1992 Ford Ranger PreRunner - Get Smoked

This isn't Kyle Caso's first rodeo. Over the past few years he has owned a few race-inspired prerunners including this '92 Ford Ranger. His Ford started off as a simple leaf-sprung prerunner built for weekends in the desert and peepin' the race scene. As the truck sits today, it has been rebuilt twice and is now a race-winning Ranger that has spent time racing in 1450 and 1400 classes and has landed on the podium in the MDR, MORE, SCORE, SNORE, Tuff Trucks Challenge and Glenn Helen Baja Cup series.

The first build on this Ford...        read full caption The first build on this Ford was a set of unequal length beams with stock ends. Over time those didn't prove strong enough for the abuse Kyle's puts on his truck. Now the truck sits with a set of equal length I-beams with beefy F-150 ends. Using 2.5 King coilovers and 2.5 Fox bypass shocks, Kyle is able to move the front end 21 inches up and down. H&M Motorsports is responsible for the front suspension as well as the crossover steering system. The spindles are off of a Ford F-150.	The first motor put into this...        read full caption The first motor put into this project was a stock 3.0L, then a 4.0L Ford motor replaced that, and now the truck is cradling a Chevy LS-1. A Ford being pushed by a Chevy? As Kyle mentioned, he runs what works. The Chevy motor is putting out just over 400 horsepower and 420 ft-lb of torque. Attached to the engine is a UMP Air Filter System, custom headers built by Warner's Muffler, Magnaflow exhaust and a PWR radiator.	From the rear point of view...        read full caption From the rear point of view you find the usual suspects. Kyle carries a full size driveshaft, aluminum floor jack and two full size spare tires-just in case. Wanting an updated look for his truck, Kyle chose to run the Fiberwerx '03 Ranger fiberglass both front and rear. The front is their 6-inch flair conversion 1-piece clip and the rear is their 6-inch flair conversion race bedsides. Kyle's mom, Sandy, painted the entire truck in Porsche smoke grey color.
Most trucks match all of their...        read full caption Most trucks match all of their shocks to one company but not Kyle. He tells us. "It really doesn't matter what shocks you run or how you run them as long as they are setup right for your truck." You know what? We sort of agree with Kyle on this one.	Removing the rear fiberglass...        read full caption Removing the rear fiberglass gave us a look at the remainder of the cage work. Kyle is still retaining some of the stock Ford frame, but not much. The chassis as you see it was built by Henslee Motorsports out of 1.75-inch DOM 0.120-wall tube and has been SCORE tagged.KMC beadlock wheels and BFGoodrich Baja T/A Project tires keep the truck running smooth over rough terrain.	Henslee Motorsports designed...        read full caption Henslee Motorsports designed the rear 4-link suspension. 29 inches of wheel travel are achieved using 2.5 Sway-A-Way coilovers and Fox 3.0 bypass shocks. There is also a set of Fox 2.0 airbumps in the rear. So that makes Fox, King and Sway-A-Way all on the same truck. I wonder if his next build will add Bilstein, Radflo, and FOA? The billet aluminum sway bar is also a product of Henslee.
Holding the rear together...        read full caption Holding the rear together is a Currie Enterprises 9-inch housing stuffed with 4.86 gears and a spool. Oceanside Transmission installed the Turbo 400 transmission, controlled by a Winters shifter and containing a custom torque converter.	The first thing you notice...        read full caption The first thing you notice in the cabin is the gorgeous Fiberwerx carbon fiber dash. The perfect recipe for controlling this truck includes Auto Meter gauges, Lowrance 12.5-inch color GPS, Race X radio, and a rear view video camera. Also found are PRP Race seats, Crow 5-point harness' and Mastercraft window nets keeping all arms and legs inside the vehicle.	If you look closely down the...        read full caption If you look closely down the side of the driver's seat you can see the reservoir can from the rear coilover. Tight on room, Kyle had no choice but to run the can into the cabin because of the rear 4-link suspension's location.
If you race, there is nothing...        read full caption If you race, there is nothing worse than going cheap when it comes to lighting. In front and on top of this truck are 8 Hella Rallye HID lights. This LS-1 powered truck is fast, but Kyle shouldn't be able to outrun the eight HIDs.	A Jaz 32-gallon fuel cell...        read full caption A Jaz 32-gallon fuel cell holds enough fuel for race day.