as most know, the L is going to save money with the new baby coming, i still want to play in the nmra this year

i thought about picking up a ranger and have decided (with sal's advice) that a 91 to 94 4.0 auto is what i'm going to get.

for now, i am just going to lok the rear and gear it

i will be driving to all the races 8-12 hours and need some advice on gearing

i believe the stock rim size is 14", i am going to be putting on some nitto 205/55/14's

overall height is about 28.72 inches, not sure what stock height is

i'd like to be about 20mpg highway and 16-17 city

ne1 have any experience on what 3.55, 3.73, or 4.10's would be like?

thanks

 

<-------Local Ranger expert

I have an automatic 1996 4x2 Splash with 3:55 gear. The stock tires are 235-60R15's. So that is 26.10" wheel/tire height. If I am lucky I get 17-18mpg highway. Maybe my chitty mileage is due to my chip but it was not much better before. I put the chip on at 15,000mi and now have over 100K.

Also........are you sure you calculated that Nitto tire height correctly?? A 205-55R14 is only 22.88" high.

Good luck.......

Edit......forgot to add it is a 4.0L with a limited slip gear.

--Joe

 

I bought a 94 2wd Splash 4.0 auto with 3.08 open rear new back in '94 and it went 10.50 at 65mph in the 1/8th. After 3.73 with an Auburn posi, K and N filter, custom Superchip, Dynomax exhaust and I think pullies it went 10.35 at 66. I was not impressed! It didn't respond to the mods and the gas mileage went from about 16 to about 15. I should have put in a 5.0 then it would be a good truck.

 

doh, i was smoking crack, it was 22.84 height, that would probably give me the gear i need, the thing that sucks is they don't make any 14" wheels for the front,

i need to find a tire wheel combo now i guess, maybe some 15" rims

 

If your going to get an older ranger why not just get a 4-banger one and swap the 2.3l turbo engine in it?

You get good gas mileage plus some good speed.

 

i'm not super pressed for mileage, more wanting to get out of the hole at a decent rate

 

Then don't get a Ranger

--Joe

 

I would get a Gen1 Lightning. They are a bit faster and very reliable. They have come down in price considerably in the last few years.

 

I thought I was going to be able to throw some V8 conversion knowledge on this one,but oh well

Thanks Mike

 

I would tend to agree with 99Lightning.

I actaully had a white 1988 Ranger short cab/SB that I convertered to a 5.0L
It had C4 trans with B&M mega shifter, I built a 7.5 rear with Auburn diff and 3.45 gears.
With those gears I could run around highway at 60 mph I was at 2800 rpm with a 26" tall tire.
my best ever run was a 13.5@101
the truck felt alot fast than it actually was. I had NO AC, NO power steering (went to skinny on fronts) Headers by Adavanced Adapters and a dual flowmaster exhaust setup that my neighbors still talk about.. ** Louder than my LTs and Magnflows presently on my Lightning.
While the truck was nice, and it was a sleeper it was just not appreciated by most truck enthusiasts.
On the road I get more respect with the Lightning; although nothing was a easy as parking the Ranger.
I traced it in 1999 using Carfax, it ,my ranger, was still running around Passiac, NJ

 

I have a sweet sweet sweet 85 Ranger 4cyl 4x4 5-speed. I would let her go cheap.

I like the turbo motor swap idea a lot. -Mat-

 

I have a Vortech Supercharged 94 Lightning w/ 40k miles I can hook you up with.

 

not looking to spend a ton of dough,

i want something pretty reliable, for the brackets it doesn't have to be fast, just consistent

found a 4.0 v6 auto 96 xlt supercab today

got it for 4400 out the door with 6 mo unlimited mile warranty

my bank wholesaled it at 4300 w/retail at 5825,

already picked up some plugs/wires/ filters (trans,fuel,oil)

gonna freshener up this weekend

my buddies have some stang diff's laying around we're going to hook it up with and gear it

 

Hey Beef if you have/find any other go fast goodies laying around or at your disposal keep a brutha in mind.

--Joe