decided on a ranger, but what to build

[rice]

i am going to be stationed in fort samhouston right outside of san antonio for 11 months of ait in august, and in an attempt to kill time, i decided to build up a truck. money isnt really an issue, but i dont want to go broke over it, i have about 15k to spend on buying the truck itself. so that brings me to issue number one what year? should i spend less on the truck itself to save even more for upgrades, or get a newer truck and upgrade as more funds come in? also, this will remain a dd but also see prerunning and dunes what is better for these demands, the older twin i beam or the newer wishbone setup? another question is what is reccomended for prerunning manual or auto trans? and i know its been discussed but 2wd vs 4wd, im torn between the 2 i just dont know. also anything else i should know? ive had a 90 toyota pickup on 33s and a cj7 on 33s but both where trail rigs

 

[Bennybooster]

2wd is a lot cheaper to build a prerunner with but 4wd will get you unstuck easier.
The main thing i would recommend is 4.0 and manual

 

[rice]

2wd is a lot cheaper to build a prerunner with but 4wd will get you unstuck easier.
The main thing i would recommend is 4.0 and manual

what about reliability of the 4.0? i had a mustang with a 2.3 and that stood up to some abuse. my friend has a 97 ranger with a 3.0 and between the two of us we have abused that truck to a point that it should not be running and it still starts up perfectly and gets us where we need to go. but i have no experience with the 4.0

 

[00dangerranger]

4.0 5spd 2wd, with a winch.
My 4.0 was used and abused by a 16yr old who lived in CA desert.When I got the truck. it was leaking,shaking, misfireing. you name it. start idle and die. After some gaskets a tune up and a MAF cleaning you would never know, runs like my grandpa owend it. So I would say the 4.0 is pretty tuff. I'm not sure of wishbone or I beam as long as the travel you need is there i'd say it's irrelavant for a DD. The newer rangers have to be easier to get a tune for. Good luck

 

[Quasi242]

Older 2wd Rangers will be the easiest and least expensive to build. Plus, you will not feel as bad tearing up an older truck. Don't get me wrong, I love my LT 4wd a-arm truck. If it is desert and dunes primarily, do an older beamed Ranger. If you still want to do some moderate 4wd trails, an extended TTB Ranger or a 98+ Ranger with the Dixon Kit will do the job.

I have the 3.SLOW. It is very reliable but very underpowered. I can not wait until I am able to do a motor swap. I wish that I had started with a better motor to begin with. As another possible option, you may want to look into building a 5.0 V8 Explorer. That will come with the 32-spline 8.8, disk brakes and a 302 (not to mention 4 seats).