97 to 93 body swap.

[kris97ranger]

ok so im new to this forum and need some advice. i have a 1997 ranger ext cab 4wd. and the bodys starting to go and i hate body work and also happen to have hardly any $. so paying someone to paint it is out of the question.
but i am mechanicly inclined and have access to any tool i need.
i also have found a 1994 ranger ext cab 2wd for 400 bucks from a buddy. so my question is can i swap the whole bed cab fenders etc... onto my 97 without a massive amount of time where my trucks gonna be off the road?
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[dangeranger01]

Thats alot of work, why not just keep driving it?

 

[kris97ranger]

mostly cause i want a nice truck. its getting lifted over the sumer and stuff. so i wanna body that looks good too.
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CUTELILNEO21

 

[BeefStew42791]

if you don't mind splitting it up amongst two weekends you could probably do the bed and fenders one weekend and save the cab for the next. It kinda seems like a cram to shove it all into one, but then again I don't know your undercarriage rust situation.

 

[explorerhavok]

Don't forget about the fact that the VIN is on the cab. How is that going to effect the title/registration?

 

[Chevelle Kid]

Don't forget about the fact that the VIN is on the cab. How is that going to effect the title/registration?

Just register it as the older one.

 

[oldmantruck]

the main part that seems to make things more work than they are worth here is the 97 has the new dash and the 93 has the old dash, so that means that everything must be stripped out of the cab and swapped over to keep the new wiring harness because if i'm not mistaken, the newer engine is obdII and uses an electronic cluster as opposed to the speedo cable cluster of the old. Thats not to say its impossible, but that is a lot of work you may not be thinking about up front. also airbags

fenders , bed , doors, grill, all that is cake, but the cab kind of sucks, I would much rather swap the bed and fenders and fix the cab.

Which ever way you decide to go, just assume you can do it and it will happen. Good luck

 

[kris97ranger]

i planning on keeping my interior anyways so i already kno about how much work that will be and i was planning on spreading it out for 3 weekends one to teardown the donor truck 1 to do the bed and onetodo the cab. unfortuanatly the cab is in too bad of shape for me to fix (moslty because i dont feel like body work hate it) and it needs anew windshield anywas which the donor truck has. but assuming i keep the wireing harness the same as the 97 which i was gonna do anyways it'll work? ive measured out the body mounts an they all line up
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[Ranger44]

The problem isn't the "work" of swapping out interiors. That is the least of your worries, as the firewall....oh ah excuse me....bulkhead is actually different, and was changed when the newer dash was introduced in 95'. Not to mention all the HVAC system is routed different.

You are FAR better off fixing the cab that's on there or cutting the metal off the 93 cab and welding it in on the 97 cab.

Trying to fit the 97 dash into the 93 cab would be like trying to swim accross an crocodile pond with an open wound. A try in vain.

The inner fenders are also different between the 2 years. The 93 actually uses a box and the 97 as you may notice uses the cone type filter and acually travels throught the inner fender.

My vote it to just swap the bed and outer fenders over, maybe the doors and fix the 97' cab, then call it done.