Ive seen some pretty good pipe bender turned tube benders. Good to see your moding it and not just running the bender as is.

 

Been having some issues getting the new compressor and with school coming to an end soon my time has been scarce.

Here is the first modification to the pipe bender on its journey to be a somewhat decent tubing bender. Most of the kinks caused by this tool are caused by the crappy roller included. So the first thing to do is to take those roller and toss them as far as you can. Since I'm expecting to use 1 3/4" tubing in most of my builds, I decided to go with some 2 1/4" OD tubing and create some sliders in place of the roller. The pictures should be self-explanatory.




Next is to take the next smaller size die and using a grinder open it up and fit it to the tubing you will be using. Coming Soon....

Fred

 

Also been doing work on the Ranger every now and then but still have made little progress. Got the front fenders pulled as well as the windshield (even though it is still in this picture.) Motor is ready to come out.

 

I thought you El Paso guys were fast...this is taking forever.

Looking good Fred.

 

awesome. looks like fun! summer heat is great isnt it? especially in an unconditioned shop

 

Hey Chris,
Unlike NMSU we actually do some real work down here at UTEP. LMAO!!! Hey were playing this year, you guys ready to get your behinds handed to you?

Between school, the Mustang project, and all the damn work that keeps coming in, I barely have time to eat and sleep. You got any Alcoa's to donate to the project? LOL

I absolutely HATE the heat. I grew up in Aurora, Illinois and this dry heat down here is killing me. Plus our shop AC has been down for a couple of years and we just recently got one of those huge fans that circulates hot air through the shop.

 

Looks like it'll turn out good.

The heat sucks. It's been close to 90 every day here. If it were in the low 70's, I'd be happy.

 

Pfft, I'm a psuedo-lobo now - no more I-10 rivalry for me. My gf and I moved to Albuquerque last month. She's doing grad school in the fall.

You're STILL working the stang? Man! I wish I had some alcoas left for ya. If I had some I'd make a trip down to EP once I get this sorry excuse for a ranger of mine back together. Someone just recently posted some alcoas on here in the classifieds. I forget who though. Send me a text msg if ya still have my number. I killed a phone earlier this year and lost quite a few contacts.

 

I hear you man! We've been hitting consistent 95+ for the last 2-3 weeks even as high as 104 for about 5 days.

Albuquerque huh? I don't think I have your # anymore, I too have killed a couple of phones recently. Unfortunately, I just started a masters degree as well at UTEP so I'm stuck cheering for these guys for at least 2-3 more years.

I'm looking at Cragar Soft-8s. They run about $130 shipped for a set of four from Jegs or Summit, unless I can find Alcoas for about the same.

 

I found some eagle alloys I like, they're black, I think it's series 085. Not sure if they'll fit that older gen of yours, but I paid $110 from Discount Tire in Cruces about 2 years ago.

 

cool project man the tough truck comp is fun to watch it would be sweet to drive in it

 

Finally got around to ordering some parts to start building radius arms.

1 1/4" heims
1 1/4" threaded bungs for 1.5" ID tubing (1 3/4" tubing with .120 wall)
1" to 3/4" zinc plated high misalignment spacers
1 1/4" jam nuts
Chassis Link Brackets for Radius Arm Pivots
and Bushed DOM sleeves with zerk fittings for custom motor mounts

BTW, got all this stuff from Ruff Stuff Specialties. They have some good high quality stuff for great prices.

 

nice parts man

 

Parts came in while on vacation and they look nice.

The rod ends are beefy and the misalignment spacers fit very well. I do wish the tube adapters were a little bit longer. They have more than enough threads but I wish it would slip into the tubing a bit more for more stability.




The bushed DOM sleeves are stout! These things look like they can take just about anything you throw at them.



The chassis link brackets are also very beefy. My only complaints is that the gusset was cut too narrow to fill the gap but that can be dealt with easily.



Overall, I would give these parts a 8/10. They have some of the best prices around and everything is always in stock. I will definitely order from them again.

My next order will be with Ballistic Fabrication as well as Blue Torch FabWorks.

Fred

 

Haven't been on here for a while due to finishing up school and job hunting. I have three interviews this week so I hope a job will result form one of those.

Developments since I last posted:

I picked up a set of kingpin I-beams from a 1977 Ford E-150 Club Wagon van. They have 7/8" kingpins, front steer spindles, and a 5x5.5" bolt pattern to match the axles on the rear axle so now I can rotate wheels as/if needed.

The beams are different lengths and I already tried bolting them in place as is with no success as the bends in them complicate things too much. Instead, I plan to cut them after the radius arm mounts and attach these beams ends to the stock Ranger beams in place of the ball joint beam ends then plate them. Sounds complicated but should be too complicated. I will be running F-150 coil springs for the added weight of the 302. Also decided to ditch the T-5 for a C4 instead.




Also got a little bit further into the teardown. And decided to put in the Ranger Fabtech springs just for ****s and giggles.




Once I get the kingpins removed as well as th spindles, I will run all the beams down to my buddy so he can cut them up with his bandsaw.

 

cool man

 

I love the 1st gen Rangers, they look great with glass! Get to work!

 

nice i cant wait to c it finished. how do u add pics to ur posts i cant figure it out

 

Your gonna be hating life with those fabtech coils trust me they ride like ***. Spend the extra money and buy some eibachs from camburg totally worth it. I ran that kind for a long time great travel and alot better handling.

 

I won't be using those coils. I may go with some custom coil buckets and f-150 coils or maybe FOA coilovers.

This coming friday is payday so I may make some more progress on this soon.

 

I have foa coilovers on the front right now and am loving them. They make good shocks just not bumpstops.

 

I've heard good stuff about them and you can't beat the price. My intended goal/deadline for this truck is coming up in about a month and I am way behind.

 

Well, the truck had been put on the back burner for a while now since I missed my deadline and picked up another Mustang project. But after returning from a fishing trip just today, I found some motivation to get back to work in this thing except in slightly different direction.

Took the Sport Trac down to the lake and was very limited as to where I could establish base camp because its a 2WD. Then on my way out, I got stuck in some really loose stuff and had to have my father in-law pull me out. The same guy I had to pull out in my old FX4 LII couple years back so now I can't rag on him too much. Anyway, the new plan is a 4x4 build with a solid front axle, 33-35" tires, and a mildly modded 302 or 351W. Parts hunting commences tomorrow. BTW it was a great fishing trip!!!





Fred

 

damn dude how tall are you?

 

a towering 5'6". LOL I'm pretty short actually.