Ford Ranger cage questions

It is! In the years I've used this name on various forums, you are the first person to get it.

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Neronymous
It is! In the years I've used this name on various forums, you are the first person to get it.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only black metal Rally Anarchist. Do you listen to more underground stuff? Like Samrt, Epheles, Vlad Tepes, Satanic Warmaster, Ravensblood, older Taake, Ragnarok, etc.?

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Why do you even need brakes? Are you some sort of pansy or something?

Dethklok?

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

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tdrrally
Dethklok?

No.

And I completely agree with the second half of your signature (and sort of the first half): "Drive what makes you happy. You're the one paying for it."

My DD is fast as balls (but after my new tires it vibrates and shakes like crazy at and after 100 MPH) but boring and I hate it. Hopefully talking this guy a block away from my workplace into selling me this Mercedes 190E 2.3 16V Cosworth that's in his junkyard for a few hundred bucks. And getting it up to "weekend driver and breaking down on the side of the road" condition. And also finally taking home his uncle's Xratty and caging that bitch.

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Why do you even need brakes? Are you some sort of pansy or something?

I got into black metal on Mayhem, Emperor, and Immortal, but have picked up on Dodsferd, Gorgoroth, and Trelldom. Always looking for new stuff.

Dethklok is fun, but not black metal. I have some of their stuff, though.

The Ranger build will allow me to proceed as funds allow, plus have some desert racer flair. No tall suspension, mind, but using those trucks and AngryIron as inspiration.

in the long run you will be a better driver racing a slow car than starting out with a fast one

190e cossy is a neat ride not the fastest of its day but still good fun

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

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Neronymous
I got into black metal on Mayhem, Emperor, and Immortal, but have picked up on Dodsferd, Gorgoroth, and Trelldom. Always looking for new stuff.

Dethklok is fun, but not black metal. I have some of their stuff, though.

The Ranger build will allow me to proceed as funds allow, plus have some desert racer flair. No tall suspension, mind, but using those trucks and AngryIron as inspiration.

I really like Immortal's "Pure Holocaust" album but not much after that. Dodsferd is good, as well as "Pentagram" by Gorgoroth. Trelldom isn't bad either. Have you heard "Impaler of Wallachia" by Graveland? Great song. I suggest Ragnarok. A lot. [url=

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And if you're just going to use your Ranger as a stage rally truck and no desert racing, there's no need for a bunch of suspension travel, so no tall suspension wouldn't hurt anything. I'd say stock suspension travel would be good. Stiffen the chassis (seam welding, weld up all the holes, and cage) plus stiffer springs and you SHOULD be okay. Assuming I'm right. Which you shouldn't do. Because I don't know stuff.


[quote=tdrrally]
in the long run you will be a better driver racing a slow car than starting out with a fast one

190e cossy is a neat ride not the fastest of its day but still good fun[/quote]



I agree. My first two REAL cars were 1999 Ford Tore-Asses with the 24V 3.0 V6. Not slow. Boring, but not slow.
I'd rather have fun to drive and interesting than fast any day. I comute about 400 miles a week and I start at about 4:45 in the morning. If I have a Cossie Mercedes to keep me awake, then life would be just fucking grand. I'm not saying that my 24V V6 sucks, because that's the only part of my car that I like. But everything else is just so boring.

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Why do you even need brakes? Are you some sort of pansy or something?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2013 07:15AM by TylerEstes.

I will definitely get some Ragnarok. Sick shit.

I have the 3.0 Vulcan motor in the Ranger, and the Duratec motor was supposed to be that much more fun, even if it came in the sad Taurus.

Fun and fast can be two different things. Does it react how you like going into turns? Is it predictable? Does it make sexy sounds?

The Ranger is a blast to drive, even moreso since I installed springs (370 up front, stock out back), and Skyjacker Nitro 8000 shocks. They were some of the stiffest shocks I could find, and they take rallycross well, but I'm aware I'll probably need better for both come stage time.

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Neronymous
they take rallycross well, but I'm aware I'll probably need better come stage time.

Like a car..

Trucks are all about being a style statement..trucks are supposed to be about moving goods, junk, stuff.
Everything is compromised to accomodate carrying stuff. Crates, firewood, old engine blocks, bricks, plywood.

If you are not carrying stuff like Crates, firewood, old engine blocks, bricks, plywood then there is no reason to drive a truck--which is all compromised for taht...
IF somebody does, its because they want a built-in excuse why they're getting massacreed to death on the stage...

You want to get massacreed to death on stages cause the vehicle is doing things it was never intended to do?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

who said trucks aren't for racing ?

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

i do lean more to the suv side

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I would rather drive a slow car fast as a fast car slow!
first rule of cars: get what makes you happy, your the one paying for it!

Nice Suzuki! I have an SX4 Crossover, and it's a pretty fun car to toss around. I did a couple of rallycrosses with it, and it was a blast.

John, I appreciate you trying to save me the heartache of spending all of my time and money on something that may never be as competitive as I'd like, as much as I would like to build up the Ranger.

Trucks appear to be hamstrung by weight distribution and the type of frame stiffness it has... or rather, doesn't have. A well-designed cage may help this quite a bit, but the shortcomings remain. However, finding a good 240 to build up is proving to be harder than I at first imagined. Other than that, cars like the Merkur are relatively hard to find (although there are some amazing examples out there), and while the Lada is more in my range, importation could be problematic, and there is my love of rwd/awd...

I like a rwd or awd vehicle. This limits my options, I realize, but there is something about having the power going to the back wheels that I find addictive.

Perhaps starting from scratch is what I need to end up doing. The Ranger does push the front a lot going into turns, even with the suspension changes I made and after dropping the rear two inches to scoot some weight further back.

I'll fall back to a n00b question, then.

What would you suggest as a good rwd platform that is cheap to buy with the intent to build it up? If I didn't mind fwd, I have seen VW's go very cheaply ready to roll...

I phrase it this way because the cars I would like to be driving (such as Tim's Merkur) are something I may be able to afford over time (i.e. by building it as money comes in), but not at the moment.

Just leave the door wide open, why doncha? Asking what's a good, cheap RWD platform is how you conjure the devil around here.



Tim.

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Neronymous
What would you suggest as a good rwd platform that is cheap to buy with the intent to build it up?

just imo-

if I'm building a car, it's going to be one of these three:
volvo 240
merkur xr4ti
fox body mustang

all three with a 2.3 turbo engine, WC T5 trans, Toyota rear end.

fox body seems like the cheapest way to go. but it's probably going to be a good bit more expensive if you want one that came with a turbo from the factory (ie. SVO). If you're ok picking up a plain jane 4cyl and adding the turbo later, these things are dirt cheap.

aside from the ever-present unibody strength concerns, the big issue I see with the fox is the rear suspension. I know the Hurst/Utecht mustang used the stock layout and they said it was ok, but just recently on SS I saw Hurst saying the suspension travel was limited. I think it could be a kick-ass car with a long 5-link setup, and that's not exactly rocket science, but it's still a big fab project - especially for someone like me whose fab experience consists entirely of zipties and bending small bits of aluminum.

It seems like the merkur has the most out-of-the-box potential. Your only option is to get one with a turbo, doesn't seem to need any major fabrication to make the suspension work well. Don't know if John's supra diff mounting stuff is bolt-in, or if it needs some work, but it still seems pretty straightforward.

the volvo probably has the best build-it-as-you-go potential. the stock rear suspension doesn't seem to be terrible like the mustang's. not rare like the merkur.

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KF7RWG
http://www.utahrallygroup.com