1968 F-100 Ranger - RestoMod Daily Driver

[SuperDodge]

Indulge me by letting me tell you guys how I got here...

4 years ago, I traded my 2004 Dodge Ram for a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T. (It's true, I'm a life long Mopar guy.) I literally poured my heart and soul (and bank account) into that Challenger to make it just the way I wanted.

Since I'm a woodworker and we were in the middle of a big remodel, I still needed a truck to haul construction debris and lumber. I searched high and low. All I knew was I wanted a solid truck for less than $2000. That's when I found this little jewel at a car lot operated by a local charity. I bought Mean Green cheap because the volunteers running the lot didn't know how to work a column shifter. It was love at first drive.


Fastforward a year or so and I got offered a big promotion at work that included a relocation. As part of my relocation, I was semi-forced to get rid of my vehicles. I let both the Challenger and the F-100 go. While I do miss the Challenger, I've been itchy for another bumpside for 2+ years. I've moved 3 times since I let that truck get away, and I'm finally somewhere I plan to be for a while.

I've been monitoring eBay, craigslist and every other website I can find. And I've finally found my next truck.

Allow me to introduce my project, tentatively called Edgar. I bought him Friday. These pictures are from the seller's craigslist ad and are about two years old. More updates coming...

[48prerunner]

Ha i'm a life long Ford guy and i bought a Mopar a dodge ram for my winter truck. Your "new" truck looks super clean and a ranger wow nice score. good luck with it.

[wndsofchng06]

Welcome from Durham, NC

[Uni Moe]

Tell us more about Edgar. 68? 69? Looks like a 360/C6? It has a Ranger badge on the grille. The Ranger body trim has been removed except for RANGER on the back side of the box and F-O-R-D on the hood has been removed and the hood has the front nose trim from a newer truck. I've been thinking about adding the nose trim on my 68 to fill that awkward void between the hood and grille. The speedo cluster looks like it's from a newer XLT truck too with the woodgrain.

[SuperDodge]

Edgar is a 68. He is an original Ranger/360/C6 truck that has been stripped of much of his "bling" by the previous owner who didn't want to pay to replace dented and bent trim. The previous owner paid for a repaint about two years ago. I talked to the shop that did the work. He paid for quality PPG paint with a couple of coats of clear but didn't want to pay for sanding/buffing after or any trim replacement.

The interior is truly a mess. There are lots of "creative" solutions going on in there. I'll get to that later.

The first work up for ol' Edgar is some sanding, some buffing and replacing all of his missing trim. I'd like to say I'm doing this myself, but since I ALWAYS manage to mess up bodywork of any kind, I outsourced it to a shop. I expect Edgar back in 3 weeks.

That gives me three weeks to work out my master plan...

Now, tell me...how in the world did you guess this was a 360 truck not a 390 truck?

[clemsonjeep]

Great looking truck...and with the body trim and buffing it'll be sweet!

Any chance I could get you to snag a picture of where the ground attaches from the body to the motor at the driver rear corner?

[Uni Moe]

Edgar is a 68. He is an original Ranger/360/C6 truck that has been stripped of much of his "bling" by the previous owner who didn't want to pay to replace dented and bent trim. The previous owner paid for a repaint about two years ago. I talked to the shop that did the work. He paid for quality PPG paint with a couple of coats of clear but didn't want to pay for sanding/buffing after or any trim replacement.

The interior is truly a mess. There are lots of "creative" solutions going on in there. I'll get to that later.

The first work up for ol' Edgar is some sanding, some buffing and replacing all of his missing trim. I'd like to say I'm doing this myself, but since I ALWAYS manage to mess up bodywork of any kind, I outsourced it to a shop. I expect Edgar back in 3 weeks.

That gives me three weeks to work out my master plan...

Now, tell me...how in the world did you guess this was a 360 truck not a 390 truck?

I just assumed it was the original motor.
Color sand and buff is a good idea, especially with a black truck. Can't wait to see your work progress. My 68 has been in paint shop purgatory for two months.

[SuperDodge]

OK, while the truck is at the body shop, I've started collecting some parts for a few big quick mods I'm going to do almost right away.

Step 1 - Front Suspension
I have drop beams coming for the front. (DJM DB3004-3)
I decided while I was going I should just go ahead and replace the coil springs with some nice new variable rate ones. (MOOG CC808)
Heck. I don't want those coil springs to squeak, better add isolators/insulators. (Energy Suspension 9-6120G)
And of course, those shocks are probably worn out. (DJM 1415)
Heck, I guess...might as well replace the kingpins while we're doing all that work (MOOG 8524B)
Yep. That'll do it.

Step 2 - Rear Suspension
I need to lower the rear to balance it all out. How about new shackles and hangers. (DJM HS-1130-4)
And of course, with a lowered rear, I'll need shortened shocks (DJM 1900)

Step 3 - Brakes
I know I'll catch a lot of resistance on this one, but I don't want '73-'74 disc brakes on this truck. I want something a little more modern.
How about the Master Power Brakes Rallye Series? 4 piston calipers do sounds nice!

Step 4 - A/C
I'm using a modified Old Air Products Hurricane 3000. I'll post more details when all the pieces get here.

[SuperDodge]

Great looking truck...and with the body trim and buffing it'll be sweet!

Any chance I could get you to snag a picture of where the ground attaches from the body to the motor at the driver rear corner?

I'll be happy to take a picture next week when I swing by the body shop to check on Edgar.

[Uni Moe]

A few tips as I've done the DJM drops. You'll probably end up needing to cut your new springs in order to get your camber right but wait until the new front parts are all settled and broke in. You can measure camber yourself pretty close with a straight edge on the rim and a level app on a smart phone. In the back measure your pinion angle before you start. The drop shackles will change the pinion angle because the front shackle does more lowering than the rear one. Use DJM pinion shims. They include nice bolts and are held in place better. Also the new rear shackle might hit the box crossmember so the crossmember will need to be trimmed.

[SuperDodge]

So, I figured out that I had flex-o-matic springs (I didn't even know what that meant two weeks ago) and that with the DJM shackle and hanger kit installed I had interference with a bed crossmember.

I can't hack up the bed...time for some new 1250# Leaf Springs (General Spring 43-445)
http://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/43-445.htm

Here are a couple of update pics. I'll have to add more information later. Here's the truck with the front and rear DJM kit installed and all new springs/shocks. It sits a little higher than I'd hoped, so I'm hoping the springs settle a bit over the next few days

[SuperDodge]

So the MPBrakes kit got installed and there were two surprises in store...

First - the current wheels won't fit over the calipers even though I measured and was pretty sure they would. Time to order some wheels and tires instead of waiting for the springs to settle.

Second - the instructions call for the caliper to be mounted on the FRONT of the rotor. What the heck!

Here are some pictures:

[390bump]

I was looking at the MP Brakes kits on their site and it says 15" wheels will work. Saw your post and now I'm not sure... What make are those wheels you have? They look very similar to mine... They look like 15x8 but as they cast aluminum or forged? Do you have any critical measurements for the inside part of the wheel to share that I could compare to see if they would work with the MP kits? Is the issue the same for front and back? Thanks!

[pleasaw]

Great looking Truck. Good luck with the project.

I have a question. Do you have any idea what brand or part number your tonneau cover is? I am looking for one but most are for long beds.

[SuperDodge]

Great looking Truck. Good luck with the project.

I have a question. Do you have any idea what brand or part number your tonneau cover is? I am looking for one but most are for long beds.

Sorry, I checked today and I can't find any identifying information.