Everyone has done something to his or her truck that took a bit of courage to initiate, and many people have succeeded in making great strides with their projects by doing much of their own work. When it comes to suspension, however, some owners fancy themselves great fabricators. Unfortunately, they lack the fabrication skills needed to pull off clean work, strong welds, and a suspension system that functions as well as it looks. We recently got our hands on a '93 Ford Ranger that had been 'bagged somewhat conventionally (for a Ranger), and took a closer look at the way it had been done. When we realized that not much more than a few semi-penetrating welds held the front adjustable suspension in place, we decided to perform emergency surgery on its front suspension and turn the safety level around 180 degrees.
Follow along as Art and Jeremy of GO EZ Customs re-'bag our subject Ranger, create real shock mounts, and change several other aspects of the I-beam-equipped truck's setup to not only make the truck safer, but help it look better than it ever has in its 11 years of existence. For more information, use the source section to contact the companies involved.
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 First we have to show you...  First we have to show you what we started with. The Ranger had been previously equipped with a set of typical 'bag mounts. The welds had been loaded on, but hadn't penetrated well. Likewise, the electric valves were mounted directly to the top of the 'bag, making future work on the air-ride system more difficult than need be. |
 It's a common practice to...  It's a common practice to notch the front lower framerail for steering clearance when 'bagging a Ranger. This Ranger had been notched by simply whacking out a section of frame, with no support to back it up. We'll be changing that straightaway. |
 From this angle, you can tell...  From this angle, you can tell the 'bag mount had previously been installed, removed, and reinstalled. There's nothing strong about the way this Ranger was 'bagged, and we hate to imagine what would've happened had it stayed on the road much longer. |
 With the 'bag and valve out...  With the 'bag and valve out of the way, we went to work removing the upper and lower airbag mounts installed on the front framerails. |
 Jeremy axed the 'bag mounts...  Jeremy axed the 'bag mounts from the framerails and I-beams using his tried-and-trusted plasma cutter. |
 Although the old mounts weren't...  Although the old mounts weren't that difficult to cut off, special care was taken not to blow through the framerails. This just meant that a little extra cleanup with the grinder was needed once the |
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 We then attended to another...  We then attended to another problem the Ranger had when it came in: the steering notch. See the white marks made on the frame? That's how much larger we'll be opening the hole in the chassis. We made a smaller notch on the driver side to allow full articulation of the steering at any ride height. |
 The area that had been simply...  The area that had been simply cut out was enlarged using a plasma cutter. A section of tubing, a tiny C-notch, will be used to fill the area. |
 With the section of tubing...  With the section of tubing in place, the steering sank 1-1/2 inches into the framerail area, allowing the truck to drop much lower than it had before. |
 The lower 'bag mount was built...  The lower 'bag mount was built by first placing the lower plate on top of the edge of the I-beam. |
 The lower mount was permanently...  The lower mount was permanently affixed to the I-beam by welding it into place. |
 This part was used to strengthen...  This part was used to strengthen and support the lower 'bag mount. It will be welded into the truck at the front of the I-beam, under the lower 'bag mount, and will radius around the underside of the lower mount for superior strength. |
 Here's the lower 'bag mount,...  Here's the lower 'bag mount, fully welded into the I-beam. The alignment adjuster will have to be ground down later so it won't interfere with the lower plate of the Firestone airbag we'll be installing. |
 Jeremy then moved to the tubing...  Jeremy then moved to the tubing bender. He used measurements taken on the truck to build an upper hoop, which would become the upper 'bag mount as well as the upper shock mount for the Ranger. |
 Once the angle of the mounting...  Once the angle of the mounting point at the frame on each side of the tubular mount was marked, the tubing was cut to length using a chop saw. |
 With the upper 'bag mount...  With the upper 'bag mount hoop welded into place, the upper 'bag mount plate was also welded in. This is the basic 'bag mount setup, sans shock mount and final paint. |
 The shock was dummied next...  The shock was dummied next and allowed to fully extend upward. This lets you know where the upper mount for the shock needs to be installed. To double-check, we used a floor jack to cycle the suspension completely from fully extended to fully collapsed. |
 For extra strength, the upper...  For extra strength, the upper 'bag mount was reinforced using gussets on each side of the mount, which were welded to the upper 'bag mount plate and upper 'bag mount tubing.For extra strength, the upper 'bag mount was reinforced using gussets on each side of the mount, which were welded to the upper 'bag mount plate and upper 'bag mount tubing. |
 Once completed, the 'bag mount...  Once completed, the 'bag mount was cleaned and painted to keep rust from forming on the fresh steel. |
 With everything reinstalled,...  With everything reinstalled, the 'bag mount is stronger than it's ever been and has the looks to back it up. Soon, the owner of this Ranger won't be ashamed to open his hood and proudly show off the GO EZ custom fabrication underneath the |
 When we first opened the hood...  When we first opened the hood and started checking out what was wrong with the Ranger, we realized that the reinforcements made for the front frame horns were built with thin sheetmetal. |
 Here's what we replaced the...  Here's what we replaced the sheetmetal with. Fully welded and worlds thicker than what was originally used, the frame is now much stronger up front. |
 The front crossmember was...  The front crossmember was also notched since the front end of the Ranger now sits low enough to tuck larger wheels and still lay flat. |