Project Little Green Turd

***Edit (8/6/13) - This is what she looks like now:



***Edit (7/17/12): Collective picture gallery can be seen at http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll111/wizkid00104/Ranger/ ***

Well I have finely decided to start a build thread for my Ranger. I have been messing around with it since 2005 and now that I am out of college with a job thats lets me have a little fun, I have collected a whole mess of new parts.

Here is the Ranger from the time I got is senior year until about a 2010.







28 Spline 8.8, Eaton Posi w/ 800lb springs, Ford Racing 4.10 Gears, Trick Flow Girdle - $250 on Craigslist


Sporting 31x11.5 TSLs on 15x8 Outlaw 2 Wheels


$50 Cap, 31x10.5 Uniroyal A/Ts, New Eagle Alloys 15x7




West Co Highlands with 1BadExplorer's Bronco


As it sits at this point, I have:
2.3L w/ Jet Chip
5 Speed
1354M
4.10s
Dana 28/35 Hybrid front w/ 4.10s
8.8 28 Spline Rear w/ Eaton Posi
198,000 miles w/ original clutch

I have redone all the steering system, ball joints, tierod ends, u-joints as needed, rebuilt t-case, brakes several times, shocks, front coils, and rebuilt 8.8.

This summer, I was distracted with my new toy:

2008 Suzuki King Quad 750AXi
HMF Performance Exhaust
HMF EFI Tuner
Warn 2.5RT
60" Plow



I built a cooler from a DeeZee aluminum toolbox and insulated it and added a an aluminum inner boxed that fits 24 pressurized cans like a glove.




Put a diamond plate bumper and bash plate on and added a big rear box to ride doubles:


and triples:


The Ranger wasn't happy about hauling the quad, and then I stumbled on this:


2004 F250 XL Extended Cab Short Bed
5.4L V8
5 Speed + Granny Low
Mechanical Shift 4x4
Manual Lockouts
Dana 60 Front w/ 4.10s
Sterling 10.5" w/ 4.10s L/S

I am feeding this monster now as I work on the Ranger.

Now for the Ranger...

I already have:

James Duff 3" Stage 2 Lift, Axle Pivot Bushings, and Leaf Spring Bushings
Teraflex Revolver Shackles
New Zoom Clutch
A Tranny Rebuild (using AMSOIL from here out)
New Slave Cylinder
New Radiator Core Support
LMC Truck E-Fan, Controller, and Mounts
Magnaflow bolt on Cat
Cherrybomb Glasspack
Rest of the exhaust odds and ends

I still am going to order:
AutoGage Oil Pressure Gauge
AutoGage Vacuum Gauge
Autometer Pillar Pod thingy

As she sits now:




and the new parts:



As of this past weekend I have the transmission completely rebuilt, and the rear end removed. I am cleaning and repainting the parts and undercarriage as I go, so it will probably take me a little while to get this done. I am also working on it an hour from where I live, so its mostly weekend work.

looks great!!!!

you should really set up your photobucket to auto resize to 800 or 1000 instead having the HUGE pics! lol..

looks good tho!

Yea seriously resize those, also I personally wouldn't use revolver shackles...

I will resize tonight. I was working on big monitor when i built the thread and now looking at it on my laptop, they are gigantic.

Bennybooster, what problem do you have with revolvers?

looks good, i'll watch

Revolvers work great for certain applications. People who have never used them dont really know the pros and cons and are biased to say nay. If you plan to dd this thing more than 75% of the time id look into other shackle ideas. They like to unload with a heavy foot or extreme braking on pavement.

I need to see if the new shocks will let them fully open. If they do, I think I'll put a limiting strap on the pumpkin to prevent them from unloading on pavement. I central mount should still let them open in flex. It will require some tinkering, but if I dont like them, they shouldn't be too hard to swap out. I got them used and the price was right. I figured they are worth a try. I wanted to use them because I am not putting new rear leafs and they should ease some stress on the stock ones.

I have never had them on a truck, my buddy has them on his though. When ever I think about them I think, for starters there is just one more weak link to them, another pivot point to break. I think if it droops too far the shackle can go the opposite way, and I have heard the give some weird handling techniques...

Bennybooster said:

I have never had them on a truck, my buddy has them on his though. When ever I think about them I think, for starters there is just one more weak link to them, another pivot point to break. I think if it droops too far the shackle can go the opposite way, and I have heard the give some weird handling techniques...

Click to expand...

I agree with another pivot point to break. I can tell you that the shackles only collapse one way. You have to do some serious mangling to get them to collapse backwards after full extension. I am not getting rid of my normal shackles, but I am going to try the Teraflex's to see what the are like. If I hate them, they will be appearing in parts for sale

What are your plans for tires?

RangerBoy94 said:

What are your plans for tires?

Click to expand...

I still have the 31x11.5 Swamper TSLs pictured above. I just need to get one new 15x8 wheel. I had a bit of a problem with the one my buddy Joey is putting on in the picture. The whole wheel and tire fell off, turning my Ranger into a tripod.... at 3am!

It turns out, the bolt holes were worn and I was using the little wimpy lug nuts for the stock steel wheels. Oh well, lesson learned

If you do it right you can put a tab on the revolver shackle to bolt it solid until you need some serious articulation, then just unbolt them. I loved mine on my 78 and i used that truck as a damn offroad tow truck.

I think a set of 15X10 are what ya need with a good set of 33 12.5 mud terrains. That would look killer and be a good appropriately size tire. BTW, love the cooler, great job

SAY789 said:

If you do it right you can put a tab on the revolver shackle to bolt it solid until you need some serious articulation, then just unbolt them. I loved mine on my 78 and i used that truck as a damn offroad tow truck.

I think a set of 15X10 are what ya need with a good set of 33 12.5 mud terrains. That would look killer and be a good appropriately size tire. BTW, love the cooler, great job

Click to expand...

I like the idea of welding the tab. I am gonna look into that. DO you have any pics?

I put some though into wheels and tires. This Ranger with A/T 31s works really hard to do 70 on the highways in Pennsylvania. This Ranger with the 31 Swampers will not do 70... This is all thanks to our rolling hills, which I do like. I'd love to go to bigger wheels and tires (I even found some nice 15x10s on craiglsist, but I don't have the power to back them up. That's why I did 3" JD lift instead of 6", the truck wouldn't be driveable with 33s. If I ever decide to go with a 302, and a EB44 up front, you better believe those tires are gonna grow!

Thanks on the cooler. It was a weekend project and I think very useful. I can take it off the quad and carry it around if need be

I forgot to add that the Swampers actually rub on stock ride height. My goal was to not cut the fenders and what I really wanted is to just get some tire to peek out from the fender flares.

wizkid00104 said:

Click to expand...

Looks sweet, but 12 shock boots???
BTW I now really want one of those push bars!