1988 ranger 2wd sas questions

[skullandcrossbones]

I have a 1988 ford ranger extended cab shortbed pickup that is 2wd. I was wondering if doing a sas swap on my 2wd is alot harder than on a 4x4? Also is there anyway i could do this swap including adding the transfercase and related parts with little to no fabrication? i have a budget of about 3000 but i am weak on the fabrication part. i have someone who i can have weld for me if needed but would rather be able to buy most of the parts and bolt on. i would rather go coils but for my budget i think leaves would suit me better. Oh and i have the choice of doing this and keeping my stock 2.9l for now or doing a 302 swap but being tempted to pro street. I would love to be able to keep up or pass my brothers truck. Its a 1997 chevy extended cab sort bed sas'ed with 35s and a v8. I already have the ranger which is why i do not want to buy a 4x4 if im sas'ing it any way

 

[4x4junkie]

2WD/4x4 actually makes little difference on '83-'97 trucks as far as putting a solid axle under the front... The bigger difference is having to replace your trans for a 4WD unit and then bolt a t-case to it.
If you decide to do the V8 swap, the stock trans would have to be swapped out as well, so it'll wind up being a non-issue anyway (use the trans & t-case from the V8 donor).

Coil springs will actually be easier & cheaper than leafs since much of the hardware is already there (especially if you use a Ford Dana44 axle that has Radius arms & coil mounts already).

 

[skullandcrossbones]

I planned on trying to find an axle setup of of an eb that way maybe i can steal the ford 9 out of it as well and kill 2 birds with one stone. My only real worry is the crossmember/mounts for the links and the track bar mounts. I have till july of 2016 (I'm a 2 minute walk from work when my contracts up here I'm moving, so right now my truck can afford some down time) to either do the solid axle swap or the 302 swap...maybe both but we will have to see. If i can use most of the bronco set up and maybe a crossmember for the link mounts out of something then i would definitely do the solid axle first and just pull the 302-5 speed-and what ever transfer case out of a 4x4 f150 if that would work. I'm not looking for a lot power just something that could turn some 35's so a stock 302 would work. might even go fuel injection depending on how bad the wiring and tuning would be.

 

[skullandcrossbones]

Besides i wouldnt mind running 2wd for now itll be worth it in the end. But i might hold off on doing the.ford 9 swap untill i do the v8 swap depending on driveshaft issues. (No point in buying one for the 2wd if ima have to change it later but might have to anyway with the lift?)

 

[4x4junkie]

You'll probably have a much easier time finding an axle out of a F-150 or fullsize Bronco than from an early Bronco...

The fullsize one is a much better axle anyway (easy to narrow it down if you want it RBV-width, read here). Same goes for an 8.8" from an Explorer vs. an EB 9", and unlike the front, is already the right width.

Your 2.9L can push 35" tires no problem with proper gearing (I run 5.13:1 on mine). A V8 is no substitute for gearing though... you'll still want to run something in the 4.10 - 4.88:1 range depending if you use an OD trans or not (it'll still be a dog with 35" tires without proper gearing).