V8-Ranger.com

Hey Northern buddy,
Don't think that the Maverick, Mustang II ever came with the 9" but they sure did with the 8". So did the Pinto that had the V-6. I used a '72-73' Maverick under my 302/C-4 Courrier with no problems, had to find the right back spacing wheels and modify the drive shaft. Moved the spring perchs a little. The 2.89 gears sure sucked untill you got to 70. Those 8" will take 400hp with the right center section.
Dave in Wisconsin

Had a buddy in my wild and young day's(long time ago) that had a Maverick, it had the 8" in it. He had a very stout 302 in it and that thing would seriously hook up too. He never had any probs out of that rear with 4:63 gears. I run the 8" in the wifes Stang II also, never had a super stout engine but it has taken some pounding and I have never touched it.

Well, the frame rails are now part of the truck. All in all I think it went pretty good. Took some time to make sure everything was square and straight as best I could.

I'll finish welding in the 4 link this week in the evenings. As you can see in the pic I need to put a small piece on the bottom of the frame brackets to beef it up....I have a plan in my mind for next winter - this is why I designed that area of the frame like I did. The frame is 24" wide.

Based on what I can see ... That's good stuff!

Any plans to cross-brace the frame?

Not sure yet....Still thinking about it.

I got more work done on the 4 link this afternoon. I got the axle brackets boxed in and the 2" round crossmember welded in above the frame brackets. I still need to gusset the frame brackets on the bottom and fit my diagonal link.....Next up is the box installation and cab/rollbar mounts.

I'm getting my roll bar and rear coil over shocks from Baer Performance in Ontario, about $1150cdn to my door. I have to measure for the roll bar and order it this week.

With the frame coming up so high, how is the bed fitting on there? Or will there be holes cut in the bed to make way for the frame to protrude through?

yeah spill it. whats with the high frame rails?

I thought he was planning for the future, his plan was he is going to "slam" the truck. But after seeing how he mounted the 4 link I don't know how it could be that. So yeah, what's up??

The 4 link is fabbed at a height for a 30" tall tire as a starting point, when I drop the truck all I have to do is cut the frame off in front of the frame brackets and lower it to the bottom of the frame brackets - that will be about a 3" drop on the frame. Then we'll drop the body on the frame and drop the front end down too with a drop crossmember.....It's all in my head.....LOL....As for the hig frame kickup - gotta allow room for coil over height adjustments up or down and for suspension travel on the launch. The box will be gutted and have no floor. For now I'm just going to fit it over the frame and cut out the wheel tubs.

Hey you are doing a awsome job,with the high rails you notch out the box and mount you fuel cell on to it,Iam really impressed with how it is coming along ,I wish my shop was big like your mine is a 14x20 but i can get everything completed in it it is just a little tight from time to time...

My fuel cell will sit on the box floor for now until I gut it...I'm just cutting the hole big enough to clear the frame rails.

Here's a little update, we spent about 3.5 hrs working on the Ranger this morning, the F-inlaw replaced the front brakes with new pads, rotors, hoses and bearings. I mounted the line lock and bent/flared the front lines and the line from the M/C to the line lock. I need to get some 1/8NPT-3/16" flared fittings to hook the lines to the line lock. I'll run the rear line as soon as the springs are mounted. I'm thinking I should have an adjustable prop valve for the rear anyways.

I'm going to try and install the rear shock kit tomorrow. If all goes well I should have it done, there is very little welding to it so it shouldn't take that long. I'll post pics if I get it finished. 90% of the wiring is installed, only a couple of things left to wire....Waiting for our big order from Jegs to arrive, the rollbar box was so big it's coming ground freight on a pallet....LOL

We ordered this stuff from Jegs over a week ago:

10pt rollbar kit
Aeromotive A1000 electric fuel pump (good for 800HP with forced induction)
Aermotive A2000 regulator and fitting kit.
8AN billet fuel line for our 750 Holley double pumper carb
5pt Simpson race harness.

I got the rear shocks installed today, there were no installation instructions with the kit so I had to wing it ....Didn't go too bad, I'll have to take the axle to work so I can use the stick welder to finish welding the lower shock brackets on the axle. They are so close to the 4 link brackets on one side I can't get my MIG in there....Stick is the trick....LOL....

My installed spring height is 16.5", the recommended is 15-1/4 to 15-3/4 so once I get the 10pt roll bar kit, battery, fuel cell and my fat arse stuffed in there I should be bang on ....The springs are quite soft, we guessed at a spring weight because they were included with the kit. I may have to buy another set once I get my truck weighed.....I have to thread my diagonal link tommorow and other than a little more welding the rear suspension is done. I must say, the QA1 stuff seems to be of high quality, nice stuff.

Yesterday we installed new front brakes - rotors, bearings, pads, hoses and etc. I plumbed/flared the front hard lines and installed/plumbed the line lock.









Still waiting on the big Jeg's order so we can keep on installing/fabbing stuff.