1994 Ford Ranger

I've been absent the last few months, busy completing the latest project: restoring a 1994 Ford Ranger. These are great little trucks, and this one in particular has some sentimental value, so it was worth the time and money to get her on the road again.

The once black Ranger was my wife's first truck and had been sitting at a family member's land for years. Here's how we found her.

 



After buying the truck back, we got her on a trailer and took her home. A thorough inspection and a list was made. I separated the list into 3 milestones: Startable, Drivable, and Enjoyable/Reliable.

 

The largest item before starting the truck was the cooling system...this got replaced entirely. All the new parts and lots of cleaning had the engine bay looking great. After a month of engine work, she started right up and sounded great.

 

 

It was another full month of work on brakes, suspension, transmission, interior, electrical, etc, etc, etc. So after help from mechanically inclined family members, and spending tons of money on tires, she was finally on the road.

 

The last thing to do was get her prettied up. Not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on paint, I took her to the local car wash and paid them $100 to polish and wax the entire truck. The result was amazing...here's a before and after.

 

 

 

Currently she's my daily driver and I absolutely love "Vernabelle". Couldn't have done it without my family's help; also the help of therangerstation.com, fordrangerforum.com, and explorerforum.com.

Punchlist Items for the Bobber

I've been riding the bike every chance I get and loving it. This week I was able to knock out a couple things to get me closer to final paint.

The first was to counterbore and safety wire the rear sprocket. I had to machine some spacers for it to accomodate the larger rear tire, so this mod would secure the nuts that hold the sprocket on.

The next was to replace the aluminum axle spacers I made a while back. I had planned on these being temporary and it's a good thing too. When I pulled the aluminum ones off they were worn out. Here's a comparison of the old stainless spacer (just has a polished ring from the wheel rubbing) and the new aluminum spacer (has a worn groove from the wheel).

So I machined a permanent spacer out of stainless and she came out purdy. Something addicting about making chips on the lathe.

My First Customer!

Many people have great ideas, but they don't know where to start; that was the case here. The inventor had a novel idea in his head, just couldn't make it a reality. After dealing with all the legal stuff he came to me. We sat down for a meeting, then I was off to get the idea out of his head, and into his hands. Here's how it went down:

     - Draw up concept using 3D modeling software (this was done with the customer, it was fun watching his excitement as the design took shape)
     - Perform engineering calculations to validate function and improve efficiency of design
     - Create drawings to include tolerances and incorporate ease of manufacturing
     - Make it! (this prototype was built 100% in my shop, but if need be I have colleagues in Houston with very expensive toys to make the more complicated stuff)

Here are some progress pics, I'll continue to support the customer as the design and company evolve. So rewarding working with passionate people!

The common denominator for all prototypes...raw material

The Basic Shape

More Machining Details

I'll post more when I can!