Noob...

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
hey, yes a old school Noob that is in to old squarebodys.
GTs esp Owned plenty of them over the years. Hoping that maybe the knowledgable P.A. Schilke will contact me about some things.....
Sponsored

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Doc

P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
hey, yes a old school Noob that is in to old squarebodys.
GTs esp Owned plenty of them over the years. Hoping that maybe the knowledgable P.A. Schilke will contact me about some things.....
Hi Stuart,

Most times I do not want to do PM as the info is good for the whole forum membership. Okay to list of which the things you have questions. When I had PMs I got a clogged mail box and an unhappy Earthlink. I chatted with Moderator Rob and he agreed that it might be best to not allow PMs.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
Okey Dokey, Sir. I will try to keep it brief as I can.....
I special ordered y first one in 1988. I knew there was no performance increase, but i loved the styling. As soon as I found out they were being discontinued in '90, I went out and had the local dealer search till he found some '89s and I bought one of them. Anyway, I've been in Ford Dealership
Parts management since '94 and I bought a lot of NOS and used parts that i could find and afford back then, as i figured it would be hard to come by in the future.
Since i was more into them than most people since it was before all the technology,
lots of people came to me for parts and answers. What i was hoping for
is can you give me any knowledge on the development and the assembly
aspects. I understood the trucks were built on the line at Louisville, then sent to a warehouse for the gfx conversion to GTs. Lets start there...lol.
Don't want to tire out your fingers typing
 
  • Like
Reactions: Doc

P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
Okey Dokey, Sir. I will try to keep it brief as I can.....
I special ordered y first one in 1988. I knew there was no performance increase, but i loved the styling. As soon as I found out they were being discontinued in '90, I went out and had the local dealer search till he found some '89s and I bought one of them. Anyway, I've been in Ford Dealership
Parts management since '94 and I bought a lot of NOS and used parts that i could find and afford back then, as i figured it would be hard to come by in the future.
Since i was more into them than most people since it was before all the technology,
lots of people came to me for parts and answers. What i was hoping for
is can you give me any knowledge on the development and the assembly
aspects. I understood the trucks were built on the line at Louisville, then sent to a warehouse for the gfx conversion to GTs. Lets start there...lol.
Don't want to tire out your fingers typing
Hi Stuart,

Sorry I am a bit confused by your terminology and may not have the answers which you seek No idea what square backs are for example. I think you are speaking of the Ranger GT. Since I had inadvertently created the SCCA RaceTruck Challenge series, a Program Manager, Mike Z. (we all called him Z to his face...not Mike). Anyway Z was inspired to do a Ranger GT package. It would be body side moldings to give the Ranger a "Ground Effects" look. (BTW, I had a 1988 Ranger GT my kid drove for his high school years) I went to Z and told him we needed to hot up the suspension to make it handle and he had me take a GT and using rubber parts off the Explorer and different shocks and front sway bar, we got a Ranger that improved handling quite a bit... Z deemed it a go program and we lobbed it over to Body and Assembly. B&A decided that the convesion to GT would be an off line operation, so the GTs were shuttled to an off line operation where the body side moldings were installed. Suspension items were done on line. It was really cool to see them on the Road and know that my suspension was under them... I developed the suspension after hours at the handling track with my trusty helmet at hand and one Livernois Mechanic as a helper and spotter. At that time I was heading up Econoline and Aerostar NVH, so Ranger was not on my day to day plate....

Am I close to what you seek???

Best
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
-Phil,

yes sir. you are on the right track. Square backs or squarebodys is just a term to refer to the 1st generation of the style of the Ranger. The 83-92 era.
Yes, the handling was/is great on those trucks. Was the front coils and rear springs something that was already in production and you just ha to find the right combo, or did you develop new ones? the spring codes on the data plates suggest they were ones already used, but i know the spring rates had to be different, because they seemed to let the truck sit lower
than a normal 2wd Ranger. Or it was a great illusion. Now how did they get the production tucks over to the offline assembly? was it close enough to drive them over or did they haul them over? Better yet, was it Ford workers adding thee kits or did they hire a separate company to add the kits?

Thanks Phil for taking the time to do this......
 
  • Like
Reactions: Doc


P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
-Phil,

yes sir. you are on the right track. Square backs or squarebodys is just a term to refer to the 1st generation of the style of the Ranger. The 83-92 era.
Yes, the handling was/is great on those trucks. Was the front coils and rear springs something that was already in production and you just ha to find the right combo, or did you develop new ones? the spring codes on the data plates suggest they were ones already used, but i know the spring rates had to be different, because they seemed to let the truck sit lower
than a normal 2wd Ranger. Or it was a great illusion. Now how did they get the production tucks over to the offline assembly? was it close enough to drive them over or did they haul them over? Better yet, was it Ford workers adding thee kits or did they hire a separate company to add the kits?

Thanks Phil for taking the time to do this......
Hi Stuart,

The suspension tuning going in position was no new parts...use off the shelf. The Explorer was my go to vehicle, especially as Explorer used much more urethane in higher dynamic spring rated (Durometer in other words) Springs in the front were lighter than stock Ranger but the sway bar was about a 1/8" bigger diameter for stiffness increase (4th power of the diameter). I have always subscribed to light springs an big bars in theory for handling. As for where the body kit was installed, it is my understanding that it was a pole barn on plant grounds so the vehicles were driven over to the pole barn. I believe it was Ford UAW personnel that did the install, but I never saw the operation myself. Z and I got a couple backpats for this "skunk works" project.... I understand there is a face book following of the Ranger GT and my buddy, Mike C. is my liaison as Mike has indicated the FB folks want to get ahold of me....Just do not have the time. They call me the father of the GT, but the father is Z in my opinion. Z left Ford and I have lost track of him... Anyway...fun project....always fun to be able to throw trucks around the handling track at high speed. There are likely other little details that my foggy memory of 30 years ago that may surface from time to time...but I had mostly forgotten the GT except for Mike's once in a while prodding.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
-Thanks Phil.
Yes, I am a part of that FB group. Alot look to me since I work at a dealership and I've heard rumor and innuendo over the years, because I've been around the GTs since '88. I just want to make sure when I tell someone something, that I have gotten it from the people who know. Back in the fall, I sold a '89 GT with 27k miles on it and I have another '89 GT at home that has about 1200 miles on it, but it got caught up in a tornado back in 2001. It needs some bodywork on it. Also you note the use of Explorer suspension components, but at the time (1988) the explorer had not come to fruition. I assume it was components that were being tested for use on the explorer.
And Mike C. what was his role. by the way, with the GT?

I appreciate the time you are taking Phil. It is good to have the knowledge from the beginning to pass along to those who still like the trucks. Is there an Ford archive of photos where we might find any testing you and others were doing on it at the time??

Thank you very much
-Stuart
 
  • Like
Reactions: Doc

P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
-Thanks Phil.
Yes, I am a part of that FB group. Alot look to me since I work at a dealership and I've heard rumor and innuendo over the years, because I've been around the GTs since '88. I just want to make sure when I tell someone something, that I have gotten it from the people who know. Back in the fall, I sold a '89 GT with 27k miles on it and I have another '89 GT at home that has about 1200 miles on it, but it got caught up in a tornado back in 2001. It needs some bodywork on it. Also you note the use of Explorer suspension components, but at the time (1988) the explorer had not come to fruition. I assume it was components that were being tested for use on the explorer.
And Mike C. what was his role. by the way, with the GT?

I appreciate the time you are taking Phil. It is good to have the knowledge from the beginning to pass along to those who still like the trucks. Is there an Ford archive of photos where we might find any testing you and others were doing on it at the time??

Thank you very much
-Stuart
Hi Stuart,

Mike C. is just on FB. He is a Saleen collector....I think he might be ready to collect a GT....do not know. I guess I should have indicated that we used release level parts, not prototype parts as part of the GT "Skunk works"...

As for an archive, I am sure there are pictures but our Highland Park warehouse is so enormous, would not know where to look or direct you search...

Here is a one off with a 3.0L SHO motor that I also tuned the suspension using GT parts. Motor would twist to 10,000 rpm.... Spanked a few folks in hot cars with this truck on Telegraph and Woodward.

Got pulled over in Indiana by troopers that just wanted to look at the truck...On my way back to Ford from Purdue where I had an advanced project on engine mounts going...

SHORanger_1.jpg


Guy in the driver's seat is an agency fellow that just fell in love with the GT...Andy T. I let him do this as a once in a life time opportunity for him..... Lost track of Andy too....think he passed away as he had serious medical issues at such a young age...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
Phil,

Roger that info. Yeah, we all wish Corporate would have put a little more go under the hood of the Ranger, and it got a little with the 4.0. That would have been good for the GT had it been ready for use. Loved the SHO concept back then also. What tranny did they use behind it? do you know? ALOT of people have said they are going to build one, but never do. Too many specialized pieces and modification have to be made to do one. My old '88 lasted 360k miles before a reckless driver took it out less that a mile from my house. It was a great truck. I still have parts and pieces from it and a fried of mine made a GT trailer out of the bed. I appreciate the time you have took to reply. anytime you remember something, please feel free to send it to me. it would be great info to have, im sure. If you ever hear from Z, would love to pick his mind some also.

Thanks again, Phil!

-Stuart
 
  • Like
Reactions: Doc

P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
Phil,

Roger that info. Yeah, we all wish Corporate would have put a little more go under the hood of the Ranger, and it got a little with the 4.0. That would have been good for the GT had it been ready for use. Loved the SHO concept back then also. What tranny did they use behind it? do you know? ALOT of people have said they are going to build one, but never do. Too many specialized pieces and modification have to be made to do one. My old '88 lasted 360k miles before a reckless driver took it out less that a mile from my house. It was a great truck. I still have parts and pieces from it and a fried of mine made a GT trailer out of the bed. I appreciate the time you have took to reply. anytime you remember something, please feel free to send it to me. it would be great info to have, im sure. If you ever hear from Z, would love to pick his mind some also.

Thanks again, Phil!

-Stuart
Hi Stuart,

SHO Ranger was a go program by Marketing if we could package Air Conditioning. Unfortunately the old XR50 steering gear was in the way....if only we had rack and pinion steering back then we would have revised the SHO to move the throttle body from inside the cowl below the windshield with a new intake manifold and a truck calibration. The trans is the above SHO Ranger was the new at the time Mazda 5 speed OD transmission. Truck was lightening quick and fun to drive. Sad to send it to the crusher... One of my legacies of the old Ranger was to make sure the pedal placement allowed for heal and toe driving....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
-The Crusher!!?? why did they not save that one like some of the other concepts? just to see it would be cool. yes and a engineering task for sure. there were some guys who made reverse spacer plates to turn the intake 180 degrees to have the TB to the front. remember seeing lots of pic of it in truck magazines. Sure do hate it became a can somewhere....lol

-Stuart
 

P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
-The Crusher!!?? why did they not save that one like some of the other concepts? just to see it would be cool. yes and a engineering task for sure. there were some guys who made reverse spacer plates to turn the intake 180 degrees to have the TB to the front. remember seeing lots of pic of it in truck magazines. Sure do hate it became a can somewhere....lol

-Stuart
HI Stuart,

Yep...we throw away many prototypes. There are certain "significant" prototypes that are donated to the Henry Ford Museum, some of which are in display in the museum. The Ranger GT SHO does not qualify so off to the crusher. On occasion, somehow one destine for crushing escapes, but it is rare and usually a mystery how it got out into private hands.

Back story I covered before..... I had 20 FX4 prototypes, having developed the first of the FX4 brand. It was Sept 11, 2001 and the World Trade Centers collapsed. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, located in the WTC lost all their vehicles. So I contacted our vehicle control folks and loaded all 20 onto haulaways with double drivers to get then to the Port Authority. They viewed this as a god send. They had these Rangers at their disposal for about 6 months as they recovered from the devastation. Then I got them back...one was cut from the herd and sent to be displayed at World Headquarters for 3 or 4 months...A proud moment for me and Ranger. The other 19....off to the crusher as they were not salable units. Then the last one, which was from WHQ....off to the crusher...Significant vehicles and the beginning of the FX4 brand, but, alas...they are all gone. Crushed and recycled. Much of the steel was sent to the Rouge Steel Plant and became sheetmetal for new Ford vehicles.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
Thinking on that Rack & Pinion, Phil. Would it have been cost prohibitive? or itS prolly part of what killed it off. The front of the frame would have to be re-engineered to mount the rack , along with, at the time, a large rack built for a truck. which, of course, now we have on most light duty trucks. A new intake could have been cast for turning the inlet forward. All simple, but costly enough , i'm sure to keep it from being built.
As for the FX4s. i think i remember the story on the displayed one. wasnt aware of the others. Awesome story, regardless.
 

P. A. Schilke

Well-Known Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Threads
141
Messages
7,012
Reaction score
36,169
Location
GV Arizona
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Lariat 4x4, 2020 Lincoln Nautilus, 2005 Alfa Motorhome
Occupation
Engineer Retired
Vehicle Showcase
1
Thinking on that Rack & Pinion, Phil. Would it have been cost prohibitive? or itS prolly part of what killed it off. The front of the frame would have to be re-engineered to mount the rack , along with, at the time, a large rack built for a truck. which, of course, now we have on most light duty trucks. A new intake could have been cast for turning the inlet forward. All simple, but costly enough , i'm sure to keep it from being built.
As for the FX4s. i think i remember the story on the displayed one. wasnt aware of the others. Awesome story, regardless.
Hi Stuart,

Because the SLA and Rack and pinion were not even on the design table for Ranger, being twin I beam and Haltenburger steering, we had this big old XR50 steering gear which with to contend... Just not in the cards for a SHO Ranger.

Back Story: I gave rides around the handling track to our Marketing people, set up by Public Affairs. Had been through the truck upper Management with a ride and drive...this was sort of a fun thing to do....non of the Marketing folks knew how to drive, so to speak so it was strictly ride for them while I drove. Normally for these affairs we have three size helmets for the participants...Small, Medium and Large. However for Marketing we had to add two more sized named Pin Head 1 and Pin Head 2. :)

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
OP
OP

shorangerbird

Member
First Name
Stuart
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
8
Reaction score
9
Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
'89 Ranger sc
Occupation
Ford Dealer Parts Manager
Hey Phil,
Just a shout back to ya, prolly a Z question, but do you have any idea why they discontinued the GT option after only two years? Was it low sales maybe? Well, with the gfx. Y'all actually had an GT in '87 that was without gfx, but then they were added. And changes had to be made to the gfx for the new '89 body style, but then it was gone in the '90 brochure, tho you can find early order books from dealers that showed it available, but the revised ones had it removed. Any recollections on it?
Thanks!
-Stu
Sponsored

 
 



Top