Back in early February, the folks behind the YouTube channel Donut Media purchased a well-worn Ford Ranger for a mere $500 – not a terribly uncommon thing for YouTubers to do these days. However, rather than destroy it for clicks, Donut Media is instead spending big bucks to transform this old Ford Ranger into a desert racing monster, one capable of traversing hundreds of miles of rugged terrain at high speeds. That process began a couple of weeks ago with the installation of $15k in suspension upgrades, and now, this old Ranger is being treated to a set of $5,000 brakes as well.
This Ford Ranger is destined to compete in this year’s NORRA 500 off-road race, but there’s obviously a ton of work left to be done before that can happen. As most are well aware, being able to slow down is every bit as important as the ability to accelerate quickly and handle rugged terrain, so our hosts aren’t skimping in that regard – not by a long shot.
Rather, they’ve invested big in a set of Wilwood brakes for both the front and rear portions of the compact pickup, coupled with various other bits and pieces, plus new axles, beefy differentials, hubs, knuckles, wheels, and tires. Much of that work must be done before installing the brakes, and as such, that’s precisely what’s covered in this video.
Once the dust has settled on this latest infusion of parts, the team takes their Ford Ranger – which looks a whole heck of a lot different already – back out to the sand to test it out, and one thing becomes immediately clear – this pickup is braking extremely hard and soaking up bumps with ease. Problem is, now it just needs a lot more power, which – as one might imagine – is next up on the priority list.
We’ll have more cool videos like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Ranger news and ongoing Ford news coverage.
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