Ford Ranger budget build
Thought I'd share my build with you folks. I understand it's not that "extreme" but it works beautifully for me.
Enjoy:
I originally bought this truck for $400. Mismatched body panels, cracked heads, no exhaust, broken front diff, etc.
Got it running, played with leveling coils and got bored quickly enough.
Swapped in an expo 8.8 with 4.56s and an Aussie locker. Front Dana 35 got the same minus the locker.
I noticed awhile back that there was not much information about adapting EB (Early Bronco) coils onto the TTB suspensions. I figured I would pass on my knowledge from my build.
I started my build by grabbing a set of stock Dana 35 TTB radius arms. I ordered up 6 feet of 2" O.D. square tubing 1/4" wall. I cleaned up my radius arms and cut measured where 2" would fit snugly inside them. I incorp. 4 degrees of caster into the beams when I welded them up. I also welded new shock tabs onto the arms to eliminate the stud design. Im sure most of you have replaced their fare share of them. It's a good idea to drill 2 or 3 holes in the arm and plug weld them back shut. I also ended up plating the bend in my arms with 1/8" plate. I used rod ends for the end of my arms. Ended up using Ballistic Fab rod ends with a 1.25" thread and 9/16" through bolt. Here's where I got creative. Everyone I talked to said they hated the tires rubbing on their arms. So, I got the bright Idea to put a bend in them. Doing some measuring, I came up with 18 degrees. That angle is perfect for eliminating any tire rub within reason and still keep proper suspension geometry throughout the suspension cycling.
Here are my mounts. Everything is 1/4" plate welded with a 220 Mig welder. I also welded washers to the rod end mounting point for extra strength.
With the amount of suspension travel I'm creating, I had to remake my transmission crossmember. I ran into trouble with clearance having an auto transmission. Here's my finished product.
Thought I'd share my build with you folks. I understand it's not that "extreme" but it works beautifully for me.
Enjoy:
I originally bought this truck for $400. Mismatched body panels, cracked heads, no exhaust, broken front diff, etc.
Got it running, played with leveling coils and got bored quickly enough.
Swapped in an expo 8.8 with 4.56s and an Aussie locker. Front Dana 35 got the same minus the locker.
I noticed awhile back that there was not much information about adapting EB (Early Bronco) coils onto the TTB suspensions. I figured I would pass on my knowledge from my build.
I started my build by grabbing a set of stock Dana 35 TTB radius arms. I ordered up 6 feet of 2" O.D. square tubing 1/4" wall. I cleaned up my radius arms and cut measured where 2" would fit snugly inside them. I incorp. 4 degrees of caster into the beams when I welded them up. I also welded new shock tabs onto the arms to eliminate the stud design. Im sure most of you have replaced their fare share of them. It's a good idea to drill 2 or 3 holes in the arm and plug weld them back shut. I also ended up plating the bend in my arms with 1/8" plate. I used rod ends for the end of my arms. Ended up using Ballistic Fab rod ends with a 1.25" thread and 9/16" through bolt. Here's where I got creative. Everyone I talked to said they hated the tires rubbing on their arms. So, I got the bright Idea to put a bend in them. Doing some measuring, I came up with 18 degrees. That angle is perfect for eliminating any tire rub within reason and still keep proper suspension geometry throughout the suspension cycling.
Here are my mounts. Everything is 1/4" plate welded with a 220 Mig welder. I also welded washers to the rod end mounting point for extra strength.
With the amount of suspension travel I'm creating, I had to remake my transmission crossmember. I ran into trouble with clearance having an auto transmission. Here's my finished product.