Project AlterEgo, Driveabeater take notice

[Doober]

I guess you're right... I saw 450 somewhere, that was probably a short- or long-block. I found this after a little searching.
http://www.team.net/sol/tech/engine.html

[joemac]

Good info, it shows the 2.3l which I have as around 420 and the smaller v6's in the 305-380lb range depending on displacement. Thought it would have been the other way around. Maybe that's part of what makes the 2.3l hard little motors, dunno?

From looking around it looks like the 2.7l MB engine, called the OM612 should weigh around 470. So these turbo diesels I'm looking at are going to be equivalent to a small block swap.

Edit; I posted a thread on TDI Club forums looking for the TDI engine weight. First response was 450, now someone said it's much closer to 350lbs. If that's the case that makes the tdi much more appealing. I will keep looking for better info on the om612.

[70Nova4dr]

What about the 2.3 turbo, out of an 87-88 thunderbird turbo coupe? I have 1, i was gonna put in my 92 Mustang but i sold the car. They are awesome little engines , and it's an easy swap for a Ranger that already has a 2.3.

[joemac]

What about the 2.3 turbo, out of an 87-88 thunderbird turbo coupe? I have 1, i was gonna put in my 92 Mustang but i sold the car. They are awesome little engines , and it's an easy swap for a Ranger that already has a 2.3.

Yea, I am considering it. The engine swap is still a ways off so I have some time. They have good mpg, make good power on a budget and bolt in but I'm still undecided. I'm going to get the maintenance work done that it needs, do some suspension/braking mods, do some bodywork and then get into engine swapping.

[dusterbd13]

sounds like a familiar plan. i researched engine for a couple of years while i did everything else. kept my eyes open for good deals, etc.

if i hadnt gotten the screaming deal on the 3.4, i was looking for a good northstar.

dont overlook the more common swaps. yes, theyre more common. which means theres support for all the siiues youll likely run into.

[joemac]

sounds like a familiar plan. i researched engine for a couple of years while i did everything else. kept my eyes open for good deals, etc.

if i hadnt gotten the screaming deal on the 3.4, i was looking for a good northstar.

dont overlook the more common swaps. yes, theyre more common. which means theres support for all the siiues youll likely run into.

Oh, yeah the Northstars that would have been a cool swap. I've heard they are popular in the dune buggy world plus an added turbo or two.

I'm hoping to get some maintenance issues take care of this week or next so I can do some suspension mods after that. My door handle is worn out to the point I am worried it will break off, the aforementioned brake line that is rattling and drivers door hinge pin that is worn out. All cheap little things I can do to make it more drivable. Hoping to get my rear disc conversion done soon too. I think I'm going to try to clean up all the brackets and such before I bolt it on.

[joemac]

Update time. I found a set of '09 Mustang GT bullit style wheels with p zero nero's with 18k miles for $400, not as cheap as I would have liked but a decent deal none the less. My first choice would have been 01-04 bullits but couldn't find a set for less than $400. I am going to have to run spacers to make them look right and not rub up front. They are rubbing the lower shock mount. I know the spacers will screw my scrub radius but I'll take the trade off I think. Also the tires are around 27 1/2 tall which is about 2" taller than I need to be. When it's new tire time I may be able to use a smaller spacer.

I also found a set of 17" 2003 explorer wheels which are a popular upgrade with the Ranger guys. They also require a spacer. I already had my mustang wheels but it was such a screaming good deal I couldn't pass them up. I got the set of 4 rims for a whopping $40 so I expect to over quadruple my money on them. Hoping to get $200 for the set. This should offset my cost on the mustang wheels I am using.

My rear end parts from the mustang rear have proven a little harder to offload than I had expected but I hope I have found a buyer of the axles. It will give me some funds to make upgrades. I bought some little odds and ends that will fix a few issues that have been loose ends for a while.

Wheel pictures to follow tomorrow morning.

[MonzaRacer]

Heck once you do the upgraded engine you will need the 31 spine center, hang on to it and give moser a call, they have 31 spine street tuff axles for like $255 last time I ordered, the guy kept twisting the over the counter replacements.
Also dont forget to look for old Super Coupe V6s ,factory supercharged 3.8, then see what it takes to mod to newer 4.0/4.2 v6 if possible, would be interesting.
Also with proper exhaust manifolds a plain old small block Chevy will sit in very low and far back. My 86 got a 350 and I used rams horn turn back manifolds and simply cut a notch in ds cross member.
Sat the oil pan on an old gm points rotor and set it as far back as the hei would let me.
Now if I did another one Iam building a V8 Northstar inspired DIS bolt on conversion so as to go head to head with other setups.
Side note the steering column opening just look for same year exploder column in junk yard with manual trans or order from dealer for cheap.
My little Monza is getting a 283, 040 over, all forge rotating assembly, 2.02/1.60 double humps all done up and Ill give them mild port work so as to keep good flow numbers over hogging, then its getting a pair of Ebay Chinese turbos! I figure with the TCI TH350/Saturday night Special converter and 3:43 gears it should haul ass and after I get the brakes upgraded to Corvette spec and install the air ride it should turn and burn.
Northstar is good engine, if pistons dont show soon I still want one or the 4.0 Aurora engine, same thing just smaller, fun part is moding trans as the starters are under intake.
Oh yeah my little Monza is going to use LT1 intake!
Nice to see a Ranger make its debut just wish my itch for a first gen Ranger would leave last one nearly killed me!

[dusterbd13]

looking forward to seeingt the wheels.

ever get the suspension mods done?

[joemac]

Wheel pics, I think it makes the truck look like it's on stilts so lowering is in the near future. I haven't done any suspension mods yet but soon.











This is how far they sit in, I think they would be better about 1"-1 1/4" out. It will also let me install my front cap and should solve my rubbing problem.



The explorer wheels I picked up for a song;

[srh3trinity]

Looks good. The Explorer wheel looks pretty cool too. That wouldn't have been on my radar.

[joemac]

Got the thing lowered. The flip kit in the rear turned out to be a bear and was not fun. Really made me think twice about continuing the build it was so bad. I have about 10 hours in the flip kit alone. All four leaf spring bolts were rusted together. The rear two came out after about an hour each of working on them. the front two I managed to ring off about an inch in the sleeve with a 4 foot pipe/breaker bar. The right side I manage to pound out with a full size sledge. The left side I ended up having to cut the nut off and pull the spring, tried to get what was left of the bolt out on the bench but ended up drilling the rubber in the bushing out and getting a new bushing. I was worried that the bushing would be hell trying to get in but I put it in the freezer overnight and it slid right in. I just took a coil and a half off the front springs. It should equate to a 2" drop, the max you can get an alignment on with the ibeam suspension. Dropped beams are next as it sits an inch low in the ass of the truck. Pictures of the stance now below. I think it looks much better and am pleased now with the tire height even though it throws my speedo off by a couple mph. I'm still not crazy about the wheel design but it will do until I can get a nice set of billets in the future.







I ended up selling my mustang axles for $100 but shipping ate up almost $30 so after the dust settled I made just under $70 on them. I still need to get some wheel spacers to correct the offset on the mustang wheels. I need to get my rear disc conversion done and then I'm not sure which way to go. Are there any other easy handling mods? Are 12" brakes front and rear going to make that big of a difference? Or should I now focus on more power?

[joemac]

Wow you can see some body damage in the bed I didn't know was there. I hope to get a whole new box off a newer early 2000's truck to swap on.

[dusterbd13]

next stop would be fresh poly bushings, bigger sway bar, and a more aggressive alignment.

you can also relocate/remove weight for better handling. putting the battery under the bed helps a lot.

and rust sucks. i know your pain on the bolts.

looks really good though. what did you think of the new handling with the lower center of gravity?

also, look into adding a leaf to the leaf pack to help stiffen it up. helps a lot.

[joemac]

The lower cog let me get an extra 5mph or so around this sharp turn not far from my house. That's my measuring stick so to speak. What about a fiberglass leaf spring? Do you really think bigger sway bars will make that big of a difference? I think I can only go 1/8-1/4 bigger max unless I go to custom.

Do shocks make that big of a difference?

[Z06killinSBF]

If you don't run spacers on the front, swapping to SN95 rotors will cut down that grease cup and allow you to run center caps. Looks good man. Do you know if the 2wd Explorers have bigger sway bars?

[joemac]

Are you sure sn95 rotors will fit? They use a separate hub where the ranger uses a hub/rotor combined the lug studs are pressed into the rotor. I'm pretty sure they are a no go.

The 2wd explorer is different in the rear the front should work. There is a 1" bronco II rear bar that is tricky to find these days. the biggest aftermarket bar is 7/8". I have a 3/4" rear bar. I believe my front bar is 7/8" and I think there is a 1 1/8" aftermarket front bar.

[joemac]

[joemac]

Lets see, been a while since I updated. I have gotten 1 1/2" wheel spacers to correct the offset of the GT wheels. I think the increase in track width helped stability. I finally got my rear disc swap done, don't have to worry about the drums locking up anymore. Also installed a trac lok at the same time. That improved driveability quite a bit. Wet weather is no longer an issue. The anti lock exciter ring gave me hell and ate up most of my day, but finally got it back on there. I also found that my sway bar was hitting the rear housing. Took my grinder and cut off wheel and lopped the ear it was hitting off. Also changed diff fluid. Picked up some cal vu mirrors in the last couple months. Next upgrade is front brakes. As you can see I work on junk in the dirt. So to recap I spent $125 on the mustang rear. I sold the axles for a profit of $70 and the housing for $25. I still have a 8.8 trac lok diff I should be able to get $100 for. I spent $65 on the used diff i put in. So I pretty much break even. I do have about $30 or so in brake and diff fluid.

[dusterbd13]

good to this ones still arond. progress looks golod