 The truck's previous owner...  The truck's previous owner had beefed up the cooling system by installing a radiator from a Ranger with an automatic transmission. The auto tranny radiator has a two-row core instead of the single-row core of the manual-transmission model. The best part is that in addition to the improved cooling, the radiator bolted right up in the stock position. |  We looked to Board Ford when...  We looked to Board Ford when we ordered our fan shroud. Rather than lowering the radiator and shroud to line up with the fan, someone cut off the lower half of the original fan shroud during the Ranger's body lift installation. After the lower half of the fan shroud was cut off, the upper half was spaced downward 3 inches to line up with the engine-mounted fan. The end result was a useless fan shroud, so we needed a new one. A trip to Board Ford's parts counter solved our problem quickly and easily. We ordered a fan shroud to match our original single-row radiator, which turned out to be too long when mounted to our double-row radiator. That was our mistake, and a bit of shroud trimming was in order. We used the old shroud to mark the trimming locations and contours. |  With a bit of flap-disc action,...  With a bit of flap-disc action, the new shroud cleared the air-conditioning compressor and lower radiator hose. We were headed for cooler times with our engine, since the fan now pulled air through the shrouded radiator. |
 Before we pulled the pucks,...  Before we pulled the pucks, the fan hung well below the radiator's lower edge. It's good to see things back where they belong. |  While we were busy wrenching,...  While we were busy wrenching, we discovered a chip in the power-steering pulley. We're glad we spied it before taking the Ranger miles from nowhere. For the time being, we'll keep an eye on it and carry a spare serpentine belt. The real remedy will be to replace the pulley. Hopefully a wrecking yard can supply a replacement that's in good condition. |  Now that the bumper brackets...  Now that the bumper brackets line up with the frame, we have a functional front bumper. The verdict on our body-lift deletion? We're happy. The engine now runs cooler, although the temperature gauge still fluctuates. We'll investigate and let you know what we find. The truck's center of gravity is lower, so cornering is improved. With no tranny-tunnel-to-shifter interference, shifting has improved. The gas filler tube is no longer stretched tight. Ditto for the parking brake cable. Fender clearance? There's a little contact on the passenger-side front at full stuff, so we'll need to break out the aviation snips to trim a sliver or two more. |
Project TrailRunner
We've got big plans for our Ranger. OR's Kevin Blumer has decided to plunge headlong into a transformation that will change our mild-mannered stocker into a desert weapon. Baja flier and suspension fabricator Chad McNeil, seen hovering over Baja dirt during the 2003 Baja 1000, offers a range of suspension kits for I-beam and A-arm Ford Rangers. Chad's front suspension kit for our Ranger offers 20 (yes, 20) inches of four-wheel-drive travel. McNeil Off-Road also offers a bolt-on three-link kit for the Ranger's tail section. Travel is around 30 inches. After Project TrailRunner has longer legs, Kevin will burn some midnight oil fabricating a rollcage from front to back through the cab. We'll follow along, cameras at the ready, during the process. We'll show the correct way to design and build a rollcage. We'll tackle the finer points of TIG-welding, tube-bending, tube-notching, and overall 'cage design.When Project TrailRunner is ready for prime time, we'll put it through the wringer at an MDR race. Stay tuned. This should be fun.