Today I ordered my new tires and wheels from Tire Rack.

I will post pictures of them installed once they show up.

I opted for Hurst Dazzler 15x7 and P225/70R15 BFgoodrich Radial T/A's

I posted a picture of my stock wheels for comparison.

 

You are going to have to paint the calipers with gaps that wide, lol, or go full out: 1994 Ford Ranger Performance Brakes | Pads, Rotors, Calipers

Should look nice

 

Your right I have a lot of work to do before I will mount the wheels and tires.

 

While waiting on my new tires and wheels, I have slowly working cleaning up all four wheelwells and suspension parts plus servicing the brakes.

As mentioned my new wheels will show more of the brakes and other nasty looking stuff under my truck.

In total I have a few hours work in in yet is has taken me weeks to do because I can only do so much per day.

I would normally do better work than this yet I am proud to have done as much as I did.

I will be ordering new inner wheelwell molding when I can afford it for now I cleaned everything I could get to.

I am glad I did there was a bunch of mud and debris trapped between the fender and molding which would have rusted out a few parts.

While I had everything apart I cleaned up the rotor and repacked the bearings.

I still need to buy new dust caps and cotter pins.

I only spent a few bucks doing this work 4 bucks for some paint about the same for the grease. the expensive part was the elbow grease.

I will probably be recovering from today's work for a week or more.

 

Great before and after pics

 

Very slick work there. I'd like to to something similar to my exposed frame/suspension components.

 

Thanks guys.

 

I am far from being able to get all four tires and wheel mounted, yet I wanted to show my order came in from Tire Rack in great shape.

I have yet to inspect two of the wheels, however as well as they packed them I do not expect any issues.

I plan on weighing a new tire and wheel to compare the weight to the old tire and wheels I will post the findings here for those that may be interested in this combo.

The truck is still in the air on jack stands

Edit

The Old tires and OEM wheels with about 1/2 tread left on the tires weigh 47.7 pounds not including the center cap
The New tires and wheels plus a center cap weigh 44.1 pounds.
Not a large weight savings

 

Well So far I have three out of four wheels mounted and the suspension frame etc cleaned wet sanded painted. I am glad I did this work because I caught a few rust spots that could have grown much worse if I did not notice them.

while having the rear drums off I noticed that the previous owner only replaced one rear shoe per side causing the rear brakes to be ineffective.

This explains why I had a parking brake that felt like it was adjusted good yet doesn't hold the truck properly.

I guess it takes a special kind of moron to pay for 4 rear brake shoes and only installs two of them.

 

Looks factory new. I wish I had the patience for that kind of stuff.

 

Thanks.

 

Can't wait to see it all done and sitting on the ground. Nice wheels.

 

Thanks, I have plans to lower it some but I have so much to do the truck still it will be riding stock height for a while.

Eventually I will have the Hurst shifter and Hurst equipped reproduction emblems on the truck.

I have big plans yet a tiny budget and a bad back, so its safe to say my truck will be a permanent work in progress.

 

Soo clean man. Truck will look great with a small drop.

 

Thanks I cannot wait to see what it will look like with a lowered suspension.

I am hoping I can get away with a 2 inch in the front and 3 inch in the back.

 

If you have the standard 2wd model, you could always look for an explorer rear end. The mount on the other side of the leaf springs which would lower it a bit in the rear without altering the springs or spring rate. Maybe you can find a bone yard that will give you a good price or check Craigslist for someone parting out theirs. I would get spindle drops for the front if you can find them. Its the best way to lower and maintain the ability to align the front properly.

I have a 4x2 Trailhead, so I want to keep the height. I like being able to see over most cars on the highway. It has the 4X4 torsion bar suspension. I'm already dreading having to replace front end parts. I think most of them are from the 4X4, it just the spindles I'm not sure about.

 

If was to consider a rear end swap, I would have to farm that work out.

With my back and neck I couldn't even attempt it.

Yet if i went through the expense of swapping a rear I wonder if I could find one with a 8.8 and disk brakes while I was at it.

For now its a pipe dream until I get some more cash.

Thanks for the idea

 

Another bonus going with an expo rear end, is you can get one with a limited slip differential, opposed to our standard/open diffs. What I wouldn't give for a limited slip....

 

The whole rear end swap at the surface sounds good, yet I have a 2.3 DOHC.

For the type of driving I will be doing the stock 7.5 is fine for now.

If the rear goes out one day I would pay for the swap rather than rebuild the 7.5.

 

Yeah, you'll be lucky to break a 7.5 with a 2.3 lol.

I'd like to do that one day, but I gotta learn to weld first. And to do that I need to get a welder. To do that I need more money.

 

Well I finally got all four corners done

 

Some more pictures

 

Turned out very well. Any other mods in mind? 06 mirrors are a great value for money mod.

 

I will be working on making it road worthy for a while, so the modifications from stock will be down the road.

I plan on getting a 5th tire and wheel for the spare so I can do a 5 wheel rotation.

It will get lowered some.

I would like to do a mild Audio system, new carpet, custom paint, Hurst shifter, 8.8 inch Rear with disk brakes and LSD, Heavy duty u-joints.

When I am ready financially the engine will get rebuilt with a better flowing head and some aftermarket cams, rods, Pistons ETC ( looking for around 260+ HP at the rear wheels )

As far as mods I would like to eliminate the Power steering and go with Electric steering assist, Electric primary fan, shaved door handles and reversed countersunk tail gate handle, remove radio antenna fill in recessed opening,.

New mirrors and steering wheel, add cruise control, The custom paint I think I want two tone midnight blue and the Harvest gold in the middle.

Sliding rear window, upgraded brakes ( drilled and slotted )

Yet I still have a lot of basic repairs to do Like a new AC system new hoses etc.

My biggest problem is I am so deep into this truck already, If I stopped now I doubt I could get 1/2 of what I have in it now if I sold it.

This being said I plan on keeping this truck for a long time to make up for the amount of time and money I will have in it.

 

Sounds to me like you have a ton of work ahead of you. I tossed some new carpet in for 25 bucks or less using indoor outdoor carpet. Worked out very well for a guy like me on a very limited budget. Standard housing padding and black indooroutdoor carpet laid in. First time I ever laid carpet, so naturally I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes.

As far as audio goes, a good stereo and a nice set of speakers should be plenty for what it sounds like you want. I've got some pioneer speakers and a kenwood single din, no amplifier or anything else. Lucky for me the speakers were already in the truck when I bought it, unbeknownst to me or the owner, hehe. 100 bucks later on a stereo and it'll vibrate the truck even on low levels if you so let it. Of course if you're not that type you can dial it back to where it doesn't make you "that guy".

Food for thought if you're on a tight budget.

Anyways, good luck on that endeavour. Sounds like you're ready to shell out some serious cash. I wish I had that kind of money to toss at my truck.