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tcbaklash
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2016
- Messages
- 90
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Central WA
- Vehicle Year
- 1990
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 4.0L
- Transmission
- Manual
1990 XLT, ext. cab, 5speed Mazda transmission, '94 4.0 OHV engine, 2" Rancho lift
Before Purchase
Day One
Old lights
Post-Engine Swap
Last Winter
Post-Paint
Now
Background:
Third owner of the truck. Has 120k body miles of mostly being towed behind an RV, putting almost everything in great condition for the year. Internally, it is all stock except for the engine swap. Truck originally had a 2.9L engine, but it blew up under normal operating conditions and was replaced with a 2nd-gen 4.0L OHV from a '94 Explorer that had 184k miles. The truck now runs wonderful, has loads more torque, and the ride is Cadillac smooth.
Mods:
- 2" Rancho suspension lift, makes the truck super bouncy.
- Custom headache rack fitted with LED brake/turn signal lights on the rear and cheapo 18W LED spotlights on the front from Amazon <3 <3
- Explorer grille swap
- Catalytic converter delete
- EGR delete
- Air conditioning delete
- 8-ball shift knob
- Uniden 520xs CB
- Random painted stuff
- Pioneer stereo deck, Kenwood speakers, iPod holder on the dash
- AVS rainguards
- Window tint (unknown %)
- Flowmaster 40 muffler
Issues:
- Weird idle
- No coolant temp gauge. Connection was deleted during engine swap, but luckily it has been cold around here, so it gave me time to formulate a plan.
- Tach doesn't work. I went from an engine with a distributor to one without, so that's self-explanatory.
Current projects:
Custom instrument cluster.
Since the truck has no working tach or temp gauge, I decided to go digital. I picked up a 2" Glowshift digital tach and a digital temperature display. Also on the list is a little tiny digital temp display which I am using for outside ambient temperature, because it's always nice to know! I just have no idea where to put the probe so solar radiation and engine heat won't affect it.
The coolant temp display came with (what I think is) a 3-wire RTD probe. The wire colors are green/blk/red. The electronic coolant temp sending unit I purchased for the intake manifold is a two-wire probe with wire colors green/blk. If the sending unit is an RTD probe, I should be able to use the three-wire display with it after some experimentation, but that will come to be when the weather warms up and I find the motivation to go outside. If I cannot use the temp sending unit with the display, I plan on putting the 3-wire probe in the intake manifold hose and sealing it up with some high-heat adhesives, but I'm not totally certain if that location would work since I'm pretty new to working on engines, so some input would be great on alternatives.
And yes, this is going INSIDE the instrument cluster. I took the tach panel out of an Explorer and had a piece of aluminum machined to the exact shape, so I can cut holes in it for my displays and then paint it black. The left 2/3 of the dash will be illuminated stock green, and the right 1/3 will be red digital displays. I'm very excited to start working on this and I hope it will turn out great.
Interior Overhaul
I've been personalizing the interior with various knick-knacks and functional items to ease "life stuff" during driving. The previous owner bolted a cup holder to the floor and a GoPro mount to the dash. I installed an iPod holder on the dash (with charging cable behind the dash), a hula girl on the dash (that I use as my inclinometer lol), an 8-ball ceramic shift knob, some stickers, and a groovy baja blanket steering wheel cover. So while the outside is looking clean and rugged, the inside looks like a hippie van, and looking colorful and weird on the inside is pretty much the entire goal here. However, my seats have rips, the mechanical adjustments are failing, and I need new seats PREFERABLY from a newer Ranger ASAP. I have been on the lookout for months to find some decent seats, but cannot find any. If anyone is parting out a Ranger in Washington or Northern Oregon with good seats, let me know.
Painting
During an oddly warm day, I painted the grille and headlight trim with Duplicolor Satin Black Wheel Paint. I am satisfied with the outcome and will be using this paint again for the bumper and mirrors when the weather warms up.
Maitenance
The fuel filter and fuel pump are going to replaced soon, figured I might as well, since I replaced everything short of the crank assembly and valves on the new engine.
Future:
Reverse Lights
I will be removing the bumper fog lights from the front and re-locating the wiring to a light in the rear. Since my rear window tint is very dark, it makes backing up and night difficult. I have found a light on Amazon that is the same shape as the stock rear cab light, but 1/2" shorter, so I was thinking of finding a grommet and machining a metal plate to make it fit and be watertight so I don't have to mount reverse lights on the rack or bumper. This way it should look flush and clean.
Headache Rack Overhaul
The rack on this truck is not load-bearing. It uses a rubber stopper on the middle of the cab roof to support itself, meaning that it will cave the roof if I carry cargo there. The new plan is to modify it to either bolt into A pillars, or install more rubber stoppers on the sides of the cab so I can install a roof basket later on.
Rear Tire Carrier
Since my tires are 31", the stock spare is much smaller. I want a full-size spare, but it won't fit under my truck. The idea is to build a new rear bumper with a swing-out spare tire carrier and install stiffer springs in the rear to support the extra weight. I've already drawn up a design and am looking for a fabricator.
Body Paint
The truck looks great for its age, but the paint on the roof and hood are fading quickly. I plan on keeping the truck around for a while, and since within a few months here I will be making great money with a new career, I figured I might as well re-paint after I pay off my tiny student loan. I do like the original metallic dark grey color, but I have also been exploring the possibility of gloss forest green or gloss black.
Before Purchase
Day One
Old lights
Post-Engine Swap
Last Winter
Post-Paint
Now
Background:
Third owner of the truck. Has 120k body miles of mostly being towed behind an RV, putting almost everything in great condition for the year. Internally, it is all stock except for the engine swap. Truck originally had a 2.9L engine, but it blew up under normal operating conditions and was replaced with a 2nd-gen 4.0L OHV from a '94 Explorer that had 184k miles. The truck now runs wonderful, has loads more torque, and the ride is Cadillac smooth.
Mods:
- 2" Rancho suspension lift, makes the truck super bouncy.
- Custom headache rack fitted with LED brake/turn signal lights on the rear and cheapo 18W LED spotlights on the front from Amazon <3 <3
- Explorer grille swap
- Catalytic converter delete
- EGR delete
- Air conditioning delete
- 8-ball shift knob
- Uniden 520xs CB
- Random painted stuff
- Pioneer stereo deck, Kenwood speakers, iPod holder on the dash
- AVS rainguards
- Window tint (unknown %)
- Flowmaster 40 muffler
Issues:
- Weird idle
- No coolant temp gauge. Connection was deleted during engine swap, but luckily it has been cold around here, so it gave me time to formulate a plan.
- Tach doesn't work. I went from an engine with a distributor to one without, so that's self-explanatory.
Current projects:
Custom instrument cluster.
Since the truck has no working tach or temp gauge, I decided to go digital. I picked up a 2" Glowshift digital tach and a digital temperature display. Also on the list is a little tiny digital temp display which I am using for outside ambient temperature, because it's always nice to know! I just have no idea where to put the probe so solar radiation and engine heat won't affect it.
The coolant temp display came with (what I think is) a 3-wire RTD probe. The wire colors are green/blk/red. The electronic coolant temp sending unit I purchased for the intake manifold is a two-wire probe with wire colors green/blk. If the sending unit is an RTD probe, I should be able to use the three-wire display with it after some experimentation, but that will come to be when the weather warms up and I find the motivation to go outside. If I cannot use the temp sending unit with the display, I plan on putting the 3-wire probe in the intake manifold hose and sealing it up with some high-heat adhesives, but I'm not totally certain if that location would work since I'm pretty new to working on engines, so some input would be great on alternatives.
And yes, this is going INSIDE the instrument cluster. I took the tach panel out of an Explorer and had a piece of aluminum machined to the exact shape, so I can cut holes in it for my displays and then paint it black. The left 2/3 of the dash will be illuminated stock green, and the right 1/3 will be red digital displays. I'm very excited to start working on this and I hope it will turn out great.
Interior Overhaul
I've been personalizing the interior with various knick-knacks and functional items to ease "life stuff" during driving. The previous owner bolted a cup holder to the floor and a GoPro mount to the dash. I installed an iPod holder on the dash (with charging cable behind the dash), a hula girl on the dash (that I use as my inclinometer lol), an 8-ball ceramic shift knob, some stickers, and a groovy baja blanket steering wheel cover. So while the outside is looking clean and rugged, the inside looks like a hippie van, and looking colorful and weird on the inside is pretty much the entire goal here. However, my seats have rips, the mechanical adjustments are failing, and I need new seats PREFERABLY from a newer Ranger ASAP. I have been on the lookout for months to find some decent seats, but cannot find any. If anyone is parting out a Ranger in Washington or Northern Oregon with good seats, let me know.
Painting
During an oddly warm day, I painted the grille and headlight trim with Duplicolor Satin Black Wheel Paint. I am satisfied with the outcome and will be using this paint again for the bumper and mirrors when the weather warms up.
Maitenance
The fuel filter and fuel pump are going to replaced soon, figured I might as well, since I replaced everything short of the crank assembly and valves on the new engine.
Future:
Reverse Lights
I will be removing the bumper fog lights from the front and re-locating the wiring to a light in the rear. Since my rear window tint is very dark, it makes backing up and night difficult. I have found a light on Amazon that is the same shape as the stock rear cab light, but 1/2" shorter, so I was thinking of finding a grommet and machining a metal plate to make it fit and be watertight so I don't have to mount reverse lights on the rack or bumper. This way it should look flush and clean.
Headache Rack Overhaul
The rack on this truck is not load-bearing. It uses a rubber stopper on the middle of the cab roof to support itself, meaning that it will cave the roof if I carry cargo there. The new plan is to modify it to either bolt into A pillars, or install more rubber stoppers on the sides of the cab so I can install a roof basket later on.
Rear Tire Carrier
Since my tires are 31", the stock spare is much smaller. I want a full-size spare, but it won't fit under my truck. The idea is to build a new rear bumper with a swing-out spare tire carrier and install stiffer springs in the rear to support the extra weight. I've already drawn up a design and am looking for a fabricator.
Body Paint
The truck looks great for its age, but the paint on the roof and hood are fading quickly. I plan on keeping the truck around for a while, and since within a few months here I will be making great money with a new career, I figured I might as well re-paint after I pay off my tiny student loan. I do like the original metallic dark grey color, but I have also been exploring the possibility of gloss forest green or gloss black.
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