Philofab's shop Ranger

[philofab]

Did you know the nut on the pivot bolt was gone before you started driving? That seems like a pretty drastic way to save weight.

Looks like it will be a fun little project, if it doesn't snowball out of control...but you know they all do.

No, I didn't see it till this morning. I heard a little bit of a noise from the font end and just figured it was a bushing needing replacement or worn hiems.

[SuperSixAxis]

Chris, sorry about the nut on the pivot bar. Aside from the rear axle swap and an oil change I had no idea what I was dealing with. I am glad you werent hurt....wait, I am glad I was not hurt either!

I am gonna be pissed if Philo's shop truck turns out better than my Bronco, FML!

[Copykat]

Great start. Look forward to the build and will be watching.

[philofab]

I have been researching ways to tune the engine.... on the cheap.

Full tune up
Swapping emissions spark plugs to firing order.
Adjustable cam gear
Speedway header (mostly to loose weight over the factory manifold)
3" Magnaflow cat.
2.5 Magnaflow muffler (tailpipe to rear axle to keep it quiet)
95+ rocker swap (gives more valve lift)
Quaterhorse to tune it for 91+ octane and mods
Some Dremmel work on the intake manifold and throttle body.
Thermostat work to make it run warmer
5.0 (19lb) injectors if I have to replace them for better duty cycle

2.5 bottom end if I can find one.

[Becks_Bronco]

I have been researching ways to tune the engine.... on the cheap.

Full tune up
Swapping emissions spark plugs to firing order.
Adjustable cam gear
Speedway header (mostly to loose weight over the factory manifold)
3" Magnaflow cat.
2.5 Magnaflow muffler (tailpipe to rear axle to keep it quiet)
95+ rocker swap (gives more valve lift)
Quaterhorse to tune it for 91+ octane and mods
Some Dremmel work on the intake manifold and throttle body.
Thermostat work to make it run warmer
5.0 (19lb) injectors if I have to replace them for better duty cycle

2.5 bottom end if I can find one.

Philo, what do you mean by swapping the emissions spark plugs to firing order?

[philofab]

Philo, what do you mean by swapping the emissions spark plugs to firing order?

Many four cylinder engines have two spark plugs per cylinder. One is for firing the engine right after the compression stroke, the other is during the exhaust stroke for emissions purposes. I swap the plug wires so two plugs fire at the same time(or close to it) in each cylinder.

It may cause you to fail an emissions test and may cause a check engine light to come on without ECM tuning.

[Becks_Bronco]

Philo, what do you mean by swapping the emissions spark plugs to firing order?

Many four cylinder engines have two spark plugs per cylinder. One is for firing the engine right after the compression stroke, the other is during the exhaust stroke for emissions purposes. I swap the plug wires so two plugs fire at the same time(or close to it) in each cylinder.

It may cause you to fail an emissions test and may cause a check engine light to come on without ECM tuning.

Wow, i didn't know that, and after being around a lot of 4 cyl cars, never came across it. I know that a lot of cars have dead spark and fire a single plug on both compression and exhaust. Haven't seen one with two plugs.

LEarn something new every day

[tcm glx]

Chris, sorry about the nut on the pivot bar. Aside from the rear axle swap and an oil change I had no idea what I was dealing with. I am glad you werent hurt....wait, I am glad I was not hurt either!

I am gonna be pissed if Philo's shop truck turns out better than my Bronco, FML!

Philo, James had us rolling with the stories of how he ended up with this Ranger, make sure he shares with you once you get it!

[philofab]

Wow, i didn't know that, and after being around a lot of 4 cyl cars, never came across it. I know that a lot of cars have dead spark and fire a single plug on both compression and exhaust. Haven't seen one with two plugs.

LEarn something new every day

The only two that I know of are the 2.3/2.5 Ranger engine and 2.4L NAPS-Z Nissan engine used in trucks.

[philofab]

Looks like a Honda K24 or Nissan VQ35 would save about 100 lbs and add horsepower....

300 hp in a 3000lb truck should be ok...

[Becks_Bronco]

Looks like a Honda K24 or Nissan VQ35 would save about 100 lbs and add horsepower....

300 hp in a 3000lb truck should be ok...

Not that it matters, but the VQ is going to sound a lot better. And the cool factor would be up there haha

[philofab]

Not that it matters, but the VQ is going to sound a lot better. And the cool factor would be up there haha

The VQ series engine came in the Mercury Villager so it's almost a Ford motor right? Hahaha.

[Becks_Bronco]

Not that it matters, but the VQ is going to sound a lot better. And the cool factor would be up there haha

The VQ series engine came in the Mercury Villager so it's almost a Ford motor right? Hahaha.

Really?? Hahaha, good to know though, as sourcing parts through ford is probably a whole lot cheaper than nissan/infinity lol

[philofab]

Really?? Hahaha, good to know though, as sourcing parts through ford is probably a whole lot cheaper than nissan/infinity lol

The prices from Nissan are not bad at all.

I've done a VG30dett into a 90 300zx then a VK56 swap in to it after we destroyed it with too much boost. All the parts from Nissan were quite economical. I want to say a new VK56 was $3000-3500.

[RyanDS650X]

VK56 was a great motor, i loved my Titan it was like a sports car with 4x4. Ill bet the 300zx was a lot of fun! I vote VK56 for the Ranger!

[philofab]

VK56 was a great motor, i loved my Titan it was like a sports car with 4x4. Ill bet the 300zx was a lot of fun! I vote VK56 for the Ranger!

It's way to big and it took way too much work and $$$ to install a 6 speed on it.

[SteveG]

If I didn't have to smog it (lucky!), I'd put an SVO turbo engine in it and call it a day.

[philofab]

If I didn't have to smog it (lucky!), I'd put an SVO turbo engine in it and call it a day.

I could make stupid numbers with a turbo on just about anything... sadly, turbos are no go for off road racing. I have access to a drive train out of a 88 Turbo Coupe for cheap but can't use it. NA power only.

You see... the way the laws and tax rules work, I can get a .50 a mile deduction for racing the Baja 1000.... that's $500! Lololol.

[SteveG]

I didn't know you were going for a specific class... yeah the rules are lame. A 4cyl turbo truck would be so easy to balance and make handle well. Without spending a ton of cash on an engine.

[philofab]

As far as I know there is not a single class you can run a turbo in, including TT. ASCC requires me to run in one of the open classes due to having fuel injection.

I'm ok with that. I'll still do well.