BBR's '88 Ranger. A semi-serious race truck build.

[DanStokes]

Fuel sump! And no earth shattering kaboom!

Try again. I'm sure with a little effort you can get a proper kaboom.

[BBR]

Oh boy. I really really like these. It's funny how a 275 looks gigantic on a 10" wheel.

[BBR]

Rear wheels, brake lines and calipers.

[silver_bullet]

Me liking this

[Monster]

Those Centerlines look great!

[DanStokes]

Oh boy. I really really like these. It's funny how a 275 looks gigantic on a 10" wheel.

It looks "tired". Sorry......

[BBR]

Slipped one on the front, installed the new spring, put the caliper on upside down. Haha.

Pretty close to the fender, but it's a tiny bit lower than I intend right now. Dang I like these. Haha.

[Captain]

Over half of competition is Sycing Out the Opponents, Impressing the Crowd, and Looking KOOL !

It's Getting There !!

[BBR]

Thank ya! I am very happy with how it's coming together.

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Front track width is still being a bit troublesome. I have 1" narrower lower control arms in it, but I feel like they still need to be shorter. Or I could pull the lower control arm pivots on the subframe in 3/4 to 1". The only trouble with that would be the possibility of running out of camber adjustment up top. I need to take some good measurements and figure out if that is feasible.

EDIT

Ok, I actually just went out and took some measurements. With that camber adjustment maxed out, I am currently at 2 degrees of neg camber. Some quick CAD modelling and math show that I can move the lower control arm pivots in 0.82" and be at 0 degrees of camber. This might be the route I choose. I would rather alter the frame a little and use off-the-shelf arms than doing the opposite. Luckily, the pivot tabs on the frame are quite widely spaced, so that gives me room to come up with a workable solution.

Of course, this is not unexpected with a pre-production frame and this is something I have been thinking about in the back of my mind for a while . I am literally the first guy to jam one in a Ranger so hurdles are expected.

[BBR]

Well I did it. I made tabs to move the control arm pivots in 1"and I also dropped them about a half inch. I dropped them so I could shorten the bump steer spacers about a like distance. The original holes are still available should this not work as well as intended.

I did put the wheels back on and set it back on the floor and everything looks good. Very happy with how it sits now. Fender clearance is definitely better.

[BBR]

Sometimes it's just better to buy little parts rather than make them yourself. I needed 5 brake tabs to mount the rubber lines to the frame. I thought it would be no problem to make them. In the end it would have been well worth the time/effort to have just bought premade weld-on tabs. My 5/8" to 11/16" bits are garbage and I just managed to work harden the holes to the point I really couldn't drill them any larger. Lesson learned. Haha.

[BBR]

Brake lines and a new flaring tool!

[BBR]

Back end is pretty much done. Finished the brake lines and poked the stock tank back in. Looped the stock pickup and return and then unloaded the bed (full of interior parts) in preparation of setting it back on.

[BBR]

How much does a stock 1988 short bed and tailgate weigh?
This much.

Lighter than I guessed. I figured it was closer to 300+.

[Captain]

Now you have Capacity to Haul a Fat Chick Home