Well here is the start of another Deathbypsi project!! This is the begining of my dream build up.

Take one clean 88 Ranger longbed,add a 408w, single turbo with blow thru carb,c4 or powerglide,31 spline 8.8 w/3.27 gears,325 MT DR's and a 16 gallon fuel cell full of E-85 and we have one badass Ranger!

So far I have all parts to assemble my 91 Ex 8.8,motor is 90% done,c4 is 50% ready but might go with a Powerglide instead now, I have 15x3.5 and 15x8.5 Centerline Autodrags with 275 BFG DR's for now,have drop beams,Afco radiator,Front mount and lots of other small odds and ends. Much more to follow!

Here is the Ranger today as it rolled off the trailer. 88 from Tenn which sat in a Michigan barn for the last 7 years.



Im gonna say for sure because my title doesnt say what the mileage was before but as clean as it is I have a strong feeling this is correct.











And the seller thru in a set of old drop beams for free.
Gumby,anyway to tell if these are 1st or 2nd gen beams?

And here is the only pic I have of the 408 for now.More details on the motor later.


Not a bad score for a 550.00 truck.

 

Great looking motor. Can't wait to see the truck up a running.

 

That thing will be beastly. You going to beef up the frame and stuff?

 

a drag car running 3:27's?

 

Nice!!

 

Turbo cars don't like real low gearing. 3.27 is about perfect. You want more speed/tire revolutions than rpm when dealing with boost over n/a.

 

Sorry about that...i'm an NA sorta dragger over here. lol.

 

Was already talking with a chassis guy today about what type of cage we need to build to be safe for 9.50 ETs. Frame will be plenty stiff when we are done. The rear of the truck will also get a added crossmember behind the axle housing to stiffen the frame and for a new shock mount setup.

The motor has a set of 225cc ProComp aluminum heads ported to their limits and a matching Super Victor intake. It has a 4.00 stroke Ohio Crankshaft,Eagle H-beams rods,and SRP pistons.This motor was built for nitrous and has already gone 9.50's but I will need to swap to a turbo grind cam with a much less agressive grind.

For the next few months I will be in parts hording mode since Im lookin to move very soon and cant really rip into the truck yet until after I get moved into my new house.

 

those are 89+ beams. perfect for the upgrade to 95-97 brakes. might just be the pic, but they look really tall too.....might be an ooooolld set of trailmaster 4" beams....

bout time we got some pics!

 

cant wait to see this done

 

Well as long as they aint too much drop Im happy!! Even got some extra brake parts with em.

I might put the Centerlines on it later this week to get an idea how it sits with the factory suspension.

 

haha awesome, you and your projects!

 

That's too clean to be your garage!

 

Thats the top secret engine lab.

 

Starting to look the part now!!

Already installed brand new tail lights,got solid tailgate to start with and wheels with temp tires are on.

Not sure if will keep the front tires,I think a set of taller MT ET fronts might be a better choice.

 

looks like that rear offset might cause some issue when you lower it. especially with the wider ex axle.

i bet the front tire size will be just right after the drop though

 

I am thinkin about having the Ex housing narrowed now. Me and Z7Turbo were lookin at the wheel tubs and it looks like an easy tub job could be in order also.

I am lucky to live very close to TeamZMotorsports in Flat Rock Mi so getting the housing cut down and the tubes welded to the center shouldnt be a problem.

Wish I knew how to Photoshop a drop on one of those pix to see what a drop would make it look like!

Here is a tighter shot of the rear.

 

i doubt you would even need to tub the box. those tires arent THAT big. just need to move em in a bit

here is my 89 with beams and a flip kit, basically the same drop you will have. on 25.7" OD tires, just to give you an idea of stance.


and heres a lil vid to show it rollin down the road....out runnin my buddies supercharged 4.0.....

 

The 275's are just for the build up,I want to go with a 315 or 325 MT DR once the motor is up to full song.

 

when i worked at my uncles body shop we did alot of paint work for TeamZ like the wingless hatchback mustang they have

 

This truck will be a wicked one

 

My buddy just sent me these this morning. He did a little Photoshop work to these to drop it,tried to cover the blue,touched up the bad white paint and put a center cap on rear. I love it.Its got me thinkin about ditching the blue and going with a white/SIlver combo instead and keeping all the chrome.I think these wheels with all the chrome will look beautiful! I cant remember seeing too many white/silver combo paint jobs so I think that would look really different and stand out.

 

nice build so far... what turbo are you planning on using? perhaps a bi turbo or twin turbo would be better suited...

nothing says "i have it all" like a nice t3/t4 set up, although for lower rpms, i'd suggest a k03 thru a k04+

whatever you end up doing, i would suggest NOT doing rear mount snail(s)...

 

Awesome looking truck, cant wait to see progress!

 

I will be doing a single setup with a BW S400 turbo. I havent talked with the turbo shop yet but it will be at least a 74mm,possibly a 80mm with either a 1.00 or 1.32 A/R housing. T6 frame turbo. I dont think two T3 frame turbos will make the power Im shooting for. A t3 turbo worked good on my old 2.3 turbo motors which are 140ci, if you concider half my motor is still 204ci I could imagine using a t3 on a 4 banger of that size.