I like any 4.0, D35 Ranger. These are automotive Erector Sets. You just find the parts you want and bolt them on. I don't want an 80's or early 90s auto, but I'd be fine with maybe a '93 and on auto. I have a manual now, but I could see putting a C5 in it one day--I have 2 of them. I like to drink coffee and leave the shifting to the car. C5 can be built to handle a 460 and I plan to tow my RC-30 trackloader on a 3/4-scale gooseneck behind this truck--I think the manual will handle it, but the C5 will be better. Get the body and engine you want and everything else can be assembled.
Auto hubs can work fine if you clean them and lightly oil. Most people pack them with grease and the grease gets stiff, especially in the winter, and they are slow to engage. And they get an impulse impact when the axle is spinning like crazy and they do manage to engage. Also, when going from reverse to forward etc, they disengage and then re-engage also causing a shock if you are hammering it. So if you keep them clean, and you realize that you have to take it easy switching directions and engaging them, then they can work just fine. They aren't any weaker than standard manual hubs once they are engaged. I used them for a long time. There are two different Warn manual hubs that fit the Ranger TTB D35. One is 29071, which is also the factory-supplied hub. It's okay, but I've seen a lot of them lose their hats when hammered on. Not going to happen on a stock-type truck being intelligently driven. The premium Warn hub 37780 was made as a kit to use on rear Jeep D35s for flat towing them. Rear axles have to be a lot stronger than front axles and these hubs are twice as heavy and I've only broken one, and the body isn't the thing that broke. Something inside got eaten. They are an exact fit, but they will be sold as a Jeep part.
One more thing. The worst hub I've used was the PileMarker 428. I believe they were lathed from a stick of frozen butter.
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Like, it would absolutely just puke it's guts out. That is, at best, a weak transmission behind the 2.8.
