After almost two summers of driving the 281Ranger as a sleeper I've decided it's time for a make-over. The plan is to turn it into a little Lightning with some Cobra touches mixed in. The plan is to take it down to the bare frame and detail everything on the way back together.

This is how the Ranger looks now. The only exterior mod is a mild 1/2 drop.

Well, there's two mods if you count this.

And this is the current look of the engine compartment.

The first item purchased for the make-over is a flairside box. It's from a '00 and it only cost $200. It has a couple small cracks but those will be easy to fix.

Just picked up a set of Bullitt wheels, two with Nitto 245/45/17 tires. Bought them on Ebay for $150. Had to drive down to Iowa to pick them up, but it was a nice little road trip.

The local U-pull finally got in an Explorer with a column that wasn't busted all to crap. The tilt wheel will be a nice addition.

Got the bed pulled off the Ranger. Next I'm going to try and pull the cab. I want to leave the drivetrain in place so this will be a little more difficult than the bed.

This picture was taken 9-23-07. Finally got the cab pulled. (Tires are flat to gain a few more inches of clearance while pulling the cab.) I'm going to build a stand for the cab with some casters on it so I can move it around.