Does anyone know of a older solid axle ford frame i could put my 85 ranger on so i achieve great height? i heard of someone using a f-150 bronco frame,but i dont what year or model. thanks in advance.

bump...anyone?
cant find anything to help me. someone said a 70's bronco or f-100 or 150 not sure. atleast a website that show frame and body measurements and bolt holes? please

i'm gonna guess and say if you can get your hands on an EB bronco frame that'd prolly be the closest you're gonna get. why do you wanna do a body swap?

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93 ranger ext. cab 4.0L auto 6" SJ/custom lift--37" super swamper truxs M/T tires--lock rite locker w/ 4.56 gears up front--warn hubs--exploder 8.8 w/ disc brakes 4.56 gears and detriot locker--one-piece driveline--bushwacker cut-out flares--Bilstein 5150 shocks--2 10" xcite subs w/ 1600W Crunch amp-- tinted windows

waiting for: dual steering stabilizer, put on 3" body lift(in my room), dual shock setup, electric fan, possible SAS with a waggy D44

Seen pics of a short box regular cab Ranger on an '80's full size bronco frame. Just google Ranger on a bronco frame. My fav mod is the pinto body on a bronco II frame, they just slap the unibody on the b2 frame hook up some monster tires and off you go!

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'88 STX Super Cab 4x4
2.9 5spd 180,000 miles
Crappy Paint, Worn Parts,
Fix'em as they Break
when Nowhere is Now Here

yeah i want to put my '85 ranger frame on a solid axle body so i can lift it.

you could do a SAS on your ranger? that'd prolly be easier than swapping the entire body... just my opinion.

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93 ranger ext. cab 4.0L auto 6" SJ/custom lift--37" super swamper truxs M/T tires--lock rite locker w/ 4.56 gears up front--warn hubs--exploder 8.8 w/ disc brakes 4.56 gears and detriot locker--one-piece driveline--bushwacker cut-out flares--Bilstein 5150 shocks--2 10" xcite subs w/ 1600W Crunch amp-- tinted windows

waiting for: dual steering stabilizer, put on 3" body lift(in my room), dual shock setup, electric fan, possible SAS with a waggy D44

73-79 F100s and F150s and 78 and 79 Broncos used a D44 w/ Radius arms and 9" w/ leaves.

Not quite sure but the F250s of the same year used a 3/4 ton (8 lug) D44 with a D60 rear, leaves all the way around. Some of these up to a certain year had drum fronts.

The EBs used 44s and 9s but have fun finding a EB frame with running gear.


In 1980 Ford stuffed the GD TTB under Broncos, 150s, 250s.


Your best bet for a frame swap (with out taking a step backwards) is going to be a 78-79 Full size bronco.

351m and 400m and 460s were stuffed in them. You get the solid axles. You get a 1/2 ton frame, but it's more beef then your ranger's frame. It's all there, it's just a matter of body mounts, steering column shiz, shift linkage, wiring shiz up. Great aftermarket support.


Did a Jeep YJ on a 3/4 ton chebby chassis, and then decided to go backwards and stuff the 350 into the YJ back on the YJ chassis with the Chevy 10 bolt and 14bolt sf. It can be a pain in the ass if you don't prepair.

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT: SAS, Sliders, Bumpers, Gears, Lockers, Shafts, 33gal gas tank, Shortened from 130 to 112" WB, Home brew bed and spare carriers,

Receiving: tons and a 351w stroked to a 427.

1972 Ford F250 "Explorer", 390fe Big block, lime green

Receving: 14bolt rear w/ disks, cam, 650cfm 4 barrel, intake, exhaust,

can the radius arms be switched out for for leaves or no? the ride quality does not matter to me. could i achieve good lift with radius arms?

Some of the D44s have the rad arm wedges cast into them. Some of the wedges are welded on and can be cut off.

I'm tempted to say the 78 and 79 half ton D44s are the cast wedges.

I'm running leafs on my 2000 in the front on a cast wedge D44.

The springs are set up right under the frame rails. Doing this allows you to still weld the perches to the tubes, and get u-bolts on. You'll have to knotch some of the webbing on the pumpkin to get a u bolt on.

Outboarding the leafs puts the perch right on the wedges (that can't be removed with out re-tubing the axle) and is a no go.

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT: SAS, Sliders, Bumpers, Gears, Lockers, Shafts, 33gal gas tank, Shortened from 130 to 112" WB, Home brew bed and spare carriers,

Receiving: tons and a 351w stroked to a 427.

1972 Ford F250 "Explorer", 390fe Big block, lime green

Receving: 14bolt rear w/ disks, cam, 650cfm 4 barrel, intake, exhaust,

sorry im a nube.. so could i just get a different d44 or no? or is there a truck with a solid axles and leafs all around that the ranger could fit on? the thing about the sas on the ranger is i want the v8 and a different axle in the rear to handle it so if i just got a truck with all that then it cost less in the beginning. and then improving slowly from there.

Ford or Chevy or Dodge?

Honestly I'd stay away from a frame swap. It's not as easy as some body mounts and bs. A fair bit of fabrication needs to be done, there's wheel base issues or moving the suspension to match (which would be easier to just do on a ranger)

If you want a rear axle strong enough to hold up to a V8, an explorer 8.8" is your best bet. Almost bolt in, minus the spring perches. I've got a molly shaft 31spline 9" in the rear of my ranger with 35x15.5 TSLs. (Heavy damn tire, lots of rotating mass) The 9 has held up fine for the last two seasons I've rhomped on it.



If you want a v8, just drop it in the Ranger and box the frame.

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT: SAS, Sliders, Bumpers, Gears, Lockers, Shafts, 33gal gas tank, Shortened from 130 to 112" WB, Home brew bed and spare carriers,

Receiving: tons and a 351w stroked to a 427.

1972 Ford F250 "Explorer", 390fe Big block, lime green

Receving: 14bolt rear w/ disks, cam, 650cfm 4 barrel, intake, exhaust,

what are the specs to the 78-79 bronco? (wheelbase, length, width). i found the rangers specs but couldn't find the bronco's.

preferably a ford frame. and preferably one with leaves all the way around. or whatever works. whats the difference between a ford 9" and an explorer 8.8"? what is box the frame? if i were to drop a v8 in my ranger how would i keep the front end from sagging? sas? if i do an sas how could i achieve great height?

At risk of sounding like a dick, if you've gotta ask don't do it. But everyone starts somewhere so:

Different frames can take different amounts of abuse. Frames are meant to have a little twist to them. When running a high performance motor, like, really high horse power, it's a good idea to "box" the frame.

This is the act of welding plate to the frame increases the torsional rigidity.

Look at your frame in the front of the truck, it's square tube. Look at the frame in the rear, it's C channel.

The ranger frame is close to 33" wide outside to outside.

The full size frames are a few inches wider. I'm tempted to say 36" wide maybe. Not toooo much.


A wagoneer frame might be somethin to look into... D44 and AMC20 or a rear D44, leaves, and a 360ci v8.

Look up wheel bases and see what's close to your current WB.

A vw beetle fits on a B2 frame. And a Mazda 323 has the same WB as a Jeep YJ.

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2000 Ford Ranger XLT: SAS, Sliders, Bumpers, Gears, Lockers, Shafts, 33gal gas tank, Shortened from 130 to 112" WB, Home brew bed and spare carriers,

Receiving: tons and a 351w stroked to a 427.

1972 Ford F250 "Explorer", 390fe Big block, lime green

Receving: 14bolt rear w/ disks, cam, 650cfm 4 barrel, intake, exhaust,

i've been reading about doing a sas and what i gathered for lifting with leafs (correct me if im wrong) just to MOUNT the axle you have the build leaf mounts? im not talking about hooking up steering or anything, brakes and whatnot. and i understand about if you gotta ask dont do, thats why im trying to look stuff up myself and ask on forums. should i look up other truck that have had been sas'd? or no to not confuse myself? thats funny that you mentioned a mazda 323 fitting a jeep yj because i just so happen to have a 323