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2000 Ford Ranger XL 2.5L 5-speed RWD 3.73 open - 170,000+ miles
Buggman LED 3BL/CARGO, Buggman Stang Dome LED conversion, LED Brake Light conversion, Line-X O.T.R., Air silencer removed
2.3L Headgasket/TIMING/Water Pump replacement guide

some finished pictures of the paint! looks great. just waiting for it to dry now, i will be working on the interior tomorrow. installing some new seat belts and some other goodies!

got my acura RSX seat belts in.. just some slight modifications to the ratchet child lock system to make them work. they are perfect length also.



also got my Ford 302 alternator bracket in from speedmaster. it will be a huge upgrade to the stock alternator bracket from the explorer. this will be installed within the next couple weeks. in the mean time i will finish the interior and start on radius arm replacement. then the cab can go back onto the chassis and i can start the final put together. I'm right on track for my end date!

made some progress this weekend with all the misc parts. got my dash painted and all my misc parts ready to install.

made up my driveshaft from an 08 4x4 ranger it is 1/2" longer than the original i had.




here is the dash before and after:





and the other misc parts ready for install.





next step is to bring the chassis back into the garage and install the new radius arms and fuel pump. then alternator and power steering pump and the oil filter relocation kit. lots of things planned so stay tuned!

made some progress tonight on the truck. got it brought back up to the garage and started on preparing the cab mating. still have radius arms to do next.



got the speedmaster alternator bracket fitted. i had to grind a little off the mount to make it bolt in but very easy!



i love the way this paint pops in the light! can't wait until its all polished up and shiny!



keep posted more parts on its way tomorrow and thursday!

heres a large update!

lots of progress done over the last couple of days.



radius arms are all finished, just waiting on new shocks for it. the old ones had a different mount so the bushings won't work and i need one for the different mounts.



also figured out my aluminum driveshaft for length. i had to weld the slip shaft so i will be getting it balanced in the next few weeks



new hydraulic slave cylinder mounted with proper threaded rod. hopefully this one has enough stroke to get the clutch to disengage



new fuel pump came in so i installed it in the frame. it is an airtex E8248 pump for EFI applications



new wipers


got the exhaust pieces back in, just have to finish welding into spot. this will complete the exhaust portion of the truck



and the oil filter relocation bracket was made and then mounted to the frame. it is in a good location out of harms way but easy to do oil changes on!



more updates soon! still have another day to finish whats left on the frame before i drop the cab back onto the chassis.

i do have my EFI unit on order now, i will post updates of that goodie once it arrives! stay tuned

This truck is going to be awesome!

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2004 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 Off-Road 5-speed {Thrush Welded muffler, 3" PA body lift, 4.10 open, RCI skid plate, 265/75/R16 KO2s} BUILD THREAD
Plans: lights, roof rack, diff locker, 06+ bumper, 06+ grille, 06+ mirrors.
2000 Ford Ranger XLT 4x2 5-speed {3.55 L/S, 31/10.50/R15 KOs, 2"lift shackles}
Kobault Films. Virginia Tech.

Thanks! thats what I'm aiming for!

but, heres another update again. an expensive week at that!

i picked up my goodie box from Fed Ex yesterday. my new Holley Sniper EFI throttle body. i spent more on this unit then i did the whole truck a year ago!

I've done a lot of research and this is definitely the unit ti use! especially at $999USD you can't go wrong. its a very simple 4 wire setup and self tunes as you drive. also no need for a laptop and handles boost and nitrous !

take a look:





it comes with a handheld unit for the monitoring, so i had to make a custom place for it to fit in, it will be heads up right on the dash.



i also have been finishing odds and ends to get ready for the cab to go back on (hopefully within the next couple of days) so body mounts needed some help with some washers welded into it.

fuel pumps wired, new shocks are in, motor spins free and is primed with oil, trans is good to go. just need to settle with the rear end once i get the shim kit and the proper fluid to put in ill be all set to start it up! which i will have to make a video for

got my o2 sensor bung welded in for the EFI unit,



then, i lifted the cab up to the height it was before and rolled the engine and frame underneath to get lined up to mate to each other



new body mounts went in,



then the final mating! they are together now. went smooth! just have to toss the box onto the frame again then i have an almost complete truck!





this weekend will be wiring the EFI unit and grabbing some extra bits and pieces to finish

another update.

got most of the engine bay finished, the refi unit is wired in and ready to go. i got to set it up yesterday so its ready for fire. fuel pump works great just have to clean up some wiring and hoses in the engine bay then id consider it almost finished!





heres the refi unit screen. basically a free set of gauges so i had to mount that in the gauge surround and it works well there. sorry for the crappy picture the light sucks

heres a long awaited update.

i had a lot go on and just done have time right now to upload all 55 pictures at the moment, but heres a few

i had and issue with my timing chain and caused a few bad things, but in the end i had to pick a new one up. so i went with a comp camps roller chain timing chain.. better than the cheap one but not the most expensive



i also got around to start installing the steering wheel that i have. should be finished shortly within the next week or so.



and here is how the truck sits. just waiting on small bits and pieces. carpets the main thing. it does run and does run well. needs small bits and pieces. brakes are being bled this week and hydro clutch works great!

Wow. That went together FAST.

Tell me more about how you painted the dash.

What did you use, how did you prep and did you use some kind of coating to keep it from scratching/ chipping?

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1997 Ranger XLT 4.0L 2wd 3.55 open
RCX leveling coils, Pro Comp AAL, 1" BL
31x10.5x15 General Grabber AT2

Thanks! it really did! not much left to do honestly. just some small panels, front assembly and interior. the rest is finished!

for painting the dash, i filled any cracks with vinyl and plastic repair, sanded smooth.. i got an old piece of leather similar pattern as the dash so when the epoxy was still wet ish, i just pressed it to imprint the pattern into the epoxy.

then i sanded the whole thing with a red scotch brite pad and painted with duplicolor vinyl paint. went on well. that was just 2 coats. no clear or anything and after 1 week it is good and solid!

Damn, I went away for a bit and BAM! Thing is almost done and gonna be sick!

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'83 F100 XLT RC/SB, 5.0, AOD, Factory Tach, American Racing wheels, 3.08 gears, Mustang Roller Cam with Cam Advance, Stainless Shorties, Edelbrock 1403 carb, 289 D-Code 4bbl intake. AOD to C6 swap in progress. <--- Build Thread

'86 F150 RC/LB 4x4, 4.9, Np435, Np208, 3.08

some updated updates!

been working on electrical inside the cab today. lots of mess wires from the previous owner.. but none the less I'm fixing things slowly!

got my honda civic 12v plug installed. the reason i did the civic 12v is because they come with the dust cap which is what ive wanted for a while. wired it into a switched fused ignition source with a 20A fuse



got my seats in floor cleaned up. my carpet was backordered so i thought i would continue without the carpet until it was in stock. doesn't take much to pull the seats and amps back out



also got my rockford fosgate punch 12 inch sub installed. i had this in the truck before i did the rebuild its the perfect size for the sport behind the seat.





more updates soon!