410Custom's builds a 2007 Ranger V8 - custom truck build - Project "Ranger Premier"

[410Fortune]

Exhaust installed final
Plenty of space/ options for exhaust tips once the bed and bedsides are in place

Coming out of the mufflers the tail pipes are mounted with clamps and there is excess pipe. Down the road this exhaust may get cutouts so I left a good location and plenty of material to work with

 

[sandsprayer]

That Dawg of yours always sneaks in a frame!

 

[allmyEXes]

That truck is B**A**. Great job!

 

[dvdswan]

Sweet work. Love the exhaust.

 

[410Fortune]

Winch final wired
Arb plumbed and wired
Alarm install mostly complete

The alarm I have been researching and gathering info in prep for install for many months. Viper/directed only wants these installed at a certified dealer so they do not provide instructions… instead it is up to the internet to provide the 411
I will not be posting details of the alarm install for obvious reasons, but I can tell you this thing has more wires and modules then a Tesla

If all goes well I’m planning to drive her down road to trailer and then to town for final everything, just a “few”
Weeks behind here but it is happening now

Arb air line was run from compressor, under truck, down the frame around fuel tank and to the rear axle

The apex 12000 super overkill for a ranger winch is *****in! I love this winch. Anyways I had to final mount it and wire it up. It came with a really nice battery cut off switch. I took the time to make it weather tight and chose the perfect mounting spot. It was mounted to the truck with one small hole drilled and one of its existing through bolts

3 coats of permatex rust treatment also used on fender bolts to stop surface rust

This is how you do a 12000 winch by yourself, with a cart and some careful planning!

Fog lights rigid mounted, the side shooter leds clear the bumper perfectly. Should provide good visibility!

 

[410Fortune]

See the careful wiring of winch power cables? Power cables for winch run directly to battery, using 2006 ranger battery terminals

See the front camera? Also wired and mounted in the perfect location

The arb system power wires were also run
The arb fuse found its home by the airbox
The power wire was run to the power junction box

Winch final mounted!! Wooohoooo

Don’t celebrate too early I had to remove the bolts again in order to fit the grill

Love the dual trans cooler mod, looks factory

There’s “ace” the dog sticking her head in every picture again

The affordable bumper gives good access to the winch bolts and parts

See the rust treatment convert that surface rust to hard black metal

Bumper top bar mounted
Winch, fairlead, rope and hook installed. Front camera mounted. Moving onto skid plate. Black paint / peeling powder coat on the used superlift bracket / on suspension will be addressed during final detail buff and polish

Engine was filled with 5 quarts of 5-30w full synth. It has been draining for a while because we had gas in the crank case from all that cranking with the bad injector. Oil will be changed one more time before delivery

Almost time to schedule an alignment appointment!

The viper alarm install then sucked up my next few days. Keyless entry, voice command, window controls, auto start and much more involved in this alarm system
Most of it is wired, the rest happens today and over the weekend. It has to be setup online, this should be interesting. The alarm is one of the biggest hurdles of this build. I am glad it is almost over

I have a lot of setup to do, cameras, alarm, audio, lights and suspension

 

[410Fortune]

I cannot wait to hear it run now with tailpipes!!
The most interesting part will be driving a ranger with this suspension
I have driven a lot of rangers this one should take the cake

 

[sandsprayer]

Glad to hear about the alarm.
Being that " Eddie Money" lives in the Puget Sound area This truck needs protection.
Let me know when your coming over, it'll be steak on me!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

WOWEEE!!! that truck is looking like a dream come true!

 

[Josh P]

Are we there yet? I do like the attention to the details. Everything looks like it was meant to be that way.

 

[CDW6212R]

Is the space for the oil filter the normal amount? Have you taken apart one of the old oil cooler assemblies and removed the cooler yet? I thought you would like that conversion, change the adapter bolt and use an FL1A or larger filter, in the stock location. I hate the tiny FL820S filter, it's way too small.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i have a question (raises hand).
have you tried the a/c with everything running. wanted to know if the a/c compressor kicks on or off, or even if its on defrost

 

[allmyEXes]

In post #1026 10th picture I think, is that some kind of crossmember extension that is part of a front suspension lift of a sort?

 

[dvdswan]

Nice. So, what is this? Is it just to kill power to the winch when not in use?

 

[JoshT]

In post #1026 10th picture I think, is that some kind of crossmember extension that is part of a front suspension lift of a sort?

Yes. Not sure of the brand he used here, but on the 98+ they get lift by dropping the pivot point of the lower arms. Essentially adding another crossmember under the existing one.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Yes. Not sure of the brand he used here, but on the 98+ they get lift by dropping the pivot point of the lower arms. Essentially adding another crossmember under the existing one.

think jamie used superlift but csnt remember 100%

 

[JoshT]

Nice. So, what is this? Is it just to kill power to the winch when not in use?

View attachment 451712

That's what it looks/reads like to me.

Engine was filled with 5 quarts of 5-30w full synth. It has been draining for a while because we had gas in the crank case from all that cranking with the bad injector. Oil will be changed one more time before delivery

5 quarts going to be enough? The engine I put in my '99 seems to need 6 to read full on the dipstick. Doesn;t seem like I'll be able to get away with oil that thin either. Started out on super cheap (WM SuperTech) 10w-30 oil knowing I was going to change in the first couple hundred miles to flush out the system. Took 6 qts to fill, assumed that it was inconsistency or due to being completely drained from engine sitting so long. Shortly before changing I did about an hour drive up the interstate and the OP gauge was flickering at idle when I got off. Chocked it up to cheap oil and for other reasons (bad CV joint) I ended up trailering it back home. Changed oil and put in 5 qts Halvoline 10w-30, still flickering when hot at idle, but was a quart low when I checked the dipstock. It isn't burning oil, just going to be a 6 qt oil change going by the dipstick. Not too hopeful that adding the quart will fix pressure problem, I think engine is just more worn than expected. That's unfortunate because a rebuild isn't in the cards right now, 20w-50 might be though.

think jamie used superlift but csnt remember 100%

That's what I was thinking from looking at it.

 

[410Fortune]

I would love to adapt the factory filter mount to use a large fl1a filter
However I have not done that on a 5.0 yet!!

I have never taken the 96-97 style oil cooler apart instead I just toss them in the aluminum pile for scrap. I have not run one of those oil coolers in many many years. I had one fail and mix water with oil,’after that I stopped running them. Ford ditched that design in 98 and so did I.

As long as we change our oil around 3500-7500 miles the 820s will suffice. I’ve been driving 5.0 trucks for 20 + years now. 5 quarts of oil is what the pan holds. These engines when dry and with filter can easily
Hold 5.5 qt
The factory owners manual says 5 quarts lol the oil cap says 5-30 on it. You can use whatever weight oil fits your Climate. This is a pushrod 302 same from 1969-2001 basically

This truck is fitted with a superlift drop bracket to lower the front. Diff and lower control arms 3.5”. It also has superlift 3.5” extended knuckles so the upper control arm stays in the stock location. We then used a true travel mid travel kit in conjunction with the superlift brackets. The mid travel kit is designed to use a 8” stroke coilover. I am able to stuff a 10” stroke coilover on this truck which also allowed the use of dual rate coil springs. I fabricated braces from the stock torsion bars in an effort to support the superlift drop bracket laterally. So we get mid travel coilover suspension with 14” of 4wd wheel travel and a small lift for clearing the 35” tires (possibly 36-37 in the future)

Yes that is the battery cut off switch for the winch. It disconnects the + cable between the battery and the winch. Winches never come with a fused lead to the main winch mitor on the positive side. It is best to add a circuit breaker or battery cut off so the wire is not “live” until you need to do some winching

The ac is not charged yet so the compressor will not run. However I know where you are going with this as I have converted many many rangers to 5.0. The explorer does not control the ac the same way as a ranger. The ranger is much more simple in its wiring, basically the dash switch for the hvac controls the compressor with no input from the pcm. It is very very easy to wire the ranger ac system, the high and low pressure switches basically go to ground and feed the ground side of the compressor clutch: the dash controls the + side. I full expect this ac to work as it was working in the 07 ranger prior and it was working on the 104k mile 2000 explorer we used as an engine donor.
The ac in our 03 sport trac 5.0 works awesome, as does my buddies 04 ranger 5.0 we built and every other 5.0 ranger I have ever created!! I cleaned the orrofice tube and replaced all the o rings in the ac system. I will vacuum the system and charge it myself, I do a lot of ac work.

Thanks for all the questions dudes! It is a big week around here, 5 years in the making!!!

 

[sandsprayer]

3500-7500 miles the 820s will suffice.

Yes Sir! I considered going w/ the longer version( Fleetguard LF16002 IIRC) of the 820 in my SOHC. But correspondence with couple of Ford Engineers I worked with in a previous life convinced me- not necessary unless your adding chemicals to loosen deposits.
Their thought was change out every 5k w/ full Syn, and it never gets to that

 

[Turdle]

So many questions up there. Im just going to say hi.

Keep it up. Nice work.