Project $$$

[bottomsup]

I have a 2wd ranger that I want to do the whole "prerunner" set up on. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on front suspension or has any experience with this Camburg kit or any other Camburg kit? I'll most likely do long travel deavers on the rear...

Performance and Extreme Off-Road Systems
5" Lift 14" Travel 31" tires with stock fenders 32" with fiberglass fenders.

The Performance off-road system is designed for the off-road enthusiast who wants the best possible suspension for his truck without going to the high cost of coil-overs. What makes this system so great is the use of 8" travel 2.5" race shocks. These shocks work wonders in the way these trucks handle the off-road terrain. This system comes complete with Bent I-Beams, Custom Radius Arms, Custom Coil-Buckets, Sway-A-Way 2.5 shocks, Eibach coil-Springs, Limit Straps, Bump Stops, Cam Kits, Brake Lines. If you really want to add strength, durability, and stability add a pair of Custom I-Beams to this system making it the EXTREME Performance system!
http://i2.tinypic.com/qyxxev.jpg
Or should I spend a little extra and go with the full coil-over setup? I still want it to be pretty streetable, but be able to mob hard too...

[J.J.]

for the front, go with mcneils setup. by far the best "bang for your buck". http://www.mcneiloffroad.com

3k will get you 18-20" travel (depending on shocks and limit straps).

for the rear, check out what http://www.giantmotorsports.com has

giant's rear kit---21" travel (i wonder how this setup would work on a rock crawler)
http://www.giantmotorsports.com/products/64leafs-01.jpg

mcneils setup. this is your best bet. it has equal-length 'beams which is a big stepup from the offset stock 'beams.
http://www.mcneiloff-road.com/images/radsm.jpg

edit: what year ranger???

[bottomsup]

Cool, I will check them out. Its a '97 ext. cab short bed, 4.0 5sp auto..

[J.J.]

Cool, I will check them out. Its a '97 ext. cab short bed, 4.0 5sp auto..

sweet. that's the perfect starting point :yes:

[bottomsup]

The Giant custom 64" leaf spring kit will produce 21" of travel & bolts on to existing holes in the frame. Kit comes with custom leaf springs, u-bolts, replacement front spring hangers, the Giant custom shackle along with a dropped shackle hanger, a spring under conversion kit for the axle, and everything else you need. Works on 1983-2005 Ford Rangers 2WD & 4WD, a setup is also available for Ford F-150's.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Price: $1699

Wow! /\ /\ /\ $1700 for some leaf springs and brackets. no thanks...

[J.J.]

it looks like alot, but find a price for a 3-4 link kit and coilovers. :yes:

camburg has a kit with deavers, flipped shackles, and bilsteins for ~$810, if it suits your needs better.

[bottomsup]

Thats the rear setup that Improbably gonna shoot for. Any ideas on how street friendly the mcneil kit is?

[J.J.]

it should be a better ride than stock considering new, dual shocks and springs will be added. other than a taller ride-height, i don't think you'll really see a change in street driving. off road, the steering setup might be a problem. the mcneil kit uses the stock steering with extensions to accomodate for the added 9" of width. you'll probably have some problems with bump-steer so you might wanna check into some sort of cross-over steering. cross-over steering is not needed, but i recommend it especially with the equal langth 'beams.

[bottomsup]

Just did a little math and if I add coil-overs and a engine cage to the mcneil setup that = $4500 about the same as this..

Coil-Over Off-Road System
4-6" Lift 16-20" Travel
$4800 Parts
$6000 Installed
Complete with coil-over mounts!

The Coil-over system is an extreme system for pre-run or race. This is the same system used by many racers and has earned 1st place points championships! This system is by far the best today with so much test time, race time, points championships, race wins there is not need to try to sell it, it is just the best! We can install this system in 1-2 days. There is no need to build coil-over mounts because they are included in this awesome system! Included in this package is Custom I-Beams, Heim x-member Radius Arms, Coil-over mounts. Sway-A-Way 2.5 coil-overs, Eibach Coil-Springs, Limit Straps, Cam Kits, and Brake Lines.

Do you think mcneil is still better?

[J.J.]

Do you think mcneil is still better?

yup, i do. the mcneil setup has EQUAL-length i-beams, the camburg ones are UNEQUAL-length. take a look at the frontend on your ranger, the i-beams are unequal in length---not very good for serious offroading. here take a look at this, it should explain everything.......http://www.mcneiloff-road.com/suspension.html.

[bottomsup]

Yeah, I saw that, but if I stayed with unequal I-beams the steering and suspenson would work together...

[J.J.]

Yeah, I saw that, but if I stayed with unequal I-beams the steering and suspenson would work together...

the stock steering works for both setups, just better with unequal-length 'beams. but for serious offroading, equal-length is the way to go. just my $.02 but it's your $$$ so do what you feel is best. :D

[Baja or Bust]

A cheaper way to do the front end would be get a set of coil overs and then go to the junk yard get a set of 1 ton I-beams off of a 60s ford truck and extend them and make them equal length so youll have a kingpin instead of balljoints way stronger so if u wanted you could run up to 35" tires:yes: :yes:

Ive also heard from a few people at the races that the 64"springs are not really any better from the 62" and theres a lot more work into putting the 64 in the back of your truck ???

[bottomsup]

Thanks for the input guys.

[Samco Fab]

Camburg makes really good stuff, but I think the equal length would be the best move. I have never heard bad stuff about McNeil either.
Use your stock steering to start out with and upgrade later. If anything DO NOT RUN THE SWAY A WAY'S OR THE BILSTIEN'S, SPEND A COUPLE OF EXTRA $$ ON FOX OR KING.
The SAW shocks are not a bad shock, but they are really hard to get customer service from, Bilstiens are not worth the $$ that they charge compared to a Fox.
The first place to not skimp on is shocks. You might consider running a bypass 2.5 all the way around, and not even run coilovers to offset the cost. If the spring buckets are a strength issue...reinforce them, tune the shock to the spring and get bypass shocks!!! Shocks are more important than wheel travel.

Also if anyone needs anything from Kartec, let me know, I set up an account, and am looking to hook people up;) Also, I can get good deals on Fox Shocks now, if anybody needs em........

[J.J.]

here's some pics of the kit that chad mcneil sent me.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/firstcanon013.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/SV400164.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/916f1961.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/SV400177.jpg

it looks like there's plenty of "beef". you can always upgrade to coil-overs later on. chad also has a 3-link kit complete with a 9" rearend (no shocks) for $3000.

[BBOffroad]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/prerunner.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/class7.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/class7a.jpghey I took that pic of the ranger, thats my coke on the hood! Just got back from prerunning the 500. Me and chad are very good friends I have used him for two of my trucks. He has built me a 4wd kit and the suspension for our class 7 truck. Although his stuff looks really good there is a disadvantage to it, it will take a while to get and some times the quality control is lacking. I think you would be better off going with equal length beams, the steering on the streets is scary no matter what way you go. The cross over steering helps this alot but you have a bunch of hiems that tend to get loose, especially with mcniel. If you would like I would be more than happy to show you my trucks so you can see how this all looks before spending your life savings, and plan on spending double the money as you were quoted. This is alot more expesive than you think, I have about 26 thousand in my pre-runner and about 56 in our race truck, the race truck was estimated at 48 and the prerunner about 8. Also I could build you some beams and engine and bed cage for it just buy the shocks and materials and what ever time it takes me should be just a couple of days:yes:

[KONG]

Listen to Sam...he's been in my ride with the bilstein coilovers. If I were to do it over again, I would use fox first. Now I'm paying to have my bils. rebuilt and re-valved.

[J.J.]

hey I took that pic of the ranger, thats my coke on the hood!

really?? huh, small world aint it :D

[Samco Fab]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/prerunner.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/class7.jpghttp://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/class7a.jpghey I took that pic of the ranger, thats my coke on the hood! Just got back from prerunning the 500. Me and chad are very good friends I have used him for two of my trucks. He has built me a 4wd kit and the suspension for our class 7 truck. Although his stuff looks really good there is a disadvantage to it, it will take a while to get and some times the quality control is lacking. I think you would be better off going with equal length beams, the steering on the streets is scary no matter what way you go. The cross over steering helps this alot but you have a bunch of hiems that tend to get loose, especially with mcniel. If you would like I would be more than happy to show you my trucks so you can see how this all looks before spending your life savings, and plan on spending double the money as you were quoted. This is alot more expesive than you think, I have about 26 thousand in my pre-runner and about 56 in our race truck, the race truck was estimated at 48 and the prerunner about 8. Also I could build you some beams and engine and bed cage for it just buy the shocks and materials and what ever time it takes me should be just a couple of days:yes:

When are you going to test the new race truck?? How is that going? What 500 did you prerun, Baja 500 or VtoR? Where do you guys test, I would love to come and check that thing out sometime, let me know:D Are these pictures of your race truck or the McNeil?? Looks good!

I dont really think any one brand of shocks are going to work better or worse out of the box, you usually need to tune any of them. It is really amazing what a limited wheel travel car can do if it has the right shock with the right tuning.

[BBOffroad]

yes tuning is key! You might have the best car in the world but its the shocks thats going to prove it. We would love to be out there testing our truck were just waiting on the wiring to get sent from san diego, you really need to crack the whip with the mcneils.haha. I was prerunning the baja 500 last year, I was going to co-drive with chad in the mcneil trophy ranger that never got completed in time.

[Samco Fab]

I got a 4 minute ride with LR in the C&D unlimited ranger, that thing was amazing, I thought it handeled better than the class 1 Jimco I got another 4 minute ride in. :yes: (Thank's BFG, one of the coolest days of my life!)

That C&D ranger and or LR's driving really made me respect those I beam trucks, He came through a section of the NV 1000 that had a deep hole faster in the 7 truck than all of the unlimited cars, and made it look good. That thing will be hard to beat. That is a super nice truck also, really clean fab work.

Are you running the old Busch motors or a newer overhead cam engine? Either way big $$

[BBOffroad]

our truck will never be faster than Larry, he has great driving experience. We are running the SOHC 4.0 for now it is mainly stock, later we will upgrade but we want to win the chapionships not every race. We are confident we have what it takes to be professional and make something of ourselves with the driving skills we have. It will be good to see how this truck performs against our jimco class one being built.

[bottomsup]

here's some pics of the kit that chad mcneil sent me.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/firstcanon013.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/SV400164.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/916f1961.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/SV400177.jpg

it looks like there's plenty of "beef". you can always upgrade to coil-overs later on. chad also has a 3-link kit complete with a 9" rearend (no shocks) for $3000.
Do you know what size tires those are???

[J.J.]

35"s i think. ask BBOFFROAD he took the picture :yes:

[BBOffroad]

yeah those are 35's look at the bedside straped to the spare tires, that was a big whoop section near VD. The way he mounts the rear shocks works really well. He makes a small cantileaver type arm above the spring and mounts the shocks right near the cab instead of on the rearend. Nice setup for leaf's.

[bottomsup]

here's some pics of the kit that chad mcneil sent me.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/firstcanon013.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/SV400164.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/916f1961.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/KrischMeister/SV400177.jpg

it looks like there's plenty of "beef". you can always upgrade to coil-overs later on. chad also has a 3-link kit complete with a 9" rearend (no shocks) for $3000.
I think Im gonna go with this kit. Any suggestions on what shocks to run, or start out with?

[J.J.]

I think Im gonna go with this kit. Any suggestions on what shocks to run, or start out with?

the kit comes with the dual shocks you see. they should suffice until the time comes, then throw on some fox or king 2.5 coil-overs---probably 14" travel.

[bottomsup]

oh, cool I didnt read the discription that closely. Do you just have to call them to order it or what?

[BBOffroad]

call chad mcneil tell him your brad boltons buddy, maybe he will give you a deal. His # is 619 571 4200, most of the time he is at his shop so call him in the morning or at night he is usually up past 10pm. He can get you fiberglass too, you should get the f150 conversion:yes: :yes:

[J.J.]

i really don't like the mcneil 'glass :no: . but from what i have seen come out of fiberwerx.........that **** is sweet :yes: . they have a :bling: f-150 conversion with louvers and cowl induction/scoops :blahblah: .

[bottomsup]

Yeah, I like this one....
http://i2.tinypic.com/rc3e5h.jpg

[J.J.]

Yeah, I like this one....
http://i2.tinypic.com/rc3e5h.jpg

that's the one.............badass :thumbsup: only thing is, you will need a custom rad. mount/core support and the inner fenders have to be removed (i think). you'll also want an engine cage for this so that you have something half-way protecting the engine and it will also give you good places to mount hood pins.

[BBOffroad]

perrys fab and fiber glass isnt as good, but fiberwerx is owned by jason mcneil, chad mcneil's brother so you buy the same glass, but yeah thats good looking stuff same as our race truck. The work that has to happen for it to fit isnt that bad. You can use some of the core support like the radiator mount and the sides going back to the cab. This will give you a good place for the glass to rest on. You need to make some supports for the front of the hood and possibly for the lights if you go that way, its easy if you just go off your bumper.

[Baja or Bust]

I just got a front clip from glass works for my toyota and iam pretty happy with it , it just needs a little fine tuning on it!!!

[bottomsup]

Any suggestions on tire size and type?

[J.J.]

Any suggestions on tire size and type?

if ya got da $$$$$$$$...............i say go with BFG "projects" or baja radials. :yes:

otherwise, MTR's, BFG mud terrain, yokohama mud terrain....................or just any 'ol all terrain will work. for size, how 'bout sum 35s. if 35's don't fit, 33s.

[BBOffroad]

bfg projects are not street legal as well as the baja t/a's so be careful they do blow out for no reason sometimes, I think the toyo's are great for the desert they do really well in the sand.

[bottomsup]

Well I work for 4Wheel Parts, so I be buying something that they sell. The Baja T/A's are about $400 a piece.:roadkill: I think I will probably go with these????

Radial Mud Terrain T/A KM
33/10.50R15LT/C
BFG78167 $160.99
http://i2.tinypic.com/rhlnv6.jpg

[J.J.]

bfg projects are not street legal as well as the baja t/a's so be careful they do blow out for no reason sometimes, I think the toyo's are great for the desert they do really well in the sand.

the "projects" have two versions..........one (the race version - not street legal) is Kevlar reinforced, and the other (which is street legal) has no kevlar. the street-legal version can be picked up at 4wheelparts. :yes: as for the baja radials, i've heard they actually are street legal (my mechanic runs them on his CJ7) but what do i know?? :D

[Baja or Bust]

I have 4, 37" inch project tires with about 30 race miles on them if any body wants to buy them:yes: :yes: :yes:

[bottomsup]

I have 4, 37" inch project tires with about 30 race miles on them if any body wants to buy them:yes: :yes: :yes:
Too big for me...

[Baja or Bust]

Ya i didnt think you would want them, but i would go with a 33" for sure 35 might be a little to much for it but its your call!!!

[bottomsup]

I had my eye on these untill I saw the wheel and tire sizes they had.:no:
http://i2.tinypic.com/rhmru1.jpg

[Baja or Bust]

I really like the BFG"S the make some pretty good tires iam going to get the older bajas for my toyota they work really good in the dirt i think.

[BBOffroad]

the "projects" have two versions..........one (the race version - not street legal) is Kevlar reinforced, and the other (which is street legal) has no kevlar. the street-legal version can be picked up at 4wheelparts. :yes: as for the baja radials, i've heard they actually are street legal (my mechanic runs them on his CJ7) but what do i know?? :D


well you must have done your homework to know that but the baja t/a's what I was talking about are the same as the projects(race version) just a mud terrain type tread. All I was trying to point out was dont run a off-road only race tire on the highway cause I dont want you to be infront of me on the freeway when your tire delaminates and throws a belt of tread on my windshield.:D :D

[Baja or Bust]

You make a good point but i really dont plan on driving it on the street a lot,And my dad had an 80s still bronco prerunner with the 35 inch baja t/a's and they lasted for a really long time and we took that thing every where.

[J.J.]

well you must have done your homework to know that but the baja t/a's what I was talking about are the same as the projects(race version) just a mud terrain type tread. All I was trying to point out was dont run a off-road only race tire on the highway cause I dont want you to be infront of me on the freeway when your tire delaminates and throws a belt of tread on my windshield.:D :D

the baja t/a's ARE the projects. same tread and everything..........they just come in two types: kevlar, and no kevlar. the mud terrain type tread is the baja radial. the radial is street legal and so is the non-kevlar baja t/a ;)

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/catalog/index_7.jsp

[Baja or Bust]

the baja t/a's ARE the projects. same tread and everything..........they just come in two types: kevlar, and no kevlar. the mud terrain type tread is the baja radial. the radial is street legal and so is the non-kevlar baja t/a ;)

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/catalog/index_7.jsp
No the Baja t/a's have been around way before the projects . The projects are the new version of the baja t/a's and are design for higher horse power trucks.

[J.J.]

No the Baja t/a's have been around way before the projects . The projects are the new version of the baja t/a's and are design for higher horse power trucks.

look at the site in my last post. those baja t/a's LOOK like the projects :dunno:

[Baja or Bust]

Those arent the Baja t/a's iam talking about there like more of a mud terrain :yes: :yes:

[J.J.]

Those arent the Baja t/a's iam talking about there like more of a mud terrain :yes: :yes:

yeah, those are the baja RADIAL T/A's. my mechanic has them on his CJ7 and it says that on the sidewall. :yes:

[Baja or Bust]

This toyota has the Baja T/A'S iam talking about http://www.reno4x4.com//gallery/files/2/2/3/bvnvbng.bmp

[BBOffroad]

This toyota has the Baja T/A'S iam talking about http://www.reno4x4.com//gallery/files/2/2/3/bvnvbng.bmp


same baja t/a's im talking about, and yes they are projects but not radials. For future reference when you call up bfg racer support and tell them to bring you project's to contengency they will bring you these, you have to tell them baja t/a's if you want those!
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/100_2271.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bradbolton/IMG_1638.jpg

[J.J.]

This toyota has the Baja T/A'S iam talking about http://www.reno4x4.com//gallery/files/2/2/3/bvnvbng.bmp

yeah, those are the ones my mechanic has. but they say baja radial t/a on them. whatever, i dunno. i'm probably just seeing things :D

[Baja or Bust]

I just think the website dosent have them on there:scratch: oh well

[Samco Fab]

The race "projects" have a different looking sidewall, kind of ridges that step down, and for the last year have said "for racing purposes only" A couple of years ago they were street legal. The Baja project has a smooth sidewall and the same tread.

We have used the race tires on the street, in our chase and training Hummers for years and never had a problem. They seem to crack out sooner than a regular street tire, and they flat spot like hell (nylon instead of polyester, like swampers) . I have never once seen one de laminate, and we have towed and driven on many sets on our chase cars for years. I always thought the street legal thing is more about paying to get them DOT approved, they are tested to 130 mph :D
What did you hear BBO about seperating, any specific incident?? Kind of good to know if it is true!

I also think you dont need special tires for a prerunner, unless you are actually prerunning in Mexico where you dont want to risk a flat. Regular Radial off road tires work good unless you run really hard in rocky terrain, or run too low of pressure. The Toyo race tire is just a 37 off the shelf.