I have a neighbor with a 93 or so ford ranger that runs and drives fine but won't p*** smog. He's offerred it to me for the price of hauling it off. I was just curious if anyone has used one of these for a complete ch***is swap...like the S-10 swap under a 49-50whatever chevy truck? Or anybody got any insight as to why the ford would not work as well as the s10.
The biggest drawback is the ford front end (I-beams). It's difficult to lower. The S-10 is a lot easier & cheaper to slam to the ground, if that's what you want. But the price is right! alex
An ad in Hemmings shows a 36 body offered that fits on a Ranger ch***is. Don't know how well it fits or anything else about it.
A buddy did a 40 Ford panel on one that worked well. I've seen the 36 fibergl*** truck on the Ranger ch***is. I like it for pre- engineered ease of ***embly. Don't want one tho. I'd use one if I was doing the Ford on a Ford thing. Rick
DON'T!!!!!!!! Listen to a fool who used one under a '41 IHC pickup. They sit high, they are narrow and in general ****. The fact they are Ford should be warning enough. I had to go to a crown vic rear and still haven't figured out how to drop the I-beams and widen the tread. I violated the measure,measure and remeasure again rule. S-10 ch***is fit anything and lulled me to try this.I may redo the truck and use a Dakota ch***is.
Or you could always send it to me the Next time BenD comes though.....for the same price you paid of course. I wouldnt use it on a Rod, just a truck that gets good mileage and we dont have the smog stuff here as a problem.
At least get the engine if its a 2.3 or 2.5 - lots of fun stuff to do with those. Haul the rest to the crusher and make a couple of bills.
Yea I will probably get it just to see what all is good. He says it has a bunch of new parts and a recent brake job....thats why I was thinking using the whole ch***is....but I may just get it and make it p*** smog and see if I can trade it off for better parts!
Well they have a narrow track width that is appropriate for many old cars. Dropped I-beams are about $220 a pair and you can flip the axle for about $30. Wheel offset will get the wheels in the right place. I still wouldn't use a Ranger for much of anything but a daily beater. The frame rails are close together, making a V8 swap a real pain in the ***. I've done it. And I-beams are notorious tire eaters and poor handlers. Yes I am arguing both sides of the fence.
I bought my first vehicle when I was 14. It was a 1955 F-100 that I truly loved. After playing with it for several years it was temporarily retired to a spot behind the garage while I played with muscle cars and had a daily driver brand new 1985 Ford Ranger 4 cylinder 5 speed. That little truck drove nice and tight and smooth, none of which the original drivetrain provided in my Effie. I often thought about removing the dog house, doors, roof and bed (essentially leaving the firewall, steering, brakes, etc) and dropping the Effie body over the top of the Ranger. I spent a lot of time on measurements and determined that the steering column and a lot of other things were not really in the right place for any of this, but I still think it would have been possible with some work. The cool thing is that the narrower track allowed for some wide tires and wheels all the way around. Looking back a mite wiser now, I probably would have kept that truck and just rebuilt the factory steering, brakes and 6 cyl/3 speed drivetrain, however, the Ranger engine, trans and rear axle would have been fine for a track T or some other smaller car.
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