1986 Ford Ranger
This is what the truck looks like now.
These are the two trucks that I started with. The top one is a 2 wheel drive that was very tired with over 230,000 miles on it. The bottom one is a 4 X 4 that had only 70,000 miles on it. It had true track front and back, but was messed up in the computer and wiring area. I did a stupid and didn't measure the wheel base. I figured that the long bed would make up for the extra cab. Well I was wrong. The wheel bases were different.
This is right before I cut the frame in half. I used the other frame to get 15.5" to add then I welded everything back together. I included a fish plate for strength. The hard part was extending the wiring. The trucks were one year apart so the wiring colors were a little different. I had to test a few wires but in the end I got everything working again.
Since I had it all apart I built a body lift of 2". It was the easy way to make up for the different mounting highs of the two cabs. I had been told that if I went higher I would have problems with the steering, and brake lines. Everything just barely stretched to fit.
Just for fun I cut the gas tank apart and stretched it another foot to increase gas capacity. I now have two tanks with the front at 17.5 gal and the back at 12 gal. The tank switch plug was already in the wiring harness so all I had to do was plug it in. It took some creativity to get both gas gauges to work, but I finally found the right wires.
This picture shows the hole that I cut in the bed for the dual exhaust. I have have made a custom pipe end that keeps the pipes from vibrating. I still need to relocate the tail gate latch (the steel under the latch always bends meaning that the latch is hard to open). I also need to do a new back bumper. I think I am going to rap it around to the back tire. This will add protection, allow me to cut out some body damage, and adjust for the body lift.
Here is the front bumper before I finished it. I cut the front fenders and then bent them under. I like the way that it fit the bumper closer to the truck. I added the bumper mostly to adjust for the body lift, but it also included a place for a wench and protection from deer.
Finally I added a 2" spring lift and 32" tires. I had to cut the back of the front wheel well for clearance, but other then that it turns nice. It is a little high geared. I tach about 25,000 at 75 m/h. One problem that I did have was the drive line. I replaced the rear two piece with a single driveline. I got cheap and didn't upgrade the size. It starts to vibrate around 70m/h. I have been told that if I upgrade to bigger U joints that the vibration will stop.
I plan on doing the back bumper and the paint this summer. I will post finished pictures afterward.
I hope to drive it to Alaska this Fall.