The explorer struts are doable, but I don't think it's exactly a bolt in swap. Like
sgtsandman and
85_Ranger4x4 both said, I haven't paid close enough attemtion to my hinges to see how they are attached tot he firewall. That said my brain is screaming that it isn't a simple bolt on. Maybe a simple bolt off from the Explorer, but not that easy attaching to the Ranger. Ofcourse the idea when I had looked into it previously was to do it on a first gen Ranger.
I was going to recommend Reline like
sgtsandman did. If I do struts on a first gen that's the route I've taking. Probably on the 99 as well, but this thread has me wanting to take a closer look at its firewall. I wonder if they would be strong enough to support the heavier fiberglass Edge hood.