Joe93's 91 build up( d44 & 9inch swap, roll cage and more)

Well I purchased 91 explorer 4x4, 4 door, 5speed from a coworker for 100 dollars. It had an electrical fire inside. So the whole inside was pretty much trashed. I got it with the plan to build it into a weekend warrior. The plans include Herculined interior, roll cage, full width dana 44 and 9 inch swap, custom bumpers, onboard air, rebuild motor, trans and some other things. This project will take me awhile. I want to take my time and do it right the first time. Everything i wanted to do to my 93 will be done to this 91. So it make take some time to see any major changes but I will update as offten as I can. I would also like to hear some of your ideas if you have any. I will be making a list of things that i have done and how much the cost me. I want to keep the cost down as much as possible. Pics will also be added as i go along.

Things Done So Far
91 Explorer- 100 dollars
Rewired and replaced dash.- 40 dollars from the junk yard.
Painted interior and leftover interior panels flat black- 20 dollars
Herculined the floor- 40 dollars
Dana 44 and Ford 9 inch- 150 dollars
Disc brake caliper brackets off a 78 mercury - 10 dollars
Chopped the top- Free
Upgraded the front seat from a 99 eddie bauer- 20 bucks

These pics are the old dash

 

[410Fortune]

well the fuse location for them is in the box under the hood most likely, the wires are already in the truck from there to where they go under the truck. not sure how far, but they are simple to add a fuse and finish the wiring.
Some grease on the rails every once in a while will keep them going for a long long time.

 

[Joe93]

Sounds easy enough. i'll have to try that.

 

[Kirby N.]

I would like to come by when you get it done.

 

[Brian_B]

There was a BII on ebay a while back that had the ranger cab done like you are talking about. It looked great.

click here

 

[offroader_69_me]

wow Joe I thought you fell off the planet or something, glad to see the new project! Good luck with it, if you need anything let me know. I have a set of JD 3.5" coils and a set of Wild Horses 5.5" both are progressive JD are brand new, WH's are like new

Next time I am in springs we will have to get together!

 

[Joe93]

Thats kinda the look im goin for. I think it will look kinda cool. Kirby when i get it done i'll let you know. I'm just waiting on a friend whos gonna do the majority of the welding and cutting with the plasma cutter. Marshall let me know when your gonna be in town. oh and how much you want for the WH springs?

 

[Kirby N.]

That BII is really cool. Can't wait to see yours Joe. Let me know...

Kirby

 

[410Fortune]

the thing I like most about the idea of a BII with a Ranger bed is leaving the cab open to the bed! Not welding on the back window and cab! hahaha All they did was build a short ass Ranger

 

[Savage Wolf]

then i need to hunt down some rotors that will work. wont be to hard with the amount of rotors we have in stock at my work. Here are a few pics of the brackets on and off the axle housing. I'll have more after i modify them.

have you found any rotors that will work or any that will fit on the 9"? I have a 9"/d44 swap in the planning stages and want to stay with 4 wheel disk, I also think it may be possible to make the explorer stock (95?96+ if I remember right) disk system fit (except the rotors unless you redrill them) wonder if there is a rotor that matches the explorer disk but on the 9" bolt pattern...

 

[bmxking5]

Look on Pirate4x4.com SavageWolf They have some awesome write-ups explaining most of the inexpensive setups for disc conversion on the 9". It tells the calipers for e-brakes (I think 81-85 Caddy, and some other ones), etc. All the info is on there.

 

[Savage Wolf]

yeah, read them all, bird swap, mark swap, caddy disk ect, but I noticed as I was drooling over stuff at Currie Enterprises that they sell 11" explorer disk sets for the 9" rears, though it says something about needing a 2.5" brakespace on the axle shafts, I'll have to do more checking once I get my 9" apart and I'll post my findings in my swap thread (once I get around to starting it )

 

[Joe93]

haven't found my rotors yet. haven't really looked. I'll let you know when i come up with something

 

[Joe93]

well progress has been slow but here is what i have done lately today I finished my template for the ranger cab thats goin to be welded in. Last week I chopped up the hatch for a tailgate. Tried using the hatch hinges for the gat but I didn't like the way they worked. So after another trip to the junkyard i came home with a set of hinges off a 88 ford bronco. they work great. I still need to beef up the tailgate where the hinges mount. Metal is way to week to suport any weight. Also need to come up with a final way to mount the cables for the gate. The way they are set up now is temp. Here are a few pics. The first is the tailgat up and also you can see my template for the ranger cab. The second is a pic of the bronco hinges and the cable the third is another pic of the hinges

 

[410Fortune]

thats why I love Ford

 

[FROADER]

I like the working tailgate using the stock hatch. Nice work.

 

[bmxking5]

Awesome work with the hatch. Looks awesome.

 

[034x4]

Lookin sweet, love how it looks with the rear cut.

 

[90ranajo]

Then there was Aaron Dionne's Ranger SuperCab on a BII frame.

 

[Kirby N.]

I dig that Ranger.

 

[hiridin]

4.88 gears, lockers(haven't decided which yet) 38's or 37's probibaly 38's(can get a cheap set here soon).QUOTE]

4.88 gears and 38's isn't going to be a good combo imho. don't u think 5.13's or even 5.38's would work alot better...? especially since u have a standard tranny.. 4.56's and 35's with a manual and the ohv isn't enough gearing to keep things running smoothly (trust me) so 4.88's and 38's is going to suck even worse. cuz unless yer going to swap in a v8 to make up for improper gearing yer going to greatly hinder its performance. which will decrease its fun factor offroad and on. its alot of time and trouble and money your going through to fix this thing up jus to let something like gearing screw it up for you. i'm not downing u or nothing like that jus friendly advice. and i speak from experience so i made the mistake so u don't have to