Advice on new (to me) Ranger.

[Jtegg007]

Hello all, I'm new here. I just bought my first Ranger, after three 5.8L Ford Bronco's. My friend asked me to look at it because it was shaking at speed and idle, after various tests, it looks like it needs head gaskets. She cant afford it so I bought it out from under her...

SO. Onto the point.
Im looking to go the whole 9 yards and make this my new daily driver. After reading about valve recession issues and potential cracked heads, and seeing the truck has 168k, Ive decided to replace both heads with brand new, ford oem heads. These are bare, so im looking for advice on what to do with them?

Is it worth my time and money to go get hardened valve seats installed right off the bat? Should I move over my old springs/valves/rockers, replace them with new OEM ones, or shop for an upgrade? Whats out there for upgrades??

I plan on doing the camshaft position sensor and camshaft syncronizer shaft while the heads are off, what other repairs should I inspect//replace out of good habit? Do these trucks/motors have any other serious weak spots?

Any advice on best gasket set? best spark plugs? such and such?


Thanks any and all for your input!!

 

[adsm08]

Felpro gaskets, Ford plugs and head bolts.