02 B4.0L Frame/Drive - 89' Ranger Front/Dog House?

[IronRanger]

Hey Folks.
My first post and question.

Names Iron Ranger im from Ontario Canada, love the Ranger and B series would never buy any other truck, they never break down and they take a $hit kick,n.
My First vehicle was an 89' Ranger black, jacked @ Chromed, was a sweet ride in the 90,s! and i MISS it, i want my truck back (Well Kinda).

Right now I currently own 2002 Mazda B 4000 4.0L, 150,000 km. The box is damaged on one side. I carry a welder and all my equipment.

MY IDEA is to swap the 02' Dog House/Front end with a 89' Ranger dog house/front end , keeping the drive train and frame from the 02'. Building a custom flat bed for my equipment, and then selling said pieces to recupe some costs. If i get really in to this rebuild I would also like to convert to a dually.(This was somth'n i wanted to do when i was a teenager, and still wanna do!) although this is 2nd to completing the above.

I am not a Mechanic nor do i work on anyone elses vehicles, but i am mechanicly inclined and believe i could tackle this job, however like i stated i have 0 experience with this.(have a couple friends who work in a shop to hlp when its needed).

Can this be done? I understand that obviously things have changed over the course of 20 years. Fender mounts/Cab mounts may need to be relocated, thats fine, but when it comes to say the wire harness and gauges, things wont be compatible i would think.

Are there any unforseen downfalls to this anything im missing that i should be thinking about, im still planning this, but i wanna know what im getting into and to be quite frank i don't. Any ifo would hlp im just not sure if this will work in reality.

any hlp or comments r welcome thx.

 

[Mark_88]

Welcome fellow Canuck! And fellow Ontarian...and fellow Ranger owner...and fellow "Yeah, I can do that...I think" mechanic...

Well, I don't have an answer...you have a welder...you have some knowledge...you have the desire...you can do it~

Really a matter of measure twice, cut once, and make sure the bead is smooth when you weld in the replacement...

As far as I know I haven't seen that mod done by anyone...but, then again, I don't read many build threads...I'm sure you will get answers from more knowledgeable sources though...and probably links to other build threads that have done something similar...

If all else fails...read Gwaii's build threads...he's the only one I know that does things before he thinks them through and they always manage to work (well, he actually thinks them through but I thought I'd rib him a bit)...

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

I have no idea, but welcome to the forum! Never forget the fact that anything is possible. It might take a ton of work, some hours of head sctraching, and bloody knuckles but you can do it.

If you decide to dive in, make sure to start a build thread! I'de love to watch the progress!