he is owner of www.Bamachips.com and www.talktuners.com

I am not sure on his talent with F150s but he does wonders to Mustangs and Rangers.

He emailed me a tune for my Blower on the Ranger and it works great for a email tune.

 

I want to go there as well. I just have not wanted to because it was still my DD.

Yeah I have been up there several times.

I have done 95% of it myself. There are a few things like the steering shaft which require some machine work, but I have a friend that has a lathe and mill so he did that.

Another friend painted the silver on the hood for me.

Other than that I have done it all. I have never paid a shop to do anything.

thanks!

 

I hooked up the ranger to the F150 over the weekend. The 5.4 can really pull well. I need to get a set of air springs for the rear though. I think that would help the sag out some. My truck makes the trailer tongue heavy.

 

You might consider a WD hitch setup for the trailer? It will level you out and make the traler tow much better too.

Nice setup there too!

Mitch

 

Decent little rig there bud. WAY too clean, buts its alright, hopefully it will change soon !

Play in the rocks much ? mostly trail ? mud ?

How did you reinforce the frame for the link mounts ? What kind of links ? Johnny joints ? heims ? What size ? What kind of tubing did you use ?

As for Exo: its the only way to go. A small little ranger can't afford to lose any more precious realty inside ! Go exo, just do it with taste. Some of the hideous monsters out there look like a damn jungle gym, where others, I would bet ya money, most here couldn't even tell. Ever think about back halving it ? Go skins for the bed sides, and tube rear section, turn it int a full blown truggy ? Cut the frame rails off right behind the cab, then tube it out.

Always nice to see actual real builds on this site ! too far and few between.

 

oh dont worry, we are on the same page for sure.

I want to back half it and run skins, just like you mention. I also want to tube the front half to gain more clearances around my links for more travel.

I am in the process of 3 linking it now.

Lower links
2" dia, .25" wall DOM with Ballistic Fab Johnny Joints on each end. The 2.63" ones. Links roughly 41" long

Upper link will have a 2.63" JJ and a 5/8" heim with 1.7" dia and .25 wall, somewhere around 35" long i think, cant remember.

I am adding 14" travel ballistic 2.125" coilovers with a partial engine cage.

I like trails more than anything, whether its snow, rocks, mud, etc. I dont like just some mud hole, or to just cake it in mud. I have for the most part stayed away from rocks for a few reasons, 1 its a 2003 and its practically mint, 2 still was a DD, 3 couldnt afford the damage.


this is what I want my truck to be like at some point.

 

That is one bad *** ranger man. Very cool.

Beasty links for that little ranger ! You running a 4 link front and rear, right ? Why going to the 3 link ? I personally dig the 4 links, just cuz out on the trail, you bust a link, you still got three. Three link, you bust a link, you got 2, one upper, and one lower. I dunno, just kinda how I thought about it, interested to see why you prefer 3 link.

Another question, if ya don't mind, but why do you want coilovers, vs. say... airshocks ? Your vehicle should be light enough to really benefit from airshocks. This is usually argued over a camp fire with some brews, but online will have to work for now !

Oh, and don't worry, the rock bug will getcha ! It gets em all. Its where some of the hardest wheeling goes down. Once ya get some dents in that pudy rig, you'll be hooked ! ha ha

Anyways, nice rig. Look forward to seeing more build up on it.

 

heh i have a question... how well does it fit on the trailer? my dads trailer barely lets my f150 squeeze up on it.

 

amazing ranger

a 6.2 liter 32 valve?

X2

 

There isnt enough room for a 4 link in the front of a ranger unless i go higher. which i dont want to do. I really dont think I am going to break a link but i could.

as for the air shocks/coilovers. i still want to drive it on the street and I dont want to buy a nitrogen tank and mess with pressures on the air shocks. Coilovers are better in some aspects too from what i have read.

the ranger weighs about 5000lbs 1200lbs on each front corner. maybe air shocks in the rear??

 

oh its a squeeze for sure. tires touch the fenders and rub the paint off when you load it. lol

 

awwww ! gotcha ! Makes sense then. Ya, the broken link theory is kinda moot, but I still bring it up !

Coilovers definately have their pros, nothing against them. my junk is a trailer queen, so my plans are air shocks. I have a buddy, who is die hard for coilovers, and we argue it all the time. Thats why I asked. Just curious I guess. Plus, if ya plan to do a v8 swap.... I think coilovers would provide much more stable platform, but could be wrong. I have only wheeled little *** Zuki's with air. The back half coul work, especially if you half it and tube it out.

Just to throw some more pennies into the pot, ever think about high horsepower small motors ? When wheeling, I like a high revving little dependable motor. Subaru has that 2.5 sti or something and it creates around 300HP stock. Pretty impressive for a little motor. Also, keepin your rig light weight has a ton of benefits to it as well.

But, nothing like the rumble of a V8 !!

 

I want to drop in an explorer v8, with the 4r70w, and the bw1356. I think even with that the weight would be comparable to my 4.0 maybe a few hundred more. Small motors are nice but I would think the sti motor would be a electrical nightmare. I mean I still have a ton of electrical components on this truck. windows, locks, mirrors, cruise, a/c, heat, etc.. I want to keep as many features as possible for street use.

I know what you mean about the weight thing. If I front half and back half it I think it would drop some serious weight just loosing the bed and stock frame.

 

oh ya, I keep forgetting your cutting up a 2003 !! Newest junk I cut up is a buddies 97 TJ and mostly 80's era rigs. You still have NICE paint !! Yes, wiring up the STI would be horrible, and if I was thinking, woulda kept my mouth shut.

On my rig, I need my engine to get power to the axles. I need an alternator to power up the batt. Thats about it ! ha ha Stupid basic, but I like it that way.

Whats the plans for the front ? You talking just tubing out the fenders ? Or you wana hack off the whole front ? And whats up with the up-coming engine cage ? any pics/ideas ?

 

My Ranger could kick your Ranger's a$$!
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In fuel economy, that is.......

Nice ride.......