SAS "Betsy" 1-ton | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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SAS "Betsy" 1-ton

Well, im usually not one for teasing, but i figured ill go ahead and do a build thread for "Betsy" i was going to wait till i was done, but i have nothing better to do right now so lets go back a few months.. in late febuary i started a new build on my truck. plan was to get her to SMORR 2012! that recently fell through because i found out i cant get the custom driveshafts in time.. little did i know at that time that right now its completely off the table.. im 23 and work full-time, own a small business, and right now with my pop back in the hospital for months again( heart problems)... betsy is going slow and there is no money to get the brake lines, hydraulic lines, and driveshafts made considering im working almost 100 hours a week and trying to pay for 2 houses and run my business, and my dads business, all while being at the hospital as much as possible...
so here goes. shes very close to completion but at this point i dont know when that is...
the plan: Build a wicked ass Ranger, Duh!
the parts: about 12k worth
labor: i own a metal fab business... its all FREE!

Started with these from a 2007 F-350 (dana 60 & sterling 10.5)
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Then i tore her apart!
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Next i bought about 300 feet of metal and started the body mods
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Threw on some Projector Halo 4300K H.I.D headlights with black housings
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Modified and built a gauge pod for an oil pressure and water temp gauge set
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Then i trussed the rear axle and started building a double triangulated 4 link
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so i decided to experiment with some 79' f150 coil springs with an internal shock mount design
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then i modified a 22 gallon fuel cell with a piece of 2" delran milled down to fit the factory fuel sending unit
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and for the teaser!!!!
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so thats where im at, still need to do front suspension, stuff the axles, finish out the flatbed with diamond plate, add all the accessories and batteries, and get the little things made...
dont know how long it will be but ill try to keep updating progress.
for unseen details, ill be runing: 5:38 gears, front locker, rear detroit locker, 40x13.5x17 rubbers(the damn 44" was backordered) with fuel hostage wheels, 3 batteries, air system, shovel,axe, fire extinguishers, 30 off road lights, land anchor, dual winches, cb, and way to much otheres to list...
hope yall like.
max
 



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forgot to add, if you want more details about any of the build or more pictures, just let me know.. i have hundreds of pics, i just picked out some of the main ones, i also have all of my other custom interior and stereo pics of my truck.
im just hanging out in the hospital goofin on the laptop.
thanks max
 






Looks good.
 






dont know when ill get to work on her again... havent even had the time to walk out to the shop this week...:( and i havent forgot about u buddy, im trying... hell, this build wouldnt have started if i didnt get your axles:thumbsup:
 






i figured i would throw an interior pic in.. i did the interior a few years back and its all holding up well. the center console i hate to say... is an aftermarket for a "HEEP", i removed the cupholders and built me a switch panel. on everything else, i painted all the panels and put in some racing seats and cam-lock harnesses
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max
 






it's gunna be sweet!! Are you gunna change out the unit bearing front hubs to something like a dynatrac hub, with regular wheel bearings? Thats my only beef with the newer axles.
 






well i worked for ford for 6 years doing diesel work, and i worked in a "high-end" town dealership, ive seen tons and tons of new superduties running 40's with no issues but anything larger with that heavy truck causes problems.. so i dont think it will be a huge issue with the ranger wieght on 40's.. when these tires run down ill order the 44's that were backordered this time and at that point i will do some major axle mod's(shafts, packable hub kit, and all the rest of the beef ups)
for now its just the gears and lockers and HD balljoints( and both axles are trussed so i dont bend them on jumps hopefully!:confused:
 






Ya, I think they will hold up fine with 40s. I myself do alot of water diving and mudding so need to be able to repack the wheel bearings, I may be incorrect but I was thinking you cannot repack the unit bearings?
 






you cant re-pack them, their sealed, only thing you can do pull the hub assembly and re lube and seal it to the knuckle.. i as well do lots of water driving and hit the local mud pit.. as far as durability, i had a fleet account at ford that was for a land development company in the marshland, they would sink their trucks to the windows in water and mud and let them sit for a few days before recovering them.
i never saw sealed hub issues from them, but the one thing that scares me is the inner and outer axle shaft seals, almost every one of their trucks that they sank had major water and mud intrusion into the differential through the shaft seals
 






HMM, get it built and test and let us know results... :)
 






ive been at the hospital with my dad for the last week when im not at work...
ill try when i can.. no promises right now, more important things to worry about. but i know my pop.. before long hell tell me to go the hell home and do something i like
 






well, pop kicked me out of the hospital friday night, i didnt really feel like doing much but i got all of the body modifications and suspension parts fully welded to the truck. then i painted everything..
other than that, i got the front axle truss parts all machined and the rest of the front 4-link bracketry machined.
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looks like your off to a very nice start.
 






well, i got a little shop time last night. i got the front 4 link bracketry finished up and the front axle truss all welded in place and ready to go. the top link mounts are tacked in place and the lower link mounts are all tacked up. i got the lower links fully built and ready to go, all there is now on the front is to get the upper link bars built and the coil buckets built and installed. then a little bit of welding and the front will be done and ready to start the new steering setup.(thankfully i dont have to jack with the steering gear because of my previous SAS and the F-350 steering gear i had used had already been modified for running hydro assist)
max
 






got a little done late last night..
i wired in a 12v pull fan inside the factory shroud.
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i got my submersable trailer lights wired up
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i installed and wired my oil pressure and water temp gauges into my custom gauge pod
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and i also got my rear winch control box wired and re-installed the evap bullshit on a custom bracket under the new bed
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max
 






Dude this thing is freaking sweet looking! love the tube work and bumpers. cant wait to see the finished product!
 






Where are the updates?
 






no progress being made as of know, im still spending most of my free time in the hospital with my pop
 






No offense, looks like you've put a lot of hard work into this thing, but what's with this "X" behind the cab?

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Because that is the only side-to-side triangulation to protect the cab in a rollover, you should definitely look into fixing that.

Hopefully you're dad will be doing better soon.
 



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thats just a spiff up... the truck will have a complete interior roll cage that is tied through the body to the exo cage in multiple locations, at this point the exo isnt for any type of roll stability, its more for rubbing tree's and crap out in the woods to help protect the factory panels.
max
 






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