Basura Blanco Racing - an evolving fleet

Miatas cleaned up. New front n rear spoiler, rockers have a new coat of paint to hide the silly stripes and a new axle back exhaust setup.    

Fits like a glove, OJ's glove!     And went to the local "dirt drags". Found some inspirational machinery!  

It's finally been shoehorned in! The body had to get lifted 3" off the frame to wiggle it in!! 

Mustang driveshaft was too short and Ranger driveshaft was too long. We found a local driveshaft shop to take about 3" out of the Ranger unit for $90. Took em less than a day! 

Scoping the situation for a pusher fan. Will be trading the heavy stock bumper for a lighter weight tubular prerunner type. 

So before the engine swap project is even complete, I'm working on the next one. Fiberglass bulge fenders are on the way and I'm planning to add about 3" of track width to each I beam. 

This thread wins more than Charlie Sheen

Two new guys showed up at the rallycross today. In Halloween costumes. Driving this rental car.  Cool guys in my book!

So it's a mustang t5, correct?

bluej wrote: So it's a mustang t5, correct?

Yeah, mustang T5 going in the ranger. Lined right up with the factory ranger bracket.

I have moved the M3 on to its new owner :( She was a beauty but just too nice for the type of stuff I enjoying doing with cars. Sunday drives and car meet gatherings just don't do it for me. I took the car to one autocross and was sort of underwhelmed. I made the decision to sell it on that day.  Now I've got some cash flow for an extended beam and coilover front suspension in the Ranger and eventually a 4 link rear setup. The miata is happy to have a spot in the garage now too.

Nice work!

Lof8 wrote:

bluej wrote: So it's a mustang t5, correct?

Yeah, mustang T5 going in the ranger. Lined right up with the factory ranger bracket.

This is very relevant to my interests. Preferred guide/source for info on the swap? Did you mention engine management? I'll go back and check.

Edit: Ok, so reusing all the mustang EFI I'm assuming. What year is the ranger, I didn't see it mentioned. Looks like an early 2nd gen, by could still be obdii. I'm wondering about emissions and if you're registering it. Is reusing the 95 mustang (obd1.5, right) stuff complicated?

I used therangerstation forum for some guidance. But I must give the credit to my buddy, John Lambert at Goumba Fab in Clearwater. I have mostly just dropped off a 95 mustang and my 93 Ranger at his shop, along with a pile of parts and told him to go to town.

Luckily here in FL, I don't have to do anything different in regard to registration, it's still just a 93 Ranger in the govmint's eyes. We also have no vehicle inspections or emissions testing whatsoever. We're using all of the 95 mustang EFI and removing all of the smog related equipment. I know John has spent a fair amount of time studying the wiring diagrams for both vehicles and has done significant soldering. I'm hoping to pick up the finished truck this coming weekend.

I'm really hoping to pick up the finished truck this Friday in time for Saturday's Rallyx :/ in the mean time, I'm posing a photo of the flared fender and found an F150 in the mustang "grabber blue" I hope to paint the Ranger.  

Niiiiice

Well, I'm pretty disappointed that the truck won't be ready for Saturday but I do have the season points pretty wrapped up. We're hoping to fire it up tonight. All ive got today is a couple of exhaust pics. It's straight from the headers to a mangaflow crossover muffler to the tips. Should sound pretty mean.  

Ranger's first fire!! The Ranger is ALIVE!!!!!

Much time has been spent troubleshooting wiring. But now she lives!!!!!! (exhaust tips aren't finalized)

Also, this low rider has joined the fleet for a nice chunk under $2k ;)  

I'll be glad when this LED light bar trend goes away. I approve of the rest of the truck though.

Chadeux wrote: I'll be glad when this LED light bar trend goes away.

Likewise ... or at least when the one on the vehicle I encounter nearly every morning on my way to work blows up / burns out / etc. ....

Leading the pack at the Woodsman Cup last weekend! 

All of this is amazing.

Out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the E36? I've not driven one extensively, but as a big older BMW fan, you've piqued my interest with that comment.

gearheadE30 wrote: All of this is amazing. Out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the E36? I've not driven one extensively, but as a big older BMW fan, you've piqued my interest with that comment.

Hey Gearhead, sorry I missed this question. I think what I didn't like about my e36 was literally that it was too nice. Its pristine condition made me worry about leaving it in parking lots or doing much tracking with it. The time I autocrossed it, it felt a bit heavy and numb compared to my old e30 s50 track car (as could be expected). I had those electric vaders out a couple of times to fix broken adjustment gears and those damn seats felt like they weighed 150 lbs each. The black color and leather interior also didn't make it particularly comfortable on the street during the FL summertime. It was hot and the leather seats made you sweat. the A/C worked well but it wasn't enough.

Bottom line, it didn't perform as I had hoped on the street or on the track, and I blame myself for getting one that I had to worry about. I should have bought a rougher car with cloth interior and different paint color. I thought that I wanted a really nice example, but it didn't translate well in reality.

The V8 Ranger is still under the knife. The header paint has burned off only 7 of the 8 cylinders, so we've got a good clue for solving its current rough-running condition. first rallyx of the season is Jan 29 and I've been promised I'll have the ranger back in my possession for this event.