Life after the "Terminator"

[jbrown1238]

well I just spent hours of my life going through this thread! I want to buy a Ranger now.... What amazing work you did. Absolutely incredible. I think you need to open a classic restoration business. Anyway, what a great truck. Just as a not I got 57K on my 2007 Mustang GT that I have owned since it had 3 miles on it, you have me beat since last summer for mileage.

I am sending a link to this thread to my Ranger friend.

Thanks for the kind words and for devoting so much time to this thread. I know it is getting a little long. My wife has a 07 Mustang GT conv. that has 223,000 miles on it now. She drives almost as much as me. We bought it in 2008 with 16,000 miles. It still has the original starter, radiator, ac, etc. If all goes well we will be pulling it off the road in April and replacing it with a 2016 Mustang GT conv.

 

[jbrown1238]

This thread made me bring my level of attention of detail up when working on my car. I don't know if I can get to your level but I will try.

Nothing special about what I do, just too much time on my hands! : )

 

[Gibs07GTcpe]

Very Nice to know they last a lot of miles. you should do a restoration for someone and get paid with a DSG Terminator.

 

[Teal Terminator]

I hear ya! I don't know if I got enough left in me to do another one. I promised myself no more big projects, then I started thinking about that 93 Reef Blue Notch I always wanted. Now I find this on You Tube! Maybe the little Ranger needs a big brother! I am really feeling this F350.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub8cR4AaOvU&sns=em

I dig the overall look of that truck and the color but those wheels have got to go... IMHO. Nice that it has the 7.3 as well.

 

[AustinSN]

Nothing special about what I do, just too much time on my hands! : )

Lol I just decided to look back, you pretty much started putting miles on this thing 07/17/2016.

You haven't even driven it for 8 months and you're damn near 50,000 miles.

Are you sure you don't need a break?

 

[Woody6799]

Color me impressed again... its all in the little details.

 

[Jefe]

Well there went 2 hours. For some reason I had been skipping this thread for the past 2.5 years. Very impressive!!

Next project: Make the rear window roll down

 

[jbrown1238]

Very Nice to know they last a lot of miles. you should do a restoration for someone and get paid with a DSG Terminator.

Now you are talking! Sounds like a Win Win!

 

[jbrown1238]

I dig the overall look of that truck and the color but those wheels have got to go... IMHO. Nice that it has the 7.3 as well.

I really like it a lot. I know the 26 inch wheels are a little large, 24's would probably look a little better. Any updates on the Teal Terminator? Still one of my top three all time favorites!!!

 

[jbrown1238]

Lol I just decided to look back, you pretty much started putting miles on this thing 07/17/2016.

You haven't even driven it for 8 months and you're damn near 50,000 miles.

Are you sure you don't need a break?

Actually I have had a few breaks lately. I have been off a few weekends here and there recently. My average is a little down, I was running just a tick under 100,000 miles a year.

 

[jbrown1238]

Color me impressed again... its all in the little details.

Speaking of which, I need to tune in to your build thread and catch up. It was getting pretty good the last time I looked.

 

[jbrown1238]

Well there went 2 hours. For some reason I had been skipping this thread for the past 2.5 years. Very impressive!!

Next project: Make the rear window roll down

I like that idea!

 

[centerforce]

That mod to the bezel is really clever! Love the creativity.

 

[jbrown1238]

I started going to Fun Ford/NMRA Spring Break Shootout events in Bradenton Florida back in 1997 and have been going pretty much every year since then. I have never been much of the car show type but did enter my 1993 V8 Ranger about 15 years ago as well as painting my son’s 91 Mustang GT for him to enter back in 2009. He was lucky enough to receive an award and was very excited when that occurred.

During the five years it took to assemble my current V8 Ranger I often thought about entering it in the NMRA event just to celebrate it being done more than anything else. Several weeks ago I managed to check that off my bucket list.

I even managed to follow in my son’s footsteps and receive a Special Recognition award on Saturday and a Class Event Winner award on Sunday.

 

[R.D.P.]

Congrats - I was going to say, if there's a Ranger class at any Ford show, I want to see the truck that beats yours, even with the daily duty it's seeing.

 

[Woody6799]

Awesome, if there is one V8 swapped Ranger out there that deserves an award it is hands down yours. Well Done!

 

[Rainmaker]

Glad this thread keeps getting bumped. So much respect for jbrown and what he has done with that Ranger.

 

[jbrown1238]

Thanks guys, I sure do appreciate the kind words. It was a lot of fun talking to people at the show and seeing the different reactions. To be honest it feels just as good putting that bucket item behind me and getting the truck back into service where it belongs. I had a couple weekends off but the work is already starting to ramp back up.

 

[jbrown1238]

A few weeks ago the Ranger hit 60,000 miles. It is hard to believe, since July 17, 2015 the truck has racked up that many miles. Early indications are that the 2016 total miles will be down a little from an average 100,000 per year. They will probably come in between 85,000 and 95,000 if everything stays the same.

Most of this video will probably seem a little repetitious but I wanted to include it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNFRR-blcb8&sns=em

Not much to report as far as new changes or major issues. I did have a small oil leak around the cast aluminum Perma-Cool oil filter adapter at the engine. I replaced that around 50,000 miles with a billet aluminum Canton piece that was a better build quality and had a much better gasket. A week or so later both of my custom oil lines started leaking at the seams. I am not sure but I think I may have damaged them during the adapter change and probably bent them a little to tight around corners. I had two new hoses made and the problem was corrected.

I started getting a little noise around 53,000 miles from the throw out bearing so I pulled the transmission and replaced the part with a new one. The guys at Profab Performance in Port Richey Florida did a great job on designing and building the exhaust. I was able to remove two v-bands at the x-pipe and tip the engine slightly without removing any of the exhaust. There was plenty of room to remove the transmission with all of the exhaust in place. It took 29 minutes to get the trans out with hand tools and no air.

A few days ago I ran a direct power line for the audio and inadvertently knocked my ECM harness wiring down on to the driver side header. A stupid mistake that should have not gone unnoticed. Needless to say about 25 miles into the next work day the header burned through the insulation and shorted out power to the engine. At 60 mph on US 19 in Clearwater the engine died instantly and the truck rolled off the road to a dead stop where it waited for the tow truck. Four hours later the burned wiring was fixed and the truck was back to work. (Thanks Auto Dynamics).

The next upgrade will be a Fuelab Fuel Filter to replace the OEM piece. I am sick and tired of the quick connect fittings on the stock unit. It seems like every time I try to pull one apart something causes an issue. Last time I had to rebuild one quick connect with all six of the internal pieces because they all came out attached to the filter. Some how they fused to the filter and that was the final straw for me. Once the new piece is installed it will be 6 AN swivel fittings and hopefully no more headaches.

See you guys in a month or so when the Ranger hits 70,000 miles. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!

 

[Brutal Metal]

Good Stuff!