Completed Project Kirby's 1991 Ranger Build Up

I haven't posted much here since I sold my 1993 Mazda Navajo around 2010 or 2011. It was 10 years in the making and finally to a solid, reliable state. I had some other priorities and decided to sell it and get something more versatile. I will include some pictures below of its developing states and final state when I sold it below. In the end, it had 37" MTRs, Arb front, detroit rear, 4.56 gears, D and D doubler and I built all the armor and the Dana 44 front Solid Axle Swap.

James duff 3.5" VR coil lift, 235" defender tires and a home made heavy ugly bumper (around 2000 when I bought it) :

2001 with 33x10.50s and James duff 4.5" lift with extended radius arms, manual hubs and new auto tranny:

Here it is just after the SAS with 34s and a swapped in manual tcase and tranny:

Winching out of Mikeys hot tub circa 2002 or so

Stuck on a tree just after 37s

37s, winch bumper rebuild etc

Final State Explorerforum moab trip 2010

Last Poser Shots

I hear it still gets around Colorado and Utah and I have had buddies call me with airings from time to time.

I have had a few rangers and one explorer since I sold my explorer.
Here are some pics of those:

Beat up 1994 Ranger 2.4l ($250)

Traded 1993 Ranger 4.0l and an abused auto tranny

1991 Manual Tcase and Tranny Explorer Sport

We have also had a ton of cool Jeeps. Here are a couple of pics, along with our current Jeep which we are hanging on to:

2005 unlimited Rubicon Sahara 5.7 L Hemi

2005 unlimited Rubicon 35s and 4" lift

Our Current 2005 Unlimited Rubicon 4" Lift 315 Kevlars

It does great grocery getter, family truckster, and occasional wekend wheeler, but I need a truck and I miss my exploder, so I decided to build a Ranger. However, I want to build it a little different this time.

I have always wanted to build a 1989-1992 ranger, so I spent a considerable amount of time looking for a low mile one with the right engine, tranny and tcase in good shape. 4.0l, m5od and 1354M stock. My explorer ended up with this combo, but started out as an auto tranny and tcase. This made for a ton of modifications and headaches with my explorer. Rangers can be had in many other undesirable configurations because they were available with 3 different v6s in 1989-92 and a 4cylinder. It proved to be a difficult task. Finally in the fall of 2012 I picked this one up. A 1991 4.0l manual tranny and transfer case 4x4 extended cab "mountain States Edition. It had 130k on it and ran great. The paint was toast, it had a rusty bed and (my biggest complaint) it had no factory air.

I drove it for a year until I was ready to have it painted. I fixed a bunch on it- thermostat, muffler, wheel bearings, brakes, had a new headliner installed, etc. When I got a quote for the paint (one solid color and fix the dings) it was 2k. So then I started thinking I better look for a different ranger to build! I settled on this one. It too is a 1991, it has air (huge plus after not having it in my other truck all summer), manual case and tranny and everything else and a 4.0. The body is really straight no rust and the interior is super nice. The odo read 83k and I believed it.

Since then I tracked down the original and only owner to find it has 183 k on it and they were all hwy miles. The only complaints I have is I wish it had the other mirrors and pop out extended cab windows. I can deal with those, though. This truck has been taken care of.

First order of business was a tune up, brakes and leaky valve cover gaskets.

The build plan is pretty simple: build it similar to how my explorer ended up, with out all the half builds in between. It took me a lot of work and money to get my explorer to preform well off-road and on the street and be reliable. On this one I want to skip all the poor performing, cheapskate half steps I took with the explorer.

My goal is to end up with a reliable, daily drive able, off-road capable ranger that will make a great driver, great work truck and great expo vehicle. I like the idea of a truck over a explorer sport because I need to haul dirt bikes and Sheetrock and plywood and all kinds of stuff all the time so I always needed a pickup when I had the explorer even though I wanted to drive the explorer all the time. Hopefully this will do both functions well.

So far, I have installed:

A blue tooth pioneer stereo (replacing the stock tape deck)

A optima yellow top

A Black grill and headlight bezels along with new headlights:

The only body work it needs is the topper it had on it was put on with a loose and poorly placed clamp that rubbed a hole in the bed cap. I will weld it up and hopefully add a LineX bedliner over the top

I purchased a Dana 44 out of a 76 f150 with no guts or outers for a $50 bill. I still have my spare warn premium hubs off my ex, and I plan to build this one stout before I put it in and leave it full width but move the c bushings in about 2" per side. I will likely then run stock style f150 wheels with stock backspacing and 35s or 37s as skinny as I can find. It will get a full rebuild and at least 4.88s, maybe 5.13s. I am not decided on radius arms yet. I suppose extended ones are on the bill instead of the stock wristed ones I had before, but I haven't sorted that out yet. The wrist traveled fine but it clunked and made a racket and it was also a pain to get out and pull the pin when it was time to wheel. Extended arms won't perform quite as well on the street as the stock length ones did with the pin in, but longer arms should stream line things.

For the rear I will rebuild a full width late model 31 spline 8.8 put of a bronco or f150 and install explorer disk brakes. I will likely need to have the axle flanges turned down and drill the rotors for the new bolt pattern.

I will extend the wheel base around 3" by moving the front axle forward and leave the rear axle centered in the wheel well. I plan to leave the bed size stock as I need the truck to haul stuff all the time. I will build bumpers and sliders before I beat it up this time.

Stay Tuned, I am picking up the front axle tomorrow.

 

[Kirby N.]

You know Jaime- after my encounter with Herculiner (not my hootus' encounter), I think its worth having someone do it! I didn't love the way the herc wore out on my fenders and stuff. It would get thinner and thinner until you could see paint through it. I had rhino on my beat up 1993 ranger when I got it and it was super thick and really durable. I always told myself I would get that on another ranger- so I think I will do that.

I made some progress and got some pictures. I think I am going to put 6 of these on the bed.

Plates with 4 bolts and washers on the back. The center bolt has a hollow core and a loop screws into it. I will weld that stud to the plate. All grade 8.

I like the idea that the loops will come off. When I haul the UTV in the bed, I need every inch of space. So I may need to unscrew them to load that thing.

I am leaning against welding the plate to the bed. I can do it, but I think the bed might crack around the welds. Any thoughts?

 

[410Fortune]

No need to weld, just protect all the holes and plate from potential moisture
That looks like a very strong setup!! Nicely done

We Herculined an entire truck. We dubbed it "Hurt U liner" because that stuff is ROUGH you walk past the truck it would rip up your skin. Plus Herc has no UV protection so it looked dull within months
We had to scrape and sand it all off all of the herculiner and then spray the truck with 3 coats of a special primer before the Monstaliner would stick
The truck is now coated with black monstaliner and has been good ever since.
Rhino lining is some tough ass stuff, that is the truth. I have seen it applied almost 3/8" thick on a truck bed you want to talk about protection!
I like Monstaliner because its a DIY and it can be repaired and touched up, but its not nearly as tough as Rhino or LineX products

 

[Scott B.]

You know Jaime- after my encounter with Herculiner (not my hootus' encounter), I think its worth having someone do it! I didn't love the way the herc wore out on my fenders and stuff. It would get thinner and thinner until you could see paint through it. I had rhino on my beat up 1993 ranger when I got it and it was super thick and really durable. I always told myself I would get that on another ranger- so I think I will do that.

I made some progress and got some pictures. I think I am going to put 6 of these on the bed.

Plates with 4 bolts and washers on the back. The center bolt has a hollow core and a loop screws into it. I will weld that stud to the plate. All grade 8.

I like the idea that the loops will come off. When I haul the UTV in the bed, I need every inch of space. So I may need to unscrew them to load that thing.

I am leaning against welding the plate to the bed. I can do it, but I think the bed might crack around the welds. Any thoughts?

Why don't you put the plate on the backside of the bed wall? That way, it would act as a backing plate, spreading the load. As is, you are spreading the load across the 4 nut/washers. Seeing as the bed wall is thin material, a larger plate would be harder to pull through as opposed to the smaller nut.

 

[gmanpaint]

Those traditional course liners have used tire rubber in them, that gas out, and cause them to fade and wear out. Thicker applications can be done by spraying, no matter the material. Once they gas out enough to open up, they can let moisture seep in and work it's way underneath. Worst place that can happen, is the floor of a truck bed.

I prefer the newer 2 part urethane materials by Monstaliner & Raptor Liner. Both have UV protection, & neither have the rubber to cause failures.

Plate the backs of them 150k/psi tensile bolts. The sheet metal will rip before they ever start to break. Jeez, what are you hauling?

 

[Kirby N.]

Why don't you put the plate on the backside of the bed wall? That way, it would act as a backing plate, spreading the load. As is, you are spreading the load across the 4 nut/washers. Seeing as the bed wall is thin material, a larger plate would be harder to pull through as opposed to the smaller nut.

A guy on ranger station has me thinking about plating the back and tying all plates together with some square tube or something between the bed structure and the fiberglass.

 

[Kirby N.]

Plate the backs of them 150k/psi tensile bolts. The sheet metal will rip before they ever start to break. Jeez, what are you hauling?

Haha. I haul a lot of stuff in it. I want to do it right the first time I guess and I would rather overdo it then do it twice.

 

[Kirby N.]

I have made some progress, but it has been really slow. I have been working on it like 4 days all day now. The side braces are all in and turned out nice. They are going to be really handy and I think they will stiffen up the bed. The back holes are still getting a hook and a backing plate but I ran out of mig gas.

It’s hard to see but the backing plates are attached to the strap via 1x1 square tubing. The backing plate for each hook is made of 3/8 plate. The strap is 1.5” wide by 3/16” thick. I welded it in about 12 places.

The rear section of the bed gets removed for the bed sides. However, the rear lower corners of the bed get removed and that really weakened the lower corner and the tailgate mounts are there. So I tried my hand at some body work. I made these little braces and spot welded them in.

Then I used some brackets from the front fenders and doubled up on the brace. I did this on both sides.

Then I had to trim the back corner so the bedside would fit on each side. So I tried my hand at cutting out a section and then re welding it back together. I think it turned out good for my first shot at body work. I also had some cracks on the front from where I took out the spot welds. I fixed those up too.

Bed sides are ready to go on now and Ill have to figure out how to mount up the taillights. This was a lot of work. I am considering putting undercoating in the underside of the bed. Also considering making a metal brace between the inner fender and the fender.

 

[gmanpaint]

It only feels like your going slow because it's all new to you stuff. I get that feeling too, and have to remind myself it's completely normal.

All that looks really good. Your right, I do not see the 1"sq tube. lol

Are you going to use the stock tail lights? If not, now would be a good time to build the boxes for recessed Led's.

 

[410Fortune]

braces for the fiberglass bedsides a good idea
then undercoat the whole thing
I see alot of guys undercoat their fiberglass these days too to protect it
Rubberized spray is the stuff I use because it can just be re applied every few seasons

I love what you have done so far, should be a nice strong factory box!

I always fill two tanks of argon/c02 mix at the welder supply this way when I run out I can just swap tanks

 

[BKennedy]

I like how you are still going to use it as a truck with the bedsides. Most people around here have those fiberglass bedsides flapping around in the breeze as they go down the highway and it looks like crap. Its going to turn out very well because you are taking the time to do it right.

 

[Kirby N.]

I finished up the last of the tie downs. These are thicker sections of the bed frame so I am not going to tie it to the others.

The tail lights fit pretty good. The tail gate not so much. The bed sides are much thicker, so the tailgate fits tighter. My body guy said it was best if I had him order me one instead of getting my own. I trimmed the stock tailgate some- will need to trim the new one too. The tailgate is taco'd pretty bad and the passenger side latch is stripped so it won't tighten.

Then I got it mounted up. It looks pretty good- except the drivers side is really close on the from of the rear tire. The other clears fine. I clearance the bumper so I could get the bed as far forward as possible but it wasn't enough. I may have to move the rear axle back. I dont want anymore wheel base, but I don't know what else I can do. The passenger side is fine. I was hoping there would be room for 37s, but without moving the axle there isn't even room for 35s. It needs to go back 1-2".

I like the sweeping rear end and the tire coverage a lot. I could have gone wider, but I actually wanted the tires to hang out a little to protect the body still- I think it was about perfect. This was 3" front and 4" rear. I wanted the same, but they didn't have them. I can see the inch difference between the two for sure.

The fuel filler lined up great. I ordered some tabs from ballistic to build the braces for the bottom corners of the wheel wells, but I haven't heard anything about shipping or when they will be here. So I just cut the stock ones and welded some square 1/2" tube in the pieces. I'll plan to fix that when I take of the bedsides for paint.

 

[Kirby N.]

I finished up the last of the tie downs. These are thicker sections of the bed frame so I am not going to tie it to the others.

The tail lights fit pretty good. The tail gate not so much. The bed sides are much thicker, so the tailgate fits tighter. My body guy said it was best if I had him order me one instead of getting my own. I trimmed the stock tailgate some- will need to trim the new one too.

Then I got it mounted up. It looks pretty good- except the drivers side is really close on the from of the rear tire. The other clears fine. I clearance the bumper so I could get the bed as far forward as possible but it wasn't enough. I may have to move the rear axle back. I dont want anymore wheel base, but I don't know what else I can do. The passenger side is fine. I was hoping there would be room for 37s, but without moving the axle there isn't even room for 35s. It needs to go back 1-2".

I like the sweeping rear end and the tire coverage a lot. I could have gone wider, but I actually wanted the tires to hang out a little to protect the body still.

The fuel filler lined up great. I ordered some tabs from ballistic to build the braces for the bottom corners of the wheel wells, but I haven't heard anything about shipping or when they will be here. So I just cut the stock ones and welded some square 1/2" tube in the pieces. the I take the fenders off I'll build some new ones.

 

[410Fortune]

what the heck? Why does the drivers side tire seem so far forward with the bedside?? I see it on the pass side too.... I agree you could push that axle back 2" and it would be centered better
2" wont hurt anything but it sure is a PITA!
She looks really nice with the glass
Happy new year!

 

[Kirby N.]

Happy New Year buddy!

2" won't help anything either. I am already at like 126" wheel base. That is plenty. It makes it hard to get into parking spots and stuff- turning radius keeps getting worse.

I have been head scratching about this thing.

I thought maybe I could find some leaf springs with an offset pin. That would be the easiest but the chevy 64"s all have a centered pin.

I thought about moving the perches, but my bumper would get in the way of the back perch moving. I could do a little, but not much.

So I guess I am leaning toward these:

2+ Perch Kit

But I am also thinking if I do those I might as well do a truss and install the arb. Then it just keeps getting more complicated.

Anyone else have any ideas. I think like Jaime said 2" would be about right.

 

[gmanpaint]

Custom main leaf made with the center pin relocated back 2"?

Those 64" are the longest 2.5" factory leafs available. Only thing that came to mind for stock leafs, would be to convert to 3" leafs, but that opens up a new can of fab worms.

Ruffstuff makes some beefy parts, and welds are top notch on everything I have seen from them. I think that if they can give you 1", maybe even 1.5" of rear axle movement, they sound like the ticket. Pretty expensive axle perches tho.

 

[Kirby N.]

I am already using their adjustable perches that gave me 1” forward, centered or 1” back. I have them in the back position. Those perches give 1”, 2” or 3” back. So in their furthest back position I would get 2” more than what I have.

 

[410Fortune]

with that additional 2" do you think you would need a driveshaft lengthened? (or a spacer)

Its always good time to install an ARB

 

[Kirby N.]

Yeah I’ll need to have the driveshaft lengthened and I’ll need to figure out the ebrake too. It’s an onion and I am not stoked about it!!

I really like the springs I got. They travel really well and are good for loading up and towing- I don’t really want to go with something different or change to 3” springs- but thank you for the idea. I didn’t think of that.

 

[Kirby N.]

I got a good deal on an ARB twin high output compressor. It has only been mounted and never run.

I am excited about it, but when I got it home, I had a head scratcher of where I am going to mount it. I don't want to mount it inside the cab where I have the noise and the space is a premium- and I don't want to mount it under the body in the dirt. The engine compartment would be ideal, but this thing is a big ol honker.

Has anybody used one of these in a rbv yet? I mounted my other arb opposite the battery tray on my Navajo, but I don't think there is enough space for the twin.

 

[gmanpaint]

I welded up a box for my ARB pump with an open top, bolted it inside, then mounted the box on top of the factory spare tire winch plate. Will help keep the elements off it, and makes it easier to plumb air lines to the rear axle/bumper.

(yes, it has vents and drains)