Donor for frame

[spike31460]

I'm just getting started an what I hope will be a nice long journey in building street (kit) rods . I have a '92 Ranger for a donor frame , and I need some info on if this is a good donor ? Thanks for the advice . I've just also begun a whole new learning process in Hot rod building , so the more info the better .

[Dave Severson]

What body are you going to put on it?? Probably best to find the body you want to use first. If it's one of the more popular bodies, there is a good chance that someone is building a reproduction frame for it, or if the car you choose has a good frame, maybe it just needs some boxing and crossmembers.

[The Al Show]

Hi Spike, welcome to CHR.

The guys are right. You need to pick a body before you put a frame under it.

You said you were thinking of a "kit" car. There's a lot of confusion about what that means. A true kit will include the frame or be designed to fit a certain make and model frame.

Maybe you just want a fiberglas body and intend to buy or fabricate the rest of the car. Most fiberglas hot rod bodies are designed to fit an original or repro frame. There aren't many glass bodies that will fit a Ranger frame.

If you really want as much info as possible before you start building read through the archives on this site. There's been a lot written about useing a Ranger or S10 frame for various project cars.

The all time favorite hot rod is the 32 Ford. A 32 Ford on a Ranger frame (if it could be done) would not have much value as the next owner would have to put it back on a 32 frame and pretty much start over to make it look right. The same holds true for most cars from the 30s and early 40s.
Streets is going to prove me wrong on this as he's determined to put a 33 Ford on a LTD frame. If anyone can do it he can. He's got hundreds of years of experience building cars. He had a dropped axle and slicks on his stroller.

A lot of guys that join us are determined to use what they have regardless of what we think. If that's the case here the frame you have would be okay for a car from 1949 on up where the frame can't be seen. An older pickup on a Ranger frame would also be more acceptable by hardcore hot rodders.

After you read the archives and decide on a body then you can ask more specific questions and get the help you need as problems arise.
AL

[Bob Parmenter]

Go up and re-read Al's post again, it's full of gems.

Now, since you're going at this thing backward, here's a bail out for you. Since it looks like you're a Ford pickup kinda guy anyway it might work. There's a company in Florida that makes a '36 Ford fiberglass replica pickup designed specifically to fit a modified Ranger chassis. Don't recall their name, but you should be able to find an ad in one of the kit car magazines.