Custom Sport Trac:
Turning Trac
Now that the major buildup has been taken care of...
...some work still has to be done.
Still some cutting to fit the tires and get it outside.
Finally standing on its own tires and out in the open. Getting it out was not too hard but with the steering still not in place turning the Trac is a bit tricky.
Looks good!
To replace the car-like steering box in the original Sport Trac I got this rebuilt steering box from an old Bronco. It has to be placed on the left side of the framing, just in front of the steering rod. Here it is being tried out, but it has to be moved quite a bit to the front.
In order to get a better working access to position the box and other steering stuff, the whole front has to be removed. First taking out the lights, then the upper front and last the bumper.
Looks kind of weird and faceless...
You can also notice that it is leaning a bit to its right side. This is because one of the radius arms is a little bit bent. This has later been corrected.
With the steering box in place a way to connect to the new drag link is needed. Problem was that the steering box didn't come with any part of the old drag link and I had to search for one. Lucky for me Raggi from 4x4.is had an old Bronco with the original drag link I could use.
Steering rods are now in place with all new tie-rod ends.
As you can see, the front air-bag is a little bit bent.
This is now corrected by positioning the bottom place at the correct angle.
With the transfer case in place.
Drive shafts have been made longer both the rear shaft...
... as well as the front.
Both are professionally elongated in a special garage that makes sure it doesn't vibrate.
After some careful consideration I decided to use the RS-9000 shock absorbers from Rancho.
Oli is fitting the shocks in the new upper bracket. Lower end on the radius arm comes with a bracket but it has to be moved a bit outwards to free the shock from hitting the frame.
Getting the truck ready includes installing the air pump with all the lines and meters, installing the CB and NMT phone with antennas as well as fitting new fender flares to make it street legal here.
