Hey that's cool. I built a twin turbo setup for a 370z last fall. They're a really strong platform for drifting. Not my cup of tea for styling though.
I wouldn't mess with the new sho motors. They're strong, sure, but they don't have the heritage or uniqueness of the old sho.
I haven't given up on the build. The motor is currently at the engine shop. Last fall I had work in the shop that kept me too busy to work on the truck. I've been on the road for work from early feb, and am currently on a contract that looks like it will was supposed to run until the end of july but is currently looking like it will last through christmas, so no work on the truck this summer/fall
I have been looking at swapping a mustang front kframe to the truck. That would be the easy-button for sure but not exactly what I want. When I get a chance to work on the truck again I'm going to cut out the front crossmember and build my own. I need to move the steering rack location and lower control arm pickup points to hit the ride height I want and that seems the best way to do it.
driftranger96,
This build got away from me. It's 10x more involved than I originally have planned. I have learned a few things about it, though so have some free advice before you make the same mistakes I did:
Don't do the IRS swap until you have the motor running. It's going to cause a spiraling effect of "while you're in there". The track width is also way wider than the ranger beam so you'll have to either switch to a fiberglass offroad fenders, build a wide-body kit, or make a custom full-sized width bed with step side sides for the "dually" flared rear look.
Keep the radiator up front if you can. You can do it easier than I have with the hard lines but I still would keep it up front for simplicity. I relocated for weight and because I have something special planned for the front of the truck.
don't use the 3.2. Find a 3.0. The 3.0 and 3.2 don't share any parts except the heads. Even the accessory drive doesn't have any cross compatibility. There are plenty of 3.0 parts but very VERY few 3.2 parts still in production.
Don't make custom headers, make custom steering linkage instead. You'll probably want to switch from a ranger column to an aftermarket column with a QR wheel down the road, so might as well drop a $200 column in early and make the linkage work around the headers than vis-versa.
If you aren't turboing the motor, don't do the vbands on the intake manifold like I did. It was a lot of work just to hold boost. You will have the modify the intake crossover tube like I did but you can keep the factory throttle body position. The intake manifold spacers work like a charm though.
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I can send over my direct contact info if you want it.