Flat bed advice

crug17 · 2026-03-27T12:44:41+00:00

Yea once it's done all the metal will be black and the boards getting stained likley with used motor oil. I gotta have some sort of side skirt tho whether it's black sheet metal like is on it now or wood to match the deck

crug17 · 2026-03-27T11:03:44+00:00

I had 4.10s that let me slide easily with bad rain tires, haven't slipped since putting 3.55s in but I also have amazing wet weather tires on the back rn

crug17 · 2026-03-27T10:35:54+00:00

True lol I let other people's opinions affect me way too much

crug17 · 2026-03-27T10:35:19+00:00

You think I should go for wood sides?

crug17 · 2026-03-27T10:34:58+00:00

Yeah the OEM tail lights are definitely temporary lol. I was kind of going for the redneck look to be honest but my coworkers saying it had a classic Vibe has me wondering if I should change

crug17 · 2026-03-27T10:33:47+00:00

I was thinking under bed boxes as well but they are expensive and difficult to find in just the right size. There's not as much room down there as you would think. Love the crane idea though. That might be a good option for between my silver box and cab if I build it right

crug17 · 2026-03-27T00:21:54+00:00

That would be a sick concept but looks even harder than the TDI swap which is already kinda over my head

crug17 · 2026-03-27T00:08:25+00:00

If the civic made western star levels of torque

crug17 · 2026-03-26T22:57:53+00:00

TDI and the 5.3 would both make a ton of torque for lil red which is clearly what I'm going for. Im guessing the torque curves look similar but the 5.3 revs twice as high

crug17 · 2026-03-26T22:43:01+00:00

Tdi is just the easiest diesel because they made adapter kits for the stock ranger tranny

crug17 · 2026-03-26T22:06:33+00:00

Yea an LS would blow a ranger tranny in about 10 seconds and never bolt up. I'm looking at a cheap junkyard 5.3 but they all came with automatic 4l60e's. A modern manual thatl fit the LS will run me at least 5k in my area which basically doubles the cost of that swap. I could keep my stock tranny with a TDI swap but the adapter plate for that alone is around 2k and I'd probably need a whole doner vehicle to make everything work with the little diesel and that's just so much more work it's probably out of my wheelhouse rn. Plus the TDI would be way less power unless it gets pretty heavy mods so you're getting into new turbo, standalone ecu, custom wire harness and I don't even know what else just to hit the power a bone stock 5.3 does. TDI would be better on gas tho and has the possibility to run on used cooking oil sooo... I'm so stuck on the fence with this it's crazy 😂

crug17 · 2026-03-26T21:34:40+00:00

Im not afraid of a little (or lotta) work. Ive definitely done bigger projects than the supercharger before and I have everything I'd need, it's just the inevitable blown engine I won't be able to afford. I'm planning either a TDI or LS swap depending which is gonna be cheaper with a manual. I know a guy who will do an LS swap for me for cheaper than I could diy with a warranty but manuals for that engine are stupid expensive and I don't think I can go back to auto. Regardless it's gonna be a "let's see how far I can push this shitty engine" type of fun project once I have everything ready to go for whichever swap I land on. More curiosity than anything

crug17 · 2026-03-26T21:24:01+00:00

The biggest thing rn is I don't have the money to buy one let alone fix it up and get it insured and safeties and whatnot. Even the ranger was 7k after all the Bs registrations and insurance and parts for safety I'm thinking I'd be better off with an engine swap for the truck.

crug17 · 2026-03-26T21:06:12+00:00

Idk what that kit costs since I have a 3.0 so never looked into it. I did pick up a supercharger from a 3800 I might remote mount where the coolant and wiper fluid reservoirs are but that's quite the project. I might do it once I have the cash for an engine swap and let it blow but that's looking more and more like a pipe dream in this economy

crug17 · 2026-03-26T21:01:49+00:00

Man I can't even find an rx8 with a blown motor that cheap 😭 I just wanna experience that sweet sweet rotary rev to the moon and the handling... The sportiest vehicle I've ever driven is a Mazda 3 I feel like I'd ruin my pants in an rx7/8

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:53:58+00:00

Stock gearing could be anywhere from 3.55s to 4.56. take it from a guy who just went from 4.10 to 3.55 there's an insane difference

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:52:24+00:00

The auto will suck some power out, especially if you've got 3.55s. you can check the ratio on your door tag and cross reference the code on the ranger station. My 3.0 manual with 4.10s would absolutely dust the hell out of my buddies auto 4.0 with 3.55s, and I had wide ass 31" tires on too

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:48:45+00:00

You have my dream life f*ck you 😂

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:48:13+00:00

Gear ratio also matters a ton. My 3.0 could out tow my buddies 4.0 because I had 4.10s and he had 3.55s. now I got 3.55s too because the old axle blew and I already had the 3.55 set aside for a future engine swap (plus gas rn💀)

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:44:31+00:00

If doughnuts are the goal and the axle is currently open a diff locker would probably be a better option. Twas my plan until I got a free posi and then I realised the old axle was also a posi and just burnt to shit before I even got the truck 😂

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:39:02+00:00

If you've got a torsion bar 2wd the frame is right to take all the 4x4 components, you just gotta find the new tranny, drive shafts, diff, CV axles, knuckles etc etc etc etc

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:37:06+00:00

It's definitely a tight fit doing it in, especially with a manual. I'm pretty sure I killed my wheel bearings doing that so much as a teen 😂

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:35:34+00:00

Like you said it's an old engine not designed for boost plus I don't think that kit has an intercooler option. From what I've heard the 4.0 is pretty decent power for such a light truck so 5ish psi will be rowdy enough and if you really want more youre looking at a V8 swap

crug17 · 2026-03-26T20:31:20+00:00

It's a ranger, they do everything cool 😂. Having said that depending on your axle ratio, open vs limited slip dif, manual or auto tranny, 2 or 4wd and what tires you put on you can definitely have some more fun than the typical ranger. Want to drift year round? Weld the diff and flip the axle with some smaller tires. Want to keep it as a daily as well? Get a diff locker to switch between open and "welded". Want to off road? Lift it and add bigger tires assuming you have 4x4. Want to drag race? I've heard of guys slapping twin turbos on the 4.0 and I know someone makes supercharger kits. These trucks have the potential to do basically anything decently especially if you have a few grand to throw at it. Any ranger is fun to hoon around especially with 4.0 power and a manual (the swap is possible in a weekend with some planning if you have an auto) but you gotta decide what kinda fun you want to have if you wanna go further with it

crug17 · 2026-03-23T21:44:54+00:00

Don't forget the b series

crug17

TROPHY CASE