My 73 Ranger Project

[kbank6]

Not a whole bunch of progress to post up but some is better than none. Got the tailgate done and the passenger side sheet metal off. Jeremy came over and finished taking off the inner rocker while I was taking out broken intake manifold bolts out of the heads he picked up last week.

So while we were at the Platte River Grill today I was talking with Phil and decided to go with EFI. So now it is time to sutdy up on the whole process , make my shopping list and go back out to the junk yard. Not that I needed an excuse to go out there.

[kbank6]

Went to Anderson's for EFI stuff and finally found a tilt column in great condition from a van. Now the PO must have taken all the terry cloth towels and robes out of the house as well the shag carpet.

[Rox Crusher]

Went to Anderson's for EFI stuff and finally found a tilt column in great condition from a van. Now the PO must have taken all the terry cloth towels and robes out of the house as well the shag carpet.

Why didn't you grab those seats ?

[kbank6]

I was afraid of just touching the seats when I was taking the cloumn out.. They are still there if you want to get them though.

[Kinder]

Hey, that's my exact same column, even down to the cruise control! And the strangest part is it came out of a sleeper van conversion that looked exactly like yours, twilight zone man,

[casadejohnson]

Why didn't you grab those seats ?

This rig looked like a text book molester van. I had to go home and wash myself down with bleach after getting close to it. I think having the seats in your possession would require you to register as a sex offender.

[kbank6]

So there was two molester vans like that? Scary.....

[Viperwolf1]

So there was two molester vans like that? Scary.....

Makes you wonder what they're driving today, doesn't it.

[Justin]

Smart cars.

[kbank6]

When I bought this thr PO had just put in a rebuilt 351w and had never been started. Now since I have decided to go EFI, I have found out that the cam would not work that he had installed. I plan on using the roller rockers and explorer cam for the torque.

The Engine block I have is a 1984 so it will not work withouth mod's in order to use the roller lifters. My thought is to get a block from Anderson's and get it checked out. Then swap all the new parts from my 84 to the 1996 block.

Any thoughts?

[kbank6]

Got lucky and picked up a front cross member so I could replace the butchering that the PO did.

[kbank6]

Gotta a little progess done on the girl. I was able to finish welding in the P side foor board and mount the inner rocker and kick panel. I was planning on mounting up the door so I could make sure everything lined up. Am I heading down the right path with the line up and is there a different direction I should go with that mock up?

I also picked up some seats for a steal of $37.00 at our loacl yard. They came out of a 2007 Ford Fusion. I set them in and I had a good amount of head room and being 6.4, I was a little worried what I could use.

[Moab Mike]

Those seats look great!

[Jesus_man]

Those seats look great!

They do, but I am really surprised you still have enough headroom. They look thick in the seat.

[landshark]

like the seats good score!

[kbank6]

I thought they were low but maybe I was wrong. I will set them back in and take a measurement. I'm sure someone on here could use them if I have to go lower.

[Gunnibronco]

They don't look too bad. I took seats from a 96 Merq Mystique (Ford Contour) and they worked. Mine look similar to yours height wise. I had to cut off the stock seat brackets, since they were too high. I re-used my stock driver side Bronco seat bracket and a flip up seat bracket from a Bronco II for the passenger.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2527

[EFI Guy]

Nice score on the seats!

I never see any that nice in the yards around here. Pretty much all of them have rips, tears, cigarette burns, and smell like stale Modelo.

[Rox Crusher]

I really like those seats !

[kbank6]

Been awhile since I posted any progress but I have been welding in the inner rocker, kick panel and apron. I have been having a little trouble getting my door to line up correctly so maybe someone can give me a little advice.
In the picutres you see that Ihave the door, fendor and quarter panel lines up. But, when I open the door it will drop down about an inch or so. The gaps in the door to striker are about 1/4 and the gap from the door to fender is about 1/8 so I need to move the door post ro the rear.

If I move the post back 1/8 which is what it started with then I still have the drop on the door. If I move the bottom of the post more towards the rear then won't my gap on the door to quarter panel get closer as well. The door hinges are new by the way.

Another picture show a large gap between the fender and the window frame so I would imagine that a BFH is in order to manuver the kick panel closer to the inside??
Thanks

[Gunnibronco]

If your door drops when you pull it away from the striker, then things need adjusted before damage occurs. The striker should not be moving the door up or down when the door is shut. There is lots of strain on the latch in the door when door is closed. My truck was this way when I bought it and it started ripping the door latch screws through the door frame.

Remove the striker, line everything up first, and bolt the striker in last.

Line the back of the door up with the quarter, then try to get the fender to match the front of the door, because its easier to adjust the fender than the quarter.

Your gaps will change when you move the door post. You can move the door forward in the opening (away from the quarter) by shimming the inside bolts on the hinge. You can move the door back in the opening (towards the quarter) by shimming the outside bolts on the hinge.

Looks like you might have to get creative. Maybe a come-along, slow steady pressure, maybe leave it tight overnight.

Has the body been wrecked? or a PO replaced the door posts? how are the body mounting points? You can shim under the front body mounts to adjust the fender to door alignment. People do this when they add a body lift and realize the alignment has changed.

[Gunnibronco]

Maybe this could help. Take some measurements and see if they are close & square.

[kbank6]

Thanks, I will take a look at this. Ihave some measurments I took before and mounted the post but it made it worse so I moved it around until I got these results.

[kbank6]

The front body mounts have a stack of washers about an inch or more and the rest are the standard old bushings. I have a new body lift set on the way which should be here any day so should I wait to adjust until after I install the new lift kit which is only a 1 in body lift?
The PO did not replace the post or anything for that matter.

[Justin]

Also, what kind of shape are the hinges in? An inch drop is big.

[kbank6]

New from Bronco Hut

[Gunnibronco]

I just reread everything and saw how much you have done.

I'd get the mounts in and everything level before you start with the door & fender alignment. You can shim the mounts a bit if necessary to help square up the door openings. You will be doing it all over again, if you do it before your new mounts are installed.

When you put in the new mounts, make sure to square up the hood opening too. You can measure an X from the front most fender bolt hole to the opposite rear most fender bolt. If they aren't the same, you can make adjustments before tightening the front mounts down.

[kbank6]

Well I have not done to much with work, camping, and the biweekly yard trip which needs to slow down. I did get the door amd hinge alignment corrected (thank Jeremy) so no more drop plus got the rocker welded in. Now I have been filling in all the holes that the PO drilled around the engine compartment with the new welder.
Tweco 141i 3 in 1. I have tried everything except the TIG part since I just got that in the mail today. Looking forward to learning how to due that. I went with the 141 due to my current power supply amd the washer/dryer being in the house. (Didn't feel like hearing that issue from the little women).....

[Gunnibronco]

Glad you got the door lined up! That can be tough.

[Kinder]

Very nice, door alignment is not my strong area.