66 Ranger

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » April 30, 2009, 11:26 pm

lol mark. love it.

Thunderboy · Post by **Thunderboy** » June 15, 2009, 8:05 pm

That is one gorgeous truck, Mark! Sorry to hear of your engine issues. You photos also show you live in a beautiful place, too.

I am right now trying to fit my 66 F250 long bed to the frame of a 74 Camper Special. You say you shortened your '76 frame 4 inches. Not all off the rear, right? I thought you only needed to trim 2 inches off the rear. I did read the frame info on Fordification, FWIW, but I have never been too clear about this.

Could you tell me where you made your cut? Did you relocate any of the cross members or bumper mounts? How did you attach the bed to the frame? Did you move the axle forward/shorten your driveshaft? I welded tabs to the inside of my frame, hoping to use the existing bed mount holes, but they didn't line up as I expected. Any help or guidance you (or anyone else could lend me) would be appreciated.

Drew

Hoofbeat Racer · Post by **Hoofbeat Racer** » June 17, 2009, 12:20 am

Thunderboy

Frame was cut 8" behind the rear rivet on the drive shaft steady bearing cross member. 4" of frame was remove from there only. The saddle fuel tank was also removed. I used the existing holes from the 76 box mounts. It had to drill and file square new holes on the 66 box. I made new bumper mount brackets for the sport bumper. Axle is in stock location, drive shaft was shortened. Good luck, hope this helps.

Thunderboy · Post by **Thunderboy** » June 17, 2009, 11:17 am

Good info, Mark. I don't want to give up dual tanks, so I don't think I will do this the way you did.

If you used the existing holes in the frame to mount the box, I have a couple questions about this.

1. When I line up my 66 bed to the 74 frame, the frame holes line up on the "upper" ribs in the bed that run lengthwise. I understand that one would need to square up the holes for the carriage bolts, but, how did you reinforce the bed ribs to keep them from being crushed?

2. Also (this may be related), my 66 bed rests directly on the frame at the rear axle curve; did you raise the bed away from the frame? How did you do this, with wooden blocks maybe?

Thanks!
Drew

Hoofbeat Racer · Post by **Hoofbeat Racer** » June 17, 2009, 11:29 pm

Drew

That was all a bit of an oversight on my part. I do have some crush on my bed mount holes. They should have been reinforced and am kicking myself now about it. I used polyeurethane body lift blocks that I sanded down to get the right height that I needed. It ended up being quite a pain. To get the correct rake that I wanted plus to clear the rear fuel tank, I ended up with 3" lift blocks under the cab and rad support. This would have looked great on a 4x4 so that's when I added the drop beams in the front and the drop hangars in the rear. Trust me, I chased my tail for awhile. These problems happen when the body got rushed to paint and didn't have the proper time to mock up. Lesson learned big time here the hard way

Thunderboy · Post by **Thunderboy** » June 18, 2009, 9:35 am

Thanks, again, Mark.
This is becoming PITA. I do appreciate your perspective on this. This frame swap seemed like such a good idea when I started, and I will follow through and get it done because I have so much time and money invested. I don't know what I will do next, but I can tell this will take a while.

If anyone else has done a frame swap using a 73-79 frame on a 65 or 66, I would appreciate knowing how you fitted the bed to your newer frame.

Hoofbeat Racer · Post by **Hoofbeat Racer** » September 18, 2009, 6:19 pm

Just to add an engine update

About to start pulling the 429. I have spent close to a year trying to save for a new engine and decide what combo will work best for the truck. Just put the deposit on a 545 stroker from Reincarnation High Performance in Tacoma, WA. Details and pics to follow. Lets just say that it will be BIG. Stay tuned. All signs are pointing to the truck going to Iowa under its own power next year.

36truck · Post by **36truck** » September 18, 2009, 7:03 pm

Sounds great Mark GET-R -DONE.

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » September 18, 2009, 9:35 pm

going to iowa, or flying over it???? go mark! i call shotgun. lol

slickmainer · Post by **slickmainer** » September 26, 2009, 11:53 pm

down right amazing

gumshoe · Post by **gumshoe** » December 5, 2009, 2:07 pm

what a great truck, a true rags to riches build. gumshoe

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » December 5, 2009, 2:31 pm

Beautiful truck Mark> I have a question. What floor shifter are you using? I'm doing a "63 Uni Ranger clone" (I know there was no such thing built) with Mustang buckets. I was planning on using the 63 Falcon console, but since I've seen yours I think the later Falcon console may hit about right for the T-5 Mustang shifter I'm also installing. Are you running a T-5 or is that an aftermarket shifter on the original tranny? Thanks.

Hoofbeat Racer · Post by **Hoofbeat Racer** » December 5, 2009, 10:13 pm

Grits, you might as well make it a Mercury while you are at it

Thanks again for the compliments fellas

My truck is an automatic with a C6. The shifter is a Hurst Pro-Matic II truck shifter. I never used the console it came with. I had a local seamstress make me a leather boot for it and bought a chrome trim ring from Hurst. Amazingly enough, it all fit perfectly inside the Comet console and feels very comfortable where it is at. It is a slapstick with a reverse lockout. A bit of a pain for backing up cause you have to go into park before going into reverse.

Update on engine progress. I ended up buying the Ford Racing Kaase SCJ aluminum heads. They are currently being massaged by Reincarnation High Performance in Tacoma, WA. The engine is also being built and dynoed there. Engine will be a 545. That is a 30 over 460 with a 4.5" stroke. RHP is custom grinding a cam. Holley 950 carb, victor intake, and aeromotive fuel system are some of the other upgrades the engine will be getting. Next item is my tranny. Have to rob a bank or 2 between now and slickstock to get the truck going. Darn guys at 460ford.com are a bad influence

I am currently rewireing some things I didn't like. My MSD box is going back under the hood. I had it in the glove box, hated it. Too noisy and annoying. Have to wire in the fuel pump and controller. Fuel tank is coming out to weld a sump on it. Running new fuel lines. Truck is sitting on blocks a foot in the air right for ease of work. I wish I had more time. Told the wife I am taking some holidays once I get the engine to work on the truck. Hard to get ambitious once the rugrats are in bed. Specially since it is dark here by 5.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » December 5, 2009, 10:34 pm

Hoofbeat Racer wrote:Grits, you might as well make it a Mercury while you are at it

Don't think I haven't considered it.

Hoofbeat Racer · Post by **Hoofbeat Racer** » February 7, 2010, 11:41 pm

things are starting to come into place. I am going to an electric pump and bypass regulator for the fuel system for the 545. Just got the rear sump for the fuel pump welded on today. It is a Competition Engineering product. Cannot take credit for the welding, my buddy with a tig did a great job. Tank is upside down for the pic

Also made a transport for the new engine. Used the old 429 for mock up. I have to travel 650 miles with the engine, figgered it better be on a good stand.

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » February 8, 2010, 12:53 am

I would of put a tall handle on it!, your backs going to be killing you by the time you get it there!

36truck · Post by **36truck** » February 8, 2010, 2:21 am

Looking good Mark.

Reds Rod Shop · Post by **Reds Rod Shop** » February 8, 2010, 8:56 pm

I have not seen your post until now. I must say that the interior and under the hood look great. I've never even thought of using mustang buckets but I really like the looks of them. Can't wait to see that beast of an engine that you are having built. Keep the pics coming. They inspire me... Red

CoralRed · Post by **CoralRed** » March 2, 2010, 7:23 pm

Hey Mark, nice truck. I'm doing something similar with my 66 LWB F 100. The original 352 lost a rod after less than 10.000 on a 'professional' rebuild...so I'm building a 545 stroker for it. What made you decide on the Victor intake? I'm building mine as a torque monster for towing my wife's horses around, so an intake that pulls from 0-3000 would be great.
Whereabouts in Alberta are you? It would be neat to hook up sometime. I'm in Calgary.
Mike

Hoofbeat Racer · Post by **Hoofbeat Racer** » March 3, 2010, 1:51 am

Mike, it was a combination of things that make me go with the single plane intake. Due to the large displacement and the long stroke, sacrificing some lower rpm torque was not really an issue. My cam should also give me a fairly flat torque curve. The engine is built to shift in the mid to high 5000 rpm range. Needed the single plane to help feed this pig. I guess we will see in a few weeks when we hit the dyno just where the numbers are going to be. If you plan on pulling with yours then I might be inclined to run a dual plane. PM sent BTW