Ford Ranger Prerunner Build: A Full System-by-System Guide (Wings World)

July 21, 2026 By Charlie

This is a full walkthrough of a custom Ford Ranger prerunner built on the Wings World YouTube channel, a multi-part series documenting the ground-up transformation of Ryan’s regular-cab Ranger into a desert-ready off-road truck. Most of the fabrication is handled by Christian (of Vital Designs), with Bill pitching in on the shock and plate work, and nearly every panel, tube, and mount on the truck is built by hand in the garage. Below we’ve pulled the real build details together by system, so you can follow how the truck actually came together instead of episode by episode.

Chassis & Frame

The build started by stripping the Ranger to its core. The bed and gas tank came off to open up full access to the frame and undercarriage, and the team carefully measured the factory wheelbase and other critical dimensions before pulling the factory housing out from under the truck. That documentation mattered, because the plan was to shorten the roughly 113-inch regular-cab long-bed wheelbase to around 110 inches so the fiberglass overlays would line up cleanly with the cab and eliminate awkward gaps.

The boldest move was cutting the frame rails. Rather than working around the factory frame like a lot of milder builds, the team sectioned the rails so they could install custom pivot boxes that tie the front and rear suspension into one cohesive structure. Those pivot boxes were designed in Fusion 360 and fabricated entirely in the garage, and they became the foundation for all of the link geometry that follows.

Up front, the truck was stripped down to the factory firewall and frame rails, then rebuilt around a custom beam kit. The factory cross member was cut out and replaced with a new tubular version made from 1-3/4-inch, 0.120-wall tubing, giving a stronger and more flexible platform for the engine and suspension mounts. The engine was moved back roughly six inches to improve weight distribution and lower the center of gravity, which required reworking the firewall. A useful side benefit of that new engine position: the truck can now run a single-piece driveshaft where the old packaging had forced a two-piece setup.

Suspension & Shock Mounts

The rear suspension was the first major system to take shape. With the pivot boxes fixed in place, the crew installed the lower links, set the rear-end position, and built the upper links from there. The rear geometry is designed for 14 inches of up-travel from ride height, with room built in for larger tires down the road. A tubular rear cage sits wider at the back and tapers inward toward the cab to cradle the fuel cell.

Shock mount fabrication is where a lot of the engineering shows up. Because the bypass shocks are position-sensitive (the piston passes through different valving zones through its stroke), the mounts had to be located so the shocks use their full travel. Templates were mocked up in Ram Board, photographed, imported into Fusion 360, traced, and cut, blending hand craftsmanship with CAD accuracy. The finished mounts use weld washers to reinforce the bolt holes against wear, and the bump stops were designed with a center rib to resist deformation from repeated impacts. Trailing arms were repositioned along the way to improve shock alignment and leave clearance for future upgrades.

Several rear details round out the setup:

Bump stops: mounted in clean boxed mounts and installed without the Delrin pad at first for alignment, then re-padded once the shocks were fully bottomed to set correct spacing between the bypass and coilover. They’re treated as a consumable, replaceable part.
Sway bar: mounted at the front of the rear structure because of packaging around the fuel cell and side-mounted spare. It uses a 2-inch, 0.120-wall tube for the torsion bar with Delrin bushings, and the rate, arm length, and angle were all tuned to avoid binding and preserve wheel travel.
Coilover reservoirs: secured with clamp-style mounts for durability and a clean look.

The front suspension uses a custom beam kit with a center-mounted radius arm setup, chosen for minimal bump steer and good caster geometry through the suspension cycle. The beam mounts were modeled in SolidWorks and trimmed to fit during assembly. Front shock mounts use an inline layout rather than the more common staggered arrangement, which simplifies assembly and keeps the shocks aligned with the radius arm and beam; weld-in washers from Dirt King reinforce the structure. Because the Ranger’s track width is narrow, clearances were tight enough that the shock top caps had to be clocked to keep them from hitting the hood. Final spring rates are still tentative and will be dialed in after the truck is weighed, including corner weights.

The steering was reworked to match the new geometry. The steering box was repositioned to run straight tie rods, which were fabricated from 1-1/4-inch, 0.250-wall tubing, and a hand-built pitman arm gives a double-shear connection to cut down on deflection. Delrin inside the tie-rod ends keeps things stable and reduces binding.

Engine Cage & Front End

The engine cage is built from 2-inch, 0.120-wall tube that ties into the A-pillar and runs under the cowling, giving the front end a strong framework and a mounting structure for the shocks. The radiator lives inside that cage for protection, and to fit the Ranger’s narrow frame rails the team stepped down to a 31×16 radiator instead of the standard 31×19. The radiator and engine mounts are also laid out to accept a future V8 swap, so the current V6 setup can be upgraded later without redoing the front end.

For now the truck keeps its factory 4.0-liter V6 and five-speed manual transmission, with a gear ratio around 6.0 chosen for low-end torque off-road. Braking is handled by Wilwood four-piston calipers and larger rotors, matched to the upgraded suspension for high-speed control. The truck rolls on 35-inch BFGoodrich tires mounted to 15-inch Walker Evans wheels.

Bedsides & Spare Tire

The rear bodywork uses relatively thin fiberglass bedsides, so a Linex coating was applied to add rigidity and shrug off rocks and debris hitting the leading edge. The fender tops use a waterfall-style profile that can be flattened for a cleaner look, and getting the mounting positions right is critical to keeping the fiberglass from flexing once it’s on the truck. Two fastening approaches are used depending on the spot: Autofab polyurethane fender washers to isolate movement, and Kibby Tech washers for a flush, secure fit.

The spare tire plan shifted from two side-by-side spares to a single spare. The rear bumper tube is built to stick out past the body line so any impact hits the tube rather than the fiberglass or taillights, and a 1-inch tube structure hinges over the tire to hold it securely without relying on just a strap. Like the rest of the build, these mounts were designed in Fusion 360, cut on a plasma cutter, and made removable for quick access. The fuel cell in this area is held by a plate-based mount rather than a tube cradle, with the cell’s bottom supported by the chassis tubes so the plastic bladder doesn’t bow or crack, and it’s built to drop out easily for service.

Interior

The cab was fully gutted, headliner and carpet included, to make room for a custom roll cage and dashboard. Christian started the cage with the dash tube and worked outward, keeping the 2-inch main tubes tight to the sheet metal to preserve room in the cramped regular cab. The B-pillar is run externally, a deliberate choice that frees up interior space and keeps good visibility through the back window. Seating is a pair of PRP Delta seats, picked for their fit in the Ranger’s cabin and their removable, easy-to-clean cushions.

Driver ergonomics drove a lot of the interior work. Moving the engine and transmission back naturally lined the shifter up with the seating position, and the team looked at swapping to a shorter tilt steering column to pull the wheel to a comfortable distance. Seat height, angle, and distance were all set against the tight regular-cab dimensions, with the pivot boxes adjusted to balance headroom and legroom. Because the truck runs a manual, it needs a three-pedal box in very little space, so the pedals are custom-fabricated to fit. A tube structure supporting the firewall and trans tunnel adds triangulated rigidity, and a jack mount tucks into a sealed compartment to stay protected but accessible.

At the point this series leaves off, the Ranger is a rolling chassis with its major systems fabricated and the truck sitting on its own suspension. What’s left is the fine-tuning that only happens once a build reaches this stage: final panel work, weighing the truck and setting corner weights, and locking in spring rates. If you want to see any of these steps done in real time, the Wings World series covers each one in detail across its episodes.

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Categorized in: Prerunner Builds

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