After messing around with the wheels, we went back to try and address the issue of the engine sitting at 6 degrees instead of the 2 or 3 we were looking for. Straight away we had an issue with the gearbox hitting the transmission tunnel We were trying to move as little metal as possible at first..... but ended up going quite a bit further ! We ended up having to put a 40mm spacer between the gearbox and the gearbox crossmember, tilting the engine more forward, so the angle is now 2.5 degrees
Once we were happy with the engine angle, it then caused another problem ! The oil filter housing was touching part of the steering rack assembly (directly below the oil filter in the picture) We could not understand this at first, as it was a modular engine in a Crown Vic front clip, with nothing else changed, however turns out that the oil filter housing contains an oiler cooler on the DOHC, but not on the 4.6 SOHC . We bought a SOHC oil filter housing, and tried that. It done the trick !! We can always add an oil cooler later if oil temps become an issue
Now that we were happy with this, we went back to making a new transmission tunnel. We rebated the outer edges to help give a more smooth finish after it is full welded into position We then self tapped it into position, in case we had to make any future adjustments, as we were making the tunnel in two pieces
wow. this is pretty cool. the "all new 2017 Ford Ranchero". modern power, modern handling, great looks!
That looks so much better than my 1994 graft in, i may upgrade eventually but going run with it for now. Anyway you look at it there is going to be some great handling improvements and that Cobra engine gonna rock!!
Prior to fitting the front panel work, we had a some minor work to the front panel and inner wing (fender), to make good some previous repairs. The front part of the inner wing had been patched up before....... So we decided to cut this off and put in a fresh piece We had similar issues with the front panel. We ended up media blasting the panel, prior to doing the repairs
The bad thing about rust, They say it never sleeps unless you cut it out !!!!,super fabrication work on this inner fender well,
We have finally received some of the parts we have been waiting for, full Ridetech Air Ride, 17" Crown Vic Front Wheels, Steering Column etc, so we can make a little more progress. The Ridetech kit looks quality, and cant wait to see it fitted. Instructions look very detailed, especially for the front Shockwaves, giving ride height dimensions, full drop etc We mad up some box section struts, to allow us to be able to set the Ranchero at ride height , and full drop, to check for clearances. These are the ones for the rear, very crude, but should do the job ! Now fitted, and allows us to play around with the height until we are happy (and to see if we need to notch the frame !) The pics dont show it, but there is a lock nut under the upper shock mount to lock the height.
A lot of people think that fab work is some kind of magic. It is work, time and skill. Thank you for bringing that out.
Got the front struts finished, eventually !! Drilled two holes, one for ride height, and one for parked height It was hard to see the true effect whilst the truck was on the jig Parked height Ride Height We took the truck off the jig, to get a better idea
We were a bit worried about not being low enough, but we are happy with the results. When parked , we should have about 1" ground clearance from the exhaust to the ground. Ride Height We may go for a little more rake on the stance, but we can fine tune that with the air rise. Parked height I just wish we could drive it at that height !! The next job is the steering column, then exhaust. looking at the space we have when the vehicle is parked, we might have to try something a little different