo and tach in my own dash cluster,Siruis radio and I want to try to swap in a newer Ranger column with tilt and a nicer steeringwheel if possible....is it?

On to the "before" pix!

This is my 2nd turbo Ranger... I built this one back in 2003! The new one will be a lot nicer!





Took the Centerlines off for good and tried on the new shoes. They are nothing fancy by any means but Im diggin the period correctness of them. Needs drop bad.

Good progress was made on 12-12-11.

Had to have my block helicoiled to fix two stripped headbolt holes. Got that fixed and put in some ARP studs.

Got the head bolted down,intakes,header,mounts and some other small things. Just need to set up my valvetrain and mount the turbo and then it gets dropped in the truck.





Also got most of the truck gutted since its goin in for paint on the 18th. Still need to powerwash and chem strip it. I want the best paint job I can get so Im removing everything I possibly can.It will be getting all new seals,rattle strips,trim,etc...





I still cant believe how clean and untouched this truck is. Pulled interior all out and didnt find one missing screw anywhere,I was almost upset to cut off the plastic splash guards on the doors behind the door panels because I have never seen a set untouched before!

Stripped off all the factory blue and the rattle can stuff and took down to bare metal. Truck is gutted and only can find about 3 small dings that need to be fixed.











I powerwashed it the other day and did a quick detail under the hood for now. Started test fitting the front mount and marked where I need to do some trimming for a nice fit.

Got the valvetrain all setup and closed up the engine for good. Turbo mounted,lines run and this is about all thats going on motor before it gets dropped in.


I realized tonite that since Im converting the truck to a manual steering box that I had no way to mount my alternator since it used the Merkur powersteering pump bracket. Well after some digging around I came up with my own adjustable mount with crap I had layin around. BTW, thats a Powermaster 140amp 1 wire that still needs a cleaning.







Nice clean setup,Im happy.

Also got the Explorer 8.8 on the table tonite and started gettin all its parts ready to go in. 3.55 gears,31 spline Auburn Pro,TrickFlow girdle and I think Im goin to change it to spring over since I dont want to have it lowered 4+ inches by putting it in spring under.


Since Im using a underdrive pulley and no timing belt covers I didnt have any timing marks so I came up with a simple pointer today.

I also started figuring out how to run my coolant lines for the heat and turbo.

And if it all works once installed I plan to mount my VAM using this setup.

1-13-2012

Had to get a stock hood since the glass hood needed way to much work to make perfect and would of blown my budget out of the water. Didnt really need it with the 2.3 so to save me a bunch of time and money we decided to go with a stock hood. Should be in primer as I type this and getting color by Monday.
Also had the windshield replaced today as well.



1-21-2012
Turned out better than I had hoped! Here a couple teaser shots until I get it home in the next couple days and get some complete pix of the whole truck.

Went and picked it up last tuesday. Looks better than I had hoped!





Been workin on it all weekend and got some of the trim,decals,lights and 1st coat of bedliner on. Also swapped over to a manual steeringbox.

very nice. I like the colors. great build. I can't believe you found a ranger with no rust, in michigan. haha

It was from Tenn. My buddy bought it down there 11 years ago and brought it back here to Michigan where he put it in his barn and didnt touch it for 7 years. Thats when I bought it 4 years ago. Never been on a Michigan road yet.

Can't wait to see what its like when it is done, I have always had a thing for turbocharged anything

Here is photoshop idea #1. Remember Im going for a total 80's/70's Ford throwback look with this truck...

I love the matching font between the decal and the badges.

More progress tonite. Front mount installed,door seals in,bedliner finished,rear bumper on,cleaned-painted and installed the mirrors,windshield trim,locks,wipers and I spent $48 at the hardware on stainless screws for anything going on the outside of truck {inner liners,mirrors,mud flaps,etc}.
Started mounting my battery box in bed but didnt finish. Also started mocking up my Afco radiator and I have a pretty sweet idea for mounting that!
Im kinda jumpin all over but I just wana make sure stuff is getting done everynite now.If they put us back on overtime at work soon like I keep hearing I will be able to really knock this thing out soon.

Well tonite I tinted the rear window and got it put in all by myself. I hate sliders and love this nice clean blacked out look. Battery box is finished other than hookin up the cables and I welded to bolts to the frame for gound wires..One under the bed for the battery neg cable and another on the front framerail for the engine ground.



The original bumper cleaned up nice also.

Front mount.


And I cut up the heaterbox to make room for the downpipe.


And I decided since my new 8.8 is 3" wider than the 7.5 rear thats in it Im going to narrow the 8.8 the same 3" so I dont have any tire to bed clearance issues and still be able to stuff my 15x8.5 Centerlines and 275BFG DR under it.I will start gutting the 8.8 tomorrow.

Getting closer!

awesome project!!! are you sure you even need to narrow the 8.8??? i would guess it would fit without all the extra work/money but im not %100. I would test fit it before i cut it down

No need to test fit. The 8.8 is 3" wider than the 7.5 thats under it now. There is less than 1.5" per side clearance between the side wall and fender lip so I know it wont fit if I lower the truck any. It would fit at stock ride heigth but the tires would stick out flush with bed sides and would hit if the rear ever compressed enough.

Very nice work, & I like you're user name.