Pro Street 1980 Ranger Stepside
 

I figured someone would get a kick outta this :-X05

Way back when, in 1990 when I was born, my dad started working on this old pickup. He used to take me out in the garage in my car carrier while he worked on it and eventually moved the play-pen out there so I could watch. It's a 1980 flareside that had a straight six in it and a manual trans.

Here's the humble beginning. The bright orange truck in the background is an old Ford my uncle owned that my dad helped restore.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...ruckBefore.png

The 351 Windsor was pulled out of a 70's station wagon and given the full machine shop makeover and punched out .030" over and cleaned up. Next, a pair of 2V Cleveland heads were picked out and cleaned up and water passages machined to mate up to the Windsor block (Clevor configuration). The stock crank was chamfered and cross-drilled, a batch of beefy 351 Aussie Cleveland rods picked out and shot-peened, and 9:1 Cleveland pistons bought. Everything was also blueprinted and balanced. Thanks to the longer Aussie rods, the strange combination of pistons and rods makes 9.5:1 compression. A bigger Crane cam was installed along with Rhodes lifters to actuate valve movement and ceramic coated headers for exhaling. Then the package was topped off with a dual-plane B&A Street Boss intake (B&A also made the Track Boss that was single-plane), a worked over Holley 4150 carb, and a NOS 150HP plate shot system. Power steering was bypassed but it still has the air conditioning for comfy cruising :-X0A6

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...Truckmotor.png

The 9" rearend was given 4:11 gears and a Detroit Locker and the housing and 31 spline axles narrowed to accomodate a full tub-job. The trans, for now, is a stock C4 with an Art Carr floor shifter. A trans rebuild and shift improver kit is coming soon. Wheels are Weld Pro-Stars on all 4 corners - the rears are as big as you can get 'em!

My dad, being good with a sheetmetal brake, covered the tailgate for a clean look and fabricated the rear wheel wells. He also made his own set of wheelie bars. Also coming soon will be a hood scoop, most likely a Harwood, shaved door handles (the electric actuator kit will be in the fuel door) and a fabricated aluminum pro-mod style wing.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...streetFord.png

This is an old pic not showing the tailgate cover and the fabricated aluminum tail light bezel going across where the bumper should be.

As you can see in the pic, the double I-beam front end isn't doing the truck any justice so when time and money holds out, a Fatman Fabrications Mustang-II front end will be on order and the front end will go down 8" and the rear down another 2".

The interior is all stock except for a Monster-Tach with a shift-light, Kenwood stereo, and Grant GT steering wheel.

My dad and I have been speculating on how we haven't seen ANY pro street 1980 Ford pickups. And factor in the goofy engine combination :eek: I have some better more recent pics I'm going to upload when I get a chance.

Anyone have a Pro Street pickup?

very nice.upload them pics fast i wanna see more of it

Will do - gotta get the scanner working tomorrow.

That is COOL!!!

That's a cool build, and I especially like the fact that you where able to be present since birth, both yours and the truck. Keep up the good work, even us old dog's can still learn new tricks and ideals from you.
looking forward to seeing your progress...

Mitch

update on pics?

Sorry - holidays have gotten the best of me

We usually pour some fresh gas in it and fire it up to stretch its legs some but my truck being scattered all over the garage is posing a bit of a problem. Maybe next time we bust it out I'll take a little walk-around video. Just gotta watch out for the neighbors - open headers brings them to our house every time :-jammin

o its all good. just love projects.thats y i miss my old truck.i was workin on that thing doing something new everyday.now with my X i dont relaly do that much to it:(

Great looking project. The 80-86 generation flaresides were the nicest looking ones in my opinion.

I agree that they are the nicest looking in the series. They're even cooler with the the rear fender-wells stuffed with big Mickey Thompsons!

crazyeddie


That Pro-Street Ford truck is a real nice ride, yall have done a real good job!
Keep the pics coming, and when you get a chance you may want to start a gallery!



P.S. is the truck 4/Link, ladder bar, or the leafs moved inside/or under the frame?




Wally Womack

Thanks Wally - pics will be going up eventually and I suppose I can start a gallery.

The rear end is 4-link with ladder bars. I have a pic of the whole rearend with the bed off that shows how it was done.

I would like to see pictures of that. normally you use ladder bars or you use 4 link bars. Why the use of both, I would think there would be binding of the suspension using both. Like using latter bars with leaf springs with out an axel floater kit.

Yeah I have my facts goofed up - it's four link with a stabilizer bar that's bolted to a flange welded to the top of the rearend housing (don't remember what it's called).

Good news - my scanner works now and pics are 10 min's away from being posted!

Ok followup pics. All that's not current in these pics are the 1pc aluminum bumper and taillight bezel, the front bumper, and the covered/smoothed tailgate.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p.../Cars/side.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p.../Cars/rear.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p.../otherside.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...Cars/fatty.jpg

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...Cars/front.jpg

This is all the rearend goods - it's crazy how small the housing looks after being narrowed!

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/rearassy.jpg

The rear frame sections that were welded in were actually made for late 60's novas.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...Cars/rails.jpg