When we last visited our Project TrailRunner, we were wrapping up the deletion of a demonic body lift. With the body back to the proper height, we turned our attention to the 4x4's frontend. We're keeping the four-wheel-drive; it adds versatility to the truck and will allow us to explore Low-range trails in addition to the high-speed prerunning and desert racing that will be the completed truck's forte.
Big dreams danced in our heads about the relatively simple task of pulling the traction beams from under the Ford and whisking them to El Cajon, California, for some racing-style reworking performed by Chad McNeil. The dreams soon faded away and daunting reality sunk in. We didn't have a good place to do the work, and we actually needed to build some of the fixtures to get the job started. Here's how we tackled the task.
 Project TrailRunner is a bit...  Project TrailRunner is a bit like getting a chicken sandwich by first incubating an egg. While this approach takes longer, we'll develop valuable skills along the way that will let us build a better truck in the end. Our philosophy? Build the boring stuff first. Your truck will thank you later. We're very happy with our Lincoln Precision TIG 185 welder, but extremely underwhelmed by the bulky air-cooled torch. A call to Arc-Zone.com had a Weldcraft SF-225 water-cooled torch sent our direction, but we still needed to buy or build a water-cooling system to go with the torch. In keeping with our "boring stuff first" philosophy, we honed our skills by fabricating a stainless-steel tank for our water-cooling system. After successfully building the water tank, we'll be able to build custom gas or oil tanks later on. |  To weld the water tank using...  To weld the water tank using the water-cooled torch, we used a 5-gallon bucket as a temporary tank. Arc-Zone.com also supplied the machine connection adapter that allowed us to hook up a water-cooled torch to the welder's air-cooled torch connection. We bought the brass water pump online and found the electric motor in a local industrial supply house. |  We obtained our 14-gauge stainless...  We obtained our 14-gauge stainless steel from Echo Metalworks, where owner Brian Marcroft sheared the panels to size. Marcroft then used a press brake to create two corner bends in the largest panel, which allowed three panels of the tank to be made from a single piece. |
 To attach our bolt-on fill-cap...  To attach our bolt-on fill-cap flange, we drilled the necessary holes and tack-welded stainless-steel acorn nuts on the inside. We chose to use a WP-24 90-degree head on our Weldcraft SF-225 torch. The WP-24 head is... |  completely front loading;...  completely front loading; no back cap is used. This makes the torch fit into tight quarters. There was plenty of room for the torch head this time, but we know that this compact torch head will be vital when we start welding the rollcage inside our Ranger. |  Fit-up is the key to a successful...  Fit-up is the key to a successful fabrication project. The next step in assembling the tank was to tack-weld the main section of the tank to the base. We used a straightedge, Vise-Grips, and bar clamps to hold everything in place. |