24 hours of Lemons build

[ck1racerx]

Well day 1 of the Lemons build is complete. Bought a 1992 Ranger V6 5 speed at the Goodwill auction this morning. Only 61k miles on this baby. $350
Wicked fuel leak in a line at the tank so Mommy and daddy helped me pull it home and started digging in. Now I am no mechanic... but I have turned more than a few wrenches. Never have I had the pleasure of tearing stuff off a vehicle knowing it’s not going back on and I don’t have to worry about scratching or denting anything. Pry bar and beer have been the tools of choice today.
Plan is as follows.
1. Remove the bed. Cut the floor out.
2. Remove tank and fuel lines. Replace with fuel cell and braided lines
3. Cut out completely rusted leaf spring mount and fab and weld in new.
4. Cut off hitch and anything else that adds weight and doesn’t add power.

Once that is done then move onto stripping the interior and building a roll cage.

Then drivetrain

Then suspension and massive brakes.

Then????

This is going to be fun.

Anyone want a fiberglass truck cap?

 

[ck1racerx]

So, yeah... theres that...
All four leaf spring hanger brackets where almost or completely rusted off the frame.
Cut the rest of the brackets off, removed the fuel tank and rusted through shocks.
New stiff springs, brackets, bushings and shocks ordered. Should be on my door step when I get home today. $219. So why is a single shock for a MX bike $900???

 

[Bill480]

you are replacing junk with junk for $219, you can spend a million dollars on automotive suspension too.

wait till you get to the safety section of that lemons rule book.

 

[NQ1965]

Another victim to ROAD SALT!
One would think that by now we could come up with a better solution that doesn't destroy automobiles.

 

[Bill480]

Another victim to ROAD SALT!
One would think that by now we could come up with a better solution that doesn't destroy automobiles.

i think the opposite. keeps the auto industry alive.

 

[ck1racerx]

Yes, I am all over the rulebook. The cage will be top notch. Obviously, I am not doing it.
Replacing rusty junk with new OEM junk. Found a spring helper at the junk yard. Going to try that to help stiffen it up.

 

[NQ1965]

i think the opposite. keeps the auto industry alive.

I understand that view, although the auto industry would and could easily survive without the help of road salt.
People love changing and buying new, or newer vehicles, so there will never be a shortage of auto sales.

It takes auto parts and tires to keep those older vehicles going and that in itself is a hell of an industry.
I've had to junk 3 Nissan Sentra's (work cars) due to rust. Engine and drive train were fine. Literally drove them to the junk yard and left them. Floor pans, shock towers, fuel and brake lines, all gone. There are many snow states that don't use salt, and the difference is amazing.

That truck that ck1racerx is using would of been a great starter truck for a newbie high school driver, if it weren't an undercarriage rust bucket.

It's tough for parents nowadays to find good starter vehicles for their kids.

 

[k01]

Is the front good? The front supension on those are notorious for rust damage.

 

[Bill480]

I understand that view, although the auto industry would and could easily survive without the help of road salt.
People love changing and buying new, or newer vehicles, so there will never be a shortage of auto sales.

It takes auto parts and tires to keep those older vehicles going and that in itself is a hell of an industry.
I've had to junk 3 Nissan Sentra's (work cars) due to rust. Engine and drive train were fine. Literally drove them to the junk yard and left them. Floor pans, shock towers, fuel and brake lines, all gone. There are many snow states that don't use salt, and the difference is amazing.

That truck that ck1racerx is using would of been a great starter truck for a newbie high school driver, if it weren't an undercarriage rust bucket.

It's tough for parents nowadays to find good starter vehicles for their kids.

Drive around florida (or any state not in the rust belt) and your opinion might change.

And LOL at "so there will never be a shortage of auto sales". If you believe that there's no hope for ya.

 

[NQ1965]

If you believe that there's no hope for ya.

You sounded remarkably like Nancy when you said that.

 

[NQ1965]

Yes, I am all over the rulebook. The cage will be top notch. Obviously, I am not doing it.
Replacing rusty junk with new OEM junk. Found a spring helper at the junk yard. Going to try that to help stiffen it up.

So are you going to try and hit one of the scheduled races before the end of the year?

 

[ck1racerx]

Nothing this year. Its a winter project so maybe mid summer it will be ready.

And yes, the front is rusty. PB blaster and a 40inch breaker bar and rust has no chance.
Rear end is almost finished. Then doing the front.
Well, that is as soon as I find a fuel cell that is not $87,000. Good lord, its a metal box with a plastic liner. Wishing I didn't put a hole in the stock tank now.

 

[Bill480]

Nothing this year. Its a winter project so maybe mid summer it will be ready.

And yes, the front is rusty. PB blaster and a 40inch breaker bar and rust has no chance.
Rear end is almost finished. Then doing the front.
Well, that is as soon as I find a fuel cell that is not $87,000. Good lord, its a metal box with a plastic liner. Wishing I didn't put a hole in the stock tank now.

Summit has their own branded fuel cells that are reasonably priced. I have a 15 gallon in the race car, was about $200.

 

[ck1racerx]

So work is progressing. Slowly but surely. Returned the new leaf springs as I actually got the old bushing out and had them rebuilt. Flipped the axel to the bottom of the spring which lowered it 4-5 inches. New heavy duty shocks on order along with super stiff sway bar bushings. Should really reduce body roll.
New axel bearings and seals are finished along with DLC coating on all of the rear end gears (befits of working for a coating company)
Began work under the hood. Removing all that A/C and heater fan crap from the firewall was a hell of a job. Electric fan will replace the clutch fan to improve power and help with cooling.
Looking for an intake from a SHO Taurus. Supposedly it is a big power improvement... if I can find one.
Top quality EBay headers are on the way... fresh out of China no doubt.
Battery being moved behind the rear axel to improve balance, anything to get the weight off the front or this thing will corner like a semi.
May do the heads but going to wait and see how it runs in a testing session first in the spring.
Got a plan for the roll cage. The main loop will be outside the cab with the halo inside. Should give some much needed legroom.
This stuff is fun. Can’t wait to drive it

 

[ck1racerx]

Beer and pry bar

 

[k01]

Got a plan for the roll cage. The main loop will be outside the cab with the halo inside. Should give some much needed legroom.

I got drive a Ranger SCCA RaceTruck Challenge truck on the street maybe 30 years ago. Remember showing it to MJ at the fairgrounds Columbus indoors. Anyway, the cage was in the cab and it was tight in there with no legroom. That thing was a blast to drive. Handled like a go-kart.

 

[ck1racerx]

Since my ADD does not allow me to stay on one part of a project until I do something else, I decided this weekend would be all about the interior.
Now, if you have never tried to take a dash out of a vehicle before, let me give you some advice... drink as much beer as you can while still maintaining vision... Then and only then will you discover the one true way to get the dash out. Brute force.
After removing 4.2 million nuts, bolts, wire connections and various other do-dads that have no earthly meaning in a ‘92 ranger. You will find a chisel and large hammer and start breaking apart the damn channel they have wires going through.
103 F-bombs and 4 bloody knuckles later ... the SOB is out.
I can only imagine what a wire harness on a 2019 vehicle looks like.

So. I have to unwrap each one of those wire bundles and remove all the stuff I’m not using. All the HVAC controls, audio crap, interior lights, seat belt sensors and all those damn warning lights and remove each wire loop...
Or I just cut the connector off. Cover the open wire with plasti dip, and prey it works???
I’m leaning towards the latter.
I wish I would have weighed this thing before I started. I know I have removed over 1000 pounds.

 

[ck1racerx]

Nice weekend to get some work done and look for upgrades. Found a nearly new rear disk setup off a Mustang today. Almost a direct bolt on upgrade over the rear drums. Major score for $67. Also found an improvement for the front. 95-97 ranger has duel piston fronts... just have to find the steering knuckles.
As you can see, still dealing with a lot of rust up front. But almost all of that is getting replaced.
Skinned the hood and cut up the bed today. Another 150 lbs of scrap metal added to the recycle pile.
Got some much needed advice/help with the electrical. “Whatever you do, don’t f with the wire harness Just plug everything back in that still in the truck and wrap all the connectors in tons of tape”. I guess everything is wired in a loop and if you cut out systems your not using, it screws the pooch.
Who says being lazy doesn’t pay off? I had cutters in hand last week and said “I will do that crap next week.”
Still tons of fun. Keeps me in the garage and away from thoughts of “Man, I bet I could win that 50+ class”.