OWNER: Patrick Kennedy
RIDE: '93 Ford Ranger Splash
HOMETOWN: Dumfries, VA
If you recently started the build of your dream truck, then consider yourself very lucky. Nowadays there are so many badass rides out there, it's easy to find inspiration for your own build. But rewind to more than a decade ago, and consider this: rollin' on 16s was the way to go, and if you had airbags you were the king of every show! This happened to be right around the time that Patrick Kennedy began the buildup of this '93 Ford Ranger Splash.
Patrick openly admitted that the sick Ranger you see here was not always this cool. In fact, just like most of us that started building trucks back in the '90s or earlier, Patrick's ride went through many phases. Patrick's Ranger began with the "bolt-on baller" phase, which included the static-drop, tinted windows, rain guards, headlight covers, and every cool, shiny object that he could afford with his platinum Pep Boys card.
After that, came the "tear-down" phase, in which he decided to take the truck apart-just to see what he could do to it. This lead to the "different stages of primer" phase, where he worked on different parts of the truck at once, while still driving it daily. Next, came the "shiny phase," which finally lead to his light at the end of the tunnel.
When it came to the paint, Patrick had Kevin Pettit paint it orange and then later he took it to Razor Custom Paint Shop and told them they're the experts, so they can do what they want. When he picked up the Ranger a week later, he loved what he saw. Once it was painted, everything started to roll towards looking like he just might finish the truck.
After a decade of hard work and seeing the truck "finished," Patrick said it's now in the "little things" phase, where he'll notice something minor and it will bug him until he fixes it. Patrick stated that, "Looking back at old pictures and seeing all the things I put this truck through, it made me appreciative of what the final product has become."
So, even though this Splash of Mercury was put through hell before looking like heaven, it just goes to show that we all have to start somewhere. Be on the lookout for more on Patrick and his Ranger, as we're sure you haven't seen the last of it! For the detailed buildup specs, check out The Lowdown.
The Lowdown
Rolling Attire
Wheels (Front/Rear): 18-inch Enkei LM-1
Tires (Front/Rear): Kumho 215/35R18
Chassis Modifications
Suspension type:Air
Suspension (Front): DJM I-beams, modified Alter Images 'bag mounts, and relocated radius arm mounts
(Rear): Custom-built two-link
Airbag: Universal Air 2500
Shocks: Nitro drop shocks
Valves: MIC 3/8-inch big-mouth manual valves
Compressors: Two Thomas compressors
Air line: 1/2-inch air line
Air/hydro accessories: Dual-needle gauge
Frame mods: Typical rear step-notch, raised transmember, and raised gas tank
Performed by: Owner Patrick Kennedy
Body Modifications
Shaved: Body line, handles, taillights, tailgate, gas door, emblems, cowl, mirrors, top bedrails
Body-dropped: 3-1/4-inch traditional
Front end: '00 Mercury Mountaineer front end and '00 Ranger chrome bumper
Back end: Alter Images tailgate skin
Taillights: Tri-color 10-inch LED taillights
Exterior bolt-ons: Billet license-plate frame, step pads, and gas door; chrome motorcycle mirrors
Performed by: Owner Patrick Kennedy and Kevin Petitt
Paint
Brand and colors: House of Color Tangelo, Sunset Orange
Style: Whatever Kenny Dean at Razor wanted to do
Pinstriping: On the dash, by Kenny Dean at Razor
Airbrushing: Mercury drips, by Darren at Razor
Misc.: Ghosted in Bondo logo and Razor logos on tailgate
Performed by: Kevin Pettit, Kenny Dean, and Darren at Razor Custom Paint Shop
City/state: Fredericksburg, Virginia
Interior
Seats: Honda hatchback seats
Material: Brown vinyl with embroidered Mercury symbols on top
Dash: '66 Ford Mustang, reworked, shaved, painted, and pinstriped
Door panels: Handmade with aluminum, vinyl, and Ultrasuede
Center console: Handmade console out of copper with bead rolls and chrome bolts
Flooring: Shag carpet
Headliner: Ultrasuede
Gauges: '66 Mustang gauge bezel with Auto Meter white face gauges and duel-needle white face air gauge
Misc.: Billet Accessories Direct steering wheel
Performed by: Owner Patrick Kennedy, and seats wrapped byTattoo in Edgewater, Maryland and the paint/pinstriping on dash done by Razor Custom Paint Shop
Stereo
Head unit: Custom Auto Sound head unit for the '66 Mustang dash
Mids and highs: Orion P6.2 6-1/2-inch components
Amplifier for mids and highs: Rockford 2-Channel 600
Custom fabrication: Everything
Misc.: iPod adaptor
Performed by: Owner Patrick Kennedy
Engine/Performance
Number of cylinders: Factory 2.3L four-cylinder
Ported/polished: Ported, polished, and milled down
Intake: Kurtz Kustomz
Header/exhaust: Flowmaster
Ignition: Super Chip, Racer Walsh timing sprocket
Detail work: Painted House of Kolor Tangelo and Gray, chrome valve cover
Misc.: Under-drive pulley and relocated wire harness under the dash
Performed by: Owner Patrick Kennedy and Kevin Petitt
Special Thanks By Owner:
A special thanks has to go to all the time and effort Kevin Petitt put forth during the whole build. Razor Custom Paint Shop for all the work on the graphics. Also, I couldn't have done it without my parents. They almost never questioned what I was doing. Somewhere along the way, if they had said, "You want to spend how much on your truck?" or "You want to do what to a perfectly good truck?" the whole thing would have come out much different.