1:1 Ford ranger adventure.

[6sharky9]

So, ive been missing doing anything with 1:1 vehicles and recently decided it was time to do something about it..Ended up picking up a 97 Ranger XLT 4x2 stepside with a 2.3L OHC and a 5 speed...A ground pounding 114hp and 135 ft.lbs.of torque to work with here..

Im pretty sure my plans are to drive it for a bit and coax what I can from the stocker motor..Im not expecting to slide my neighborhood street back 3 inches with torque but an increase in power is definitely needed.

I paid $750 cash for it with 132k miles on it, ice cold A/C and working heat..No rust to be found anywhere, factory CD stereo system..It did have an overheating issue and still does but, ive found the head gasket , water pump and fan clutch are doing there jobs and the radiator is in pretty sad condition...So a new radiator, cap and thermostat will make its way in to solve my issue.

A complete cleaning/detail will find its way on the truck as ill do that myself...It needs 4 new tires and the factory rear wheels put back on as well as some new installed wiper blades but ,otherwise will be ready to rock and roll...So this is stealing me away from RC for the time being.

The pics from my phone make the color look blue but its the ford emerald green or something like that.

[Harley]

Originally Posted by 6sharky9

l...So this is stealing me away from RC for the time being.

Noooooo!!!!!!

[1tonscout]

I've got an 08' ranger with the little 4 banger. It's a real turd muffin. you won't be adding any power unless you do internal engine mods

[ROWDY RACING]

Nice sleeper...

[6sharky9]

Originally Posted by ROWDY RACING

Nice sleeper...

It will be eventually if a I go the turbo 4 route and decide against a v8 swap.

[6sharky9]

Originally Posted by 1tonscout

I've got an 08' ranger with the little 4 banger. It's a real turd muffin. you won't be adding any power unless you do internal engine mods

If you want to turbo the stock motor you need pistons...if you want a high reving naturally aspirated motor I also agree...If I go turbo I would just go with a donor car..(svo Mustang/T-Bird)..They have forged pistons already and is a plug and play install if you have everything from the donor car. (harness, computer, motor etc...There's 200hp right there bone stock.

That's already an 86hp gain for me off the bat..lol

The ranger got a lot heavier starting in 1999 I think..so I can believe it may not feel like much to you...Your motor is an entirely different motor however..You have the Duratec DOHC 2.3L motor making a lot more power than my motor in stock form...That's the 4 banger of the future for ford...Has nothing in common with the older OHC 2.3L other than displacement..Its a killer motor..just not in a heavy vehicle like yours...Someone already installed one in an early ranger with a turbo and is flying down the 1/4 mile...I wouldn't mind one myself to be honest with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niiXYw5uWkE

Still going to coax what I can from it in stock configuration..theres some ponies to be had pretty cheap without needing to beef up the bottom end..Its already 9.4:1 compression and uses a roller cam with .402 valve lift...It has the D port heads that flow as much air as a an early (E7TE) 5.0L H.O head does...It even has a Header on it from the factory..not a cast iron manifold.

A high flow cat and replacing the muffler with a simple cheap thrush turbo muffler would give barely any exhaust restriction
Im using the stock air intake system...just removing the restrictive baffles and installing a fram air hog filter.
Electric cooling fan.
Underdrive crank pulley
Install an adjustable fuel pressure regulator.
Adjustable cam timing gear.
Retarding the factory cam 4 degrees and degree it in.
Installing a 4.10 gear

Should be a noticeable difference..Its not going to be a race truck ,just a daily driver.

There's still quite a bit more you can do to add power and not need to go into the short block to handle it.

[RANOVRU]

Well, its a more sound investment than the 3-wheeled POS in another thread, Ill give you that.


Just throw some new Holleys on it and itll run like greased owl sh!t.

[6sharky9]

Originally Posted by RANOVRU

Well, its a more sound investment than the 3-wheeled POS in another thread, Ill give you that.


Just throw some new Holleys on it and itll run like greased owl sh!t.

lol...I plan to keep it fuel injected...I thought about a mini stock engine build but its not going to fit what im after with the truck...Looking for a daily driver with good fuel economy on 87 octane pump gas and a little more power for now until I decide where im taking it down the near future.

[hellbounder]

Ls1 + eBay turbo kit = big fun .

For many years my daily was a v8 powered s10 . If I did it nowadays that's the way I'd go . Ls1's are cheap and last about forever .

[2JSC]

Originally Posted by 6sharky9

The pics from my phone make the color look blue but its the ford emerald green or something like that.

You must be color blind as well, because that looks pretty fawking blue to me.

[braceysdad]

Take it off any sweet jumps?

[BLOODBANE]

The 347 Stroker thats in my 84 SWB Ranger....

A short vid of it running....
http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/...0/MOV00376.mp4.