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Completed Project Kirby's 1991 Ranger Build Up

Use this prefix for completed projects that are not "How to" articles or threads asking for help.
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) :
Before.jpg


2001 with 33x10.50s and James duff 4.5" lift with extended radius arms, manual hubs and new auto tranny:
33sand4inch.jpg

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

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Winching out of Mikeys hot tub circa 2002 or so

Tub.jpg


Stuck on a tree just after 37s
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37s, winch bumper rebuild etc
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Final State Explorerforum moab trip 2010

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MoabMay2010217.jpg


Last Poser Shots
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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)
IMG_1339.jpg


Traded 1993 Ranger 4.0l and an abused auto tranny

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1991 Manual Tcase and Tranny Explorer Sport

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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
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2005 unlimited Rubicon 35s and 4" lift
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Our Current 2005 Unlimited Rubicon 4" Lift 315 Kevlars
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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.

IMG_2624.jpg


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.
IMG_2956.jpg



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)
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A optima yellow top
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A Black grill and headlight bezels along with new headlights:
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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
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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.
 



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I looked for a couple years for a straight rust free low mile one and I had a really hard time finding what I wanted nation wide. I actually took a plane to 2 of them and ended up coming home empty handed. The hardest part was finding a 4.0 with a manual tranny and tcase. They are getting to be few and far between.

I had a white one located 30 minutes from me with 80k and I went right after work to the bank and the guy sold it out from under me 15 minutes before I got there. To a guy who didn’t have cash no less. It ticked me off so bad. Which brings up the other reason it is hard to find one- most people aren’t stand up people when it comes to buying things anymore. They aren’t honest about what they have and don’t care enough to deal with people with integrity. It’s all about trying to get a buck and running everyone over in the process. All 3 of the ones I tried to buy were either not what people represented or the guy sold it to some guy who arrived before me Regardless of our agreement.

Enough venting. But anyway, that’s what led me to just build what I brought. I was going to do a frame swap on something nicer- but I just couldn’t locate it. Now I think I’ll need to redo the engine and tranny at some point, but she will be as good as new and what I wanted.
 



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yes finding the 4.0 with manual and manual could get tricky
I can take the 2.9 and A4LD out easily though
here are some clean Gen II Rangers (89-91) from up here avail now I found two with this mornings search, more if you consider the 83-88 trucks build worthy

89 Ford Ranger

Ford Ranger

And yes PEOPLE SUCK!! Sorry about your bad experiences but you know it was just this gold truck playing hard to get, this one was meant to be the one you build....works in mysterious ways
 






That color should look good on there. No more White Fender Mafia for you. Awesome you found a tailgate. I want to get another first gen ranger someday. I know the chances of finding a nice one are getting harder and harder as time goes by.

You know where one is at, that has your name on it ;)
 






Now I'm seeing these trucks on CL like all the time 83-90's I would love to build up twoof them are 89-90 extended cabs too!
What have you done to me! I swear its only when we are broke (broke = time to sell stuff re coupe some of the $$$ we have invested in projects) that I see all these amazing deals on CL. So I just have to not look and go wrench instead...no fun no fun $500 2003 Ranger 4x4, $900 01 Sport trac both need engines I have two late model SOHC engines downstairs!!
My broke ass cant buy either one......missed out on the ranger by a day too (convinced wife to let me go get that one)
 






I am pretty picky when looking for one Jaime- and the ones I am looking for are hard to find. I had to have under 100k with manuals tcasr tranny and interior. Also 4.0 and 4x4.
 






Ah! Photobucket! I have some updated pictures to share with you but photo bucket sucks
 












Oh man come on pics! back from paint???

I will let you know when I find your next ranger project, I am seeing more and more gen I and II rangers hit the craiglist this last year. I want to start saving the 83-92 trucks as much as possible
I am thinking an extended cab with a 4.6 would be cool as crap.
 






Hmm. I don't know much about a 4.6 at all? What is the draw Jaime?

I am a little frustrated. I spent monday (my day off) searching for some plastic for the inner fenders for my ranger. Not the way inner part- but the part that goes between the inners and the outer fender.

Tonight I drove 1.5 hours up to north denver to this place called "colorado plastics"- good recommendation from @410Fortune

Unfortunately, I purchased a 4x8 sheet of 1/8" abs plastic for $59 and after I cut out my template I am discovering that it is just too stiff. Maybe I should use HDPE. IDK what all this stuff means, but the stock stuff is more flexible than abs. Abs is almost like plexiglass but black. I am honestly considering cutting up a black trash can.

Can anyone give me some ideas who knows a little more about the plastic stuff? I dont want to drive 1.5 hours again and spend another $50 to try 1/16" abs.
 












A friend of mine made fenders for his buggy out of blue 55 gallon drums he got for free. I haven't had inner fenders in a long time.
 






ah crap yeah you do not want the plexiglass like stuff, the black plastic stuff I have downstairs is rather flexible
Shoot I always called it ABS plastic,I guess my terminology is off
Ill get a picture
You can cut this stuff with heavy duty scissors and its flexible enough to make your mud guards out of

Funny this comes up now I am in the process of making inner fenders for my BII with the fiberglass, I have to keep the mud and snow out of all the new holes and gaps I have created.
I have not had front inner fenders for many many years, in CO I found I never really needed them and I like to look at my V8 and headers LOL
Now that the climate is not so dry and we live on a muddy road (understatement) I am adding inner fenders back in.
I am using a combo of the plastic and conveyor belt material my neighbor gave me
It is a good idea to keep water from splashing all over our engines too..
I hope I didn't cause a $60 blunder!
 






Nah dude, not your fault and totally worth $60 to try it. This stuff is just a little too stiff. I did also take a sample to the store and he recommended the abs. I am going to call them today and see if he can help. If you can tell me what you got that would help too.

I too haven't been running inners in a while either (I am talking outer inners- the inner inners I left and trimmed. So from the part that connects the core support to the firewall to the frame i have inners. I then trimmed them off where the used to go beyond and bolt to the fender). But it hasn't been great and it is mostly a problem in the snow. Its get packed in between the door and body.

But it has also been a problem in the mud. Particularly when hunting I get into some mod on the road and it gets flipped and packed in.

So now with the new paint I really want to get it sorted out.
 






A friend of mine made fenders for his buggy out of blue 55 gallon drums he got for free. I haven't had inner fenders in a long time.

maybe thats not such a bad idea
 






ah crap yeah you do not want the plexiglass like stuff, the black plastic stuff I have downstairs is rather flexible
Shoot I always called it ABS plastic,I guess my terminology is off
Ill get a picture
You can cut this stuff with heavy duty scissors and its flexible enough to make your mud guards out of

Funny this comes up now I am in the process of making inner fenders for my BII with the fiberglass, I have to keep the mud and snow out of all the new holes and gaps I have created.
I have not had front inner fenders for many many years, in CO I found I never really needed them and I like to look at my V8 and headers LOL
Now that the climate is not so dry and we live on a muddy road (understatement) I am adding inner fenders back in.
I am using a combo of the plastic and conveyor belt material my neighbor gave me
It is a good idea to keep water from splashing all over our engines too..
I hope I didn't cause a $60 blunder!

definitely wouldn't cut the stuff I got with scissors. only a grinder or a vibrating tool. And it is kinda sharp when I cut it.
 






But it has also been a problem in the mud. Particularly when hunting I get into some mod on the road and it gets flipped and packed in.

So now with the new paint I really want to get it sorted out.
I Haven't had any inner fenders at all since the SAS. By the time I cut inner fenders around the coil overs and mounts, there wouldn't be enough left to do anything. Really doesn't matter out here, but I get small rocks and gravel stuck in between the fender and the firewall from time to time. It gets packed on the rare occasion I can't go around the mud (I don't like mud). I can also see through to the door from the rear bottom of the fenders, which makes it easy to hose out. It would be nice to put something along the firewall from the frame to the inside edge of the fenders. It could be riveted directly to the firewall and sealed into the inside edge of the fender. Would also help protect the fuel pump wiring that runs down the firewall on the driver side.
 






I think I have the inner fenders dialed. I needed a heat gun. I think they are going to work great.

Made a visit to rhino linings with the cab too. The bed should be done with paint next week then it will need to go to rhino.
 






Dang I took pics and never posted them up
I have been working on my BII bedside install and I ended up using some conveyor belt material to make the inner guards, came out slick!
Anywho here are the pics of the black plastic I used to buy in Denver, I remember the fist time I went into their warehouse I told the dude I needed the black plastic like the stuff they use for bezels around stereo installs and I thought he said its ABS plastic in sheets.....dang that's gotta be 15 years ago now! obviously it is not ABS from what you have discovered.
171_141201_340000000.jpg


see how flexible
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Smooth on the back side


I cant wait to see this truck with the paint!!!
 






That looks like the stuff I got. Is it 1/8” thick? It might be the same stuff and you are just better at working with it then I- wouldn’t be the first time I came to that realization!! i couldn’t see you using a pair of scissors or sheets to cut it though.

I ordered some 1/16” material too- so I am getting that today, but the 1/8” of perfect when I put the heat gun to work. It molds nice then cools and retains the shape.

I am sure glad I got it figured out. Thank you for the help Jaime. I am stoked the body will stay nice now at least from road grime.
 



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I am sick of waiting for stupid photo bucket. They seem more clear though. I did buy the elite thing again. Its been a long time since I was an elite guy. I feel special. I have to figure out how to upload pics.
 






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