In the wonderful world of mini-truckin', there is a truck commonly known as the Skull Dragger. Others would call it the craziest Ranger they've ever seen. The owner, however, simply calls it Patience. Patrick Reid is the proud papa of this '93 Ford Ranger and can give lessons on what it takes to raise and rebuild a show winner, thereby earning the respect of all who pass by it. Patrick has been shaping and reworking his truck for a little more than five years now. The work began about two years after he bought it on January 15, 1995. By the name of the truck, Patrick has clearly learned a thing or two about the one key ingredient so many forget about. The must-have tool for any full buildup is none other than patience. Patrick's latest creation shows just what can be accomplished with the combination of patience, time, and money.
If you remember Patrick's first feature a while back, the Ranger was half green and half covered with crazy graphics. Skulls were molded into the front bumper and roll pan, and with the name Skull Dragger, those skulls quickly took a beating. Patrick rolled his truck to countless shows and took home many trophies. After he was featured and the trophies began to stack up in his room, he became bored with the old paintwork and buildup. Soon after that, he was once again elbow-deep in sheetmetal, body filler, and paint.
Patrick took the 3-1/2-inch body drop he had used before and decided to cut it another 3 inches for a total body drop of 6-1/2 inches. He also began working the body over by shaving the top half of the upper bodyline and radiusing the lower bodyline. He molded the fenders to the inner fenderwells, wiper cowl, and core support. The whole exterior received a completely smoothed and molded reworking. After the driver's door received its suicide treatment, the doorjamb was molded to the fender. Patrick decided to stick with the completely smooth look, so he reworked his interior to reflect the work on the exterior. The floor, dash, center console, door panels, seats, and pillars were handbuilt, smoothed, and painted. Patrick painted the whole truck, including the interior, with a PPG Purple basecoat before covering it inside and out with 24 different colors splashed into the crazy graphics.
Patrick really wanted to put some power under the hood. He enlisted the help of Odd-Ball Performance to swap out his old engine for a '91 5.0L HO 306ci engine. After the engine was built and installed, Patrick built a hood using a backbone-ribbed, custom-built cowl to clear the engine along with the huge body drop. As far as we're concerned, the new engine gives this Ranger and its owner major bragging rights.
Patrick's Ranger was now ready to once again kick some serious butt and take names on the show circuit. Aside from patience, Patrick's other words of wisdom are to make sure and wear a respirator when sanding body filler and laying down the clear (there's probably a story behind that, but you'll have to find Patrick at the next show and pull that out). He's extremely proud of his latest buildup because every single thing, with the exception of the engine and grille, was built with his own hands.
The Lowdown
Wheels/Tires Front: 17x7-inch KMC Gnome wheels wrapped with 205/40R17 Nankang rubber / Rear: 18x8-inch KMC Gnome wheels with 215/35R18 Nankang tires
Suspension/Chassis All suspension modifications performed by Patrick and his father / AIM dropped I-beams modified and boxed to clear oil pan / 2,500-pound Firestone 'bags mounted up front / 2,600-pound Firestone 'bags mounted on link bars in the rear / Phantom shocks all the way around / the whole frame was painted purple and airbrushed with graphics / fuel cell mounted under bed
Body Modifications All body modifications performed by Patrick / 6-1/2-inch body drop / fiberglass hood with bottom side smoothed and a custom-built backbone cowl / custom-fabricated fiberglass front bumper with license plate frenched in / handmade custom stainless phantom grille built by Patrick's dad / gas door relocated to bed / two 8-inch LEDs flush-mounted into the upper part of the tailgate for use as brake lights and turn signals / half of the upper body line shaved / bottom body line radiused / handmade roll pan molded to tailgate and entire rear welded shut and molded / MIA door handles, mirrors, cab seems, taillights, tailgate handle, hood squirters, and wiper cowl / Maltese Cross mirrors / completely new smooth firewall / fenders molded to wiper cowl, inner fenderwells, and core support / wiper cowl shaved with one wiper still in place / driver doorjamb molded to front fender / driver door suicided / bed shaved with all steel paneling / sunroof / custom stainless spikes used for hood pins made by Patrick's cousin Tonya
Custom Paint Painted by Patrick / PPG Purple base / 24 colors hand-airbrushed and striped into an array of graphics and renditions
Interior Custom-built flywheel made into a steering wheel with a spike mounted in the center / handmade dash, center console, door panels, and floor / whole interior shaved and painted except vinyl headliner / center console houses air gauges and one of the 10-inch subwoofers / B&M shifter mounted sideways in center console / indicator lights molded into A-pillar / all vital gauges flush-mounted into dash
Stereo Kenwood 322 head unit / Kenwood 6-1/2-inch three-ways mounted in custom-built kick panel / 5-1/2-inch Kenwood separates flushed into door panel / two 10-inch Audiobahn flamed subwoofers in bed and one in center console / all StreetWires wiring / installed by Patrick
Engine/ Performance '91 5.0L HO 306ci engine swap / machined by Strictly Performance / Competition Cams valve job / polished valve covers, intake, and Holley 650 carburetor / forged pistons / Odd-Ball Performance in Kemah, Texas, performed all engine modifications / B&M shift kit / relocated Optima Yellow Top battery underneath bed / Headman headers / Dynomax 2-1/2-inch dual exhaust with dual mufflers / MSD electronic ignition / 8mm Taylor plug wires
Special Thanks Kristen / Patrick's mom and dad / Daniel / Matt / Tonya / Severed Ties