Project AlterEgo, Driveabeater take notice

[joemac]

This is my little '93 Ranger project. I bought it in November '09 and let it sit until February until I was ready to put it on the road. It's got the infamous 2.3l four banger 5 speed manual. Truck has 222K miles on it and I paid $500 cash.

This is what it needed to just go through inspection;



Cat back exhaust
Rear shocks
Rear brake line across axle
Front brake rotors and pads
Upper and lower ball joints both sides
Front wheel bearings
Coolant change
Heater core
Water pump/thermostat
Motor oil and filter
Air filter
Trans fluid change
Shifter knob
Front and rear windshields
Rear view mirror
Wiper blades
Fuel level sending unit and fuel lines coming out of tank
Rear cab mounts and bushings
Dome light
Tag light
battery hold down
Battery cables

I've been driving it around in desperate need of tires and I don't even have a radio for it yet. It also needs a little body work, shackles and hangers before they dsintegrate and the core support needs to be replaced badly. I'm in it about $1600 including putting it on the road and the purchase price. I will try to provide a precise budget just like driveabeater has.

After subscribing to the Driveabeater thread and seeing how much fun Michael was having building his little GMC mini truck I got the idea that I would build mine in the same manner except opposite of him, his is GMC, mine is Ford. His is black I plan a color change to white eventually. He is swapping in a v6 I plan on a turbo diesel. Hence the name AlterEgo. You can check his thread out here if you're not familiar with it Project Driveabeater

I also call it the junkyard dog because I try to buy as many used parts as possible and get as many parts from the junkyard as I can find. It was also in poor enough condition when I bought it most reasonable people would have called the junk man to come get it. But I'm having a good time wrenching on it. I'm consistently knocking down 22 mpg. A couple preliminary pics;




Future plans include 12" explorer sport trac front rotors with '95-'97 spindles and twin piston calipers with spacer bracket, 12" sn95 cobra brakes in back, lowered 3/5 and a I5, 2.7l Mercedes turbo diesel out of a Sprinter van. It has a factory turbo, 4v per cylinder, common rail and an aluminum head. Stock power is around 160 and 270tq with 180/290 a tune away, mated to either a t56 or a tr6060 I believe that's what the new 6 speeds are anyway. I'll be doing some body mods, updating the front end to '98-00, doing a nice spray in liner and a decent head unit with gps and dvd. I'll be adding a/c too, these MD summers are hot and humid. This truck will be a driver first and foremost but will be able to do a little corner carving. Immediate plans will be a shackle hanger flip which will get me a free 2" lower in back and a decent set of wheels most likely Mustang Bullits or 10th anny cobras.

[joemac]

So since this is a budget build I found a used Bronco II rear sway bar for $75 which is either 5/8 or 3/4". I bolted it on it an hour and it made such a huge difference I couldn't believe it. The ass end of the truck doesn't feel like it kicks out when I hit a bad pothole and the truck stays so flat in the corners I could put a level across the dash. I swear it even tracks straighter going down the road.

[joemac]

My Landlord had another tenant move out and left behind a '94 explorer that he said I could have anything I wanted off of it, that he was calling the junk man as soon as I was done and wanted it out of there so I got the;

Entire a/c system
P/w, p/dl, p/m door wiring harnesses
Gauges with tach
8.8" trac lok diff
Tilt steering column
Radio which turned out to be bad
Visors
Brake fluid level sensor harness plug which is making my ABS light stay on and actually made my rear brakes work much better that it's fixed. Mine was corroded to the point of disintegration.



Can you say stripped?




Most of my junk parts;



Installing the gauges with tach, since the gauges are modular I just took out the expo spedo/odo and put mine in and kept my correct mileage




Installing the a/c ready hvac control



All Done and the tach works great



Installation of the nice light/mirror visors with the extra portion to wall you in. Don't mind my faded, holy headliner. I have plans to redo it.

[joemac]

I picked up a '95 mustang rear with high 2.73 gears and a trac lok. I paid $125 for it and am hoping to sell the track lok for about a $100 and the 5 lug axles which the fox 4 lug mustang guys use to upgrade to 5 lugs for about another $100 or so. I am using the disc brakes off of it to put on the rear of my truck. I hate the squeaky, sticky junk rear drums which need repair anyway, so an upgrade is the only way to go. With a simple mod they bolt on. I will get pictures of this when I complete it in the next few days or week.

I plan to find an 8.8" rear out of a ranger to replace my 7.5" and should be able to sell my 7.5" axles to the same fox 4 lug mustang guys so I should come well ahead on the axle and rear disc projects.

The mustang rear




My two 8.8" trac loks, they look dimensionally the same but one has a bigger pin, does anybody know if there is a difference? I was under the impression they were all the same. I'm going to rebuild one and use it myself and sell the other one for about $100.



Mustang axles, also worth about $100



The disc brakes for my ranger





The mustang backing plates go on the front side of the axle housing ends like this, the ranger you have to cut out a section to get it over the axle and they bolt to the back of the housing ends. A small mod to attach the em brake and they are complete bolt on. Pictures to follow on the installation, maybe next week. Have to get some axle seals and some Amsoil gear oil of course.




My tilt column, probably going in next week or sometime this weekend now that I know how to get the ignition lock cylinder out. How easy things are when you know the right way to do them.

[Doober]

Looks like a fun little project :D

[dusterbd13]

damn this build looks vaugely familiar. i just cant place it.......


looks like a pretty good start, especially for being a maryland truck. im suprised to see bedsides on it.

also, a friend of mine had a 4.0l 5speed ranger of this body style. had cobra 5 spokes, flowmaster catback, and a 4/5 drop. thing really handled pretty good. it was a fun truck till it got wanked by a drunk in the pass side cab corner and bed.

i like the fact that you got free parts. gotta love raiding the good stuff from the suv's for our lowly little trucks.

you gonna keep a running tally like that other build i cant think of?

also, gonna come down to the RTTH and play with me? show what our little sport trucks can do?


anyway, keep up the good work.
michael

[Doober]

On the subject of 4 cylinder Rangers, I saw one guy on the opposite side of the intersection a few days ago in a mid-'90s Ranger. After he got across the intersection he shifted, and I heard a blow off valve... thought it was pretty cool that he was running a turbo 8)

[joemac]

damn this build looks vaugely familiar. i just cant place it.......


looks like a pretty good start, especially for being a maryland truck. im suprised to see bedsides on it.

also, a friend of mine had a 4.0l 5speed ranger of this body style. had cobra 5 spokes, flowmaster catback, and a 4/5 drop. thing really handled pretty good. it was a fun truck till it got wanked by a drunk in the pass side cab corner and bed.

i like the fact that you got free parts. gotta love raiding the good stuff from the suv's for our lowly little trucks.

you gonna keep a running tally like that other build i cant think of?

also, gonna come down to the RTTH and play with me? show what our little sport trucks can do?


anyway, keep up the good work.
michael

Yea, I really lucked out getting some parts off the explorer. It's a shame I couldn't part it out, I could have made probably over a grand by selling off the parts but he didn't want it sitting any longer than I needed it.

I really really want to make it to RTTH, I might be able to do it if I pitch a tent and camp while I'm there lol. When is it the second or third week in Sept.? Problem is the 2.3l is so gutless. The only thing I will have going is decent brakes, a little lower and sway bars. Although if I can find a decent set of wheels and tires for cheap that will be a huge improvement.

I am really considering adding a turbo to the 2.3l but I really like the diesels so still really undecided on that as of yet. I'm going to finish the suspension mods, do some body upgrades like a roll pan, better mirrors, grille, headlights, make it more comfortable and then get into powerplants. Although I was thinking I may swap in the t56 early and see how it acts behind the 2.3l until I figure out what I'm going to do.

[dusterbd13]

we can camp together.

on the bright side, were driving trucks. twin sized air matresses fit perfectly between out wheelwells. makes for a good "bed" for the night.

would we be considered the tailgate contingent?

[Brandon Miller]

Good project. My '91 Ranger I had used 13" Cobra brakes up front.

[joemac]

Good project. My '91 Ranger I had used 13" Cobra brakes up front.

I will eventually get therm but the 12" sport trac rotors will be a few hundred dollars cheaper and I doubt I will see a huge difference. It's only an inch difference between the two and to my knowledge the ranger dual piston calipers have pistons a few mm bigger than the cobra's.

I suppose we would be the "taligate contingent". If I can find a cap I would so do that. Have to find a good place to take a hot shower though. I'll do a little research on the area and see what my schedule looks like. I believe I have a show that weekend where I will have an Amsoil booth, actually a County Fair but I may be able to have another Dealer work it.

I also found the difference in the explorer trac lok, the explorers had 31 spline axles where the mustangs/rangers only had 28 spline. So I'm keeping the mustang one and hopefully I can find a buyer for the expo one. I think that reduces my market for it though, damn. Can't really complain it was free other than an hours labor so anything I get is profit.

[joemac]

So daily driving this heap with it's issues forces me to make some repairs as I mod it.

Find a center console lid, the edge even though smooth is surprisingly sharp and my arm can't take it anymore.

Fix the clip holding the brake line as it passes through the frame for the front right wheel. It rattles and drives me crazy.

Get a radio, it's gotten so bad not only am I talking to myself as I'm going down the road I'm starting to answer myself and laugh at my own jokes-out loud-scary lol

My short mod list, also very close to free mods

Rear shackle/hanger flip and leaf removal=4" low in the rear
Take off 1.5 coils of front springs=2" low in front
Install tilt wheel
Install mustang rear disc brakes

I am considering two options for my turbo diesel swap; the 1.9l VW TDI, undecided on the year or a 2.7l Mercedes from a Sprinter van. Each has it's pros and cons

The 1.9l will be an easier swap over all, the electronics will be head and shoulders easier and it is lighter. It's power potential is lower though. With a tune, injectors and turbo upgrade 175hp is possible with a proven 42 approx mpg.

The 2.7l is an I5 and more unproven both in swapping and performance and is slightly heavier. It also has an aluminum head and 20 valves. I don't believe the VW has 4v per cylinder. The electronics will be much more difficult but it is common rail and the stock power is 154hp 243tq. A tune will get 180hp 280tq. So obviously a turbo upgrade and injectors should put it up around 250hp and 310tq.

Help me decide, what do you think about it? Or recommend another turbo diesel as long as it's not a Cummins 6bt, Powerstroke variant or Duramax.

[Doober]

...not only am I talking to myself as I'm going down the road I'm starting to answer myself and laugh at my own jokes-out loud...

Thanks for the sig line! ;)

[joemac]

Thanks for the sig line! ;)

Glad to help, lol

[dusterbd13]

go the easier softer way, joe. trust me.

[joemac]

go the easier softer way, joe. trust me.

As far as the engine swap goes you mean? I'm still playing with the idea of both of them. They are pretty similar really. If I can get some info on this stand alone ecu for common rail diesels this might be the hot ticket for the Mercedes engine which is the way I'm really leaning. http://www.specialist-components.co....antPageDisplay If this system will work it will make it more or less what I call a nuts and bolts swap. Figure out how to get it bolted down and hoses hooked up and it's done.

I'm done with my tilt wheel swap as well, didn't go as easy as I planned and skinned one of my knuckles and installed the wheel 180* upside down but it's in. I have to finish tomorrow.

All torn down



All done, pretty happy with how it turned out. It sits about an inch closer to me and much more comfortable. I still have to do something with the auto shifter slot and I found out the auto cancel for the blinkers isn't working right.

[dusterbd13]

yeah, i meant on the engine.

if you can get plug and play engine management, the fab wirk is easy.

the engine management side of things can get complex and expensive quick.

also, make sure that youre not putting a lot of nose weight on. from what i know, diesels can be really heavy. youre already fighting the weight distribution of a truck, so why make it worse?

[joemac]

yeah, i meant on the engine.

if you can get plug and play engine management, the fab wirk is easy.

the engine management side of things can get complex and expensive quick.

also, make sure that youre not putting a lot of nose weight on. from what i know, diesels can be really heavy. youre already fighting the weight distribution of a truck, so why make it worse?

Yea, I am trying to be mindful of the nose weight. I plan to set the engine back and down as far as possible. I figure since I'm doing custom mounting anyway why not try to maximize the setup. The two engines I'm considering are relatively small and both have aluminum heads. I'm trying to find some weights now, but I am relatively certain they are equal to or less than the v6's in these trucks stock and definitely less than a small block swap.

Weight of VW tdi 1.9l is around 450lbs

[Doober]

Jeez Louise... that's the dry shipping weight of a regular SBC O_O

[joemac]

Jeez Louise... that's the dry shipping weight of a regular SBC O_O

Fully dressed? With alum heads or iron? I thought they were a couple hundred lbs more than that? I'll keep looking, I'm not particularly tied to anything yet.

There are guys putting 4bt cummins diesels in rangers (3.9l I4) probably 700lbs or so and telling me that's the way to go. Just put some stiff springs and shocks on it and I won't be able to tell the difference...

Edit; I'm seeing sbc weight as around 550lbs. I use this mostly for reference as I'm not using one. SBF looks like 450-525, obviously approximations. So your weight looks about right then.

Thing is though I can achieve over 30mpg possible breaking 40mpg with a turbo diesel and I'm a diesel head, so... With a v8 I'll be lucky if I'm over 20 but over 500hp or so the v8 might be cheaper but probably not and way less streetable unless it's boosted. I'm not sure I'm going that high anyway. I believe the diesel would be cheaper at the power levels I'm looking at-probably around 300hp and who knows it's only more fuel and boost away from whatever the next level is anyway. I'm also looking to use biodiesel in it.