Direction for my 92 Ranger

[iamcams]

This is my 92 ranger. I am redoing the interior all black. I am going to do the body work on it and paint it a darker blue color. I am unsure of the direction to go with it.
Option 1: Blue and Chrome (more of a classic look)
BFG KO2
Stock looking chrome wheels
Chrome bumpers and grille
Keep the same mirrors
All chrome trim (wheel wells and handles)
Possible a work box in the back

Option 2: Blue and Black (more sporty/off-road look)
Falken A/T4W
Black Wheels
Black bumpers and grille
Those small black mirrors
Spray on bedliner in the bed
Maybe tint on windows

I will need to use the vehicle as a daily for work and school while doing some light trails on the weekends or when I can. First is my truck and then other 2 are example of styles I am debating. Let me know what route you think looks better.

 

[MT_PLS]

Which option do YOU like?
If it were my truck, there would be no chrome, mainly because chrome is hard to keep looking good, especially if you use your truck as a truck. The nice thing about black bumpers and trim is that it is easy to grab a can of spray paint to do touch-ups if needed.
That's just my opinion, though. It's your truck; make it how YOU want.

 

[Curious Hound]

Don't make it the way we want it. Make it the way YOU want it. If you can't decide, don't do anything. Drive it a while until you know what you want. And, use that time to save up the money to do it the best way possible.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Ford did a trim level like this one in different colors that caught on so much that the dealers stocked them even when they did not have the original trim. With this "gun metal" metallic grey on the bottom with the 15" wheels having the same paint. I've seen it in dark red also. Looks nice & always getting a lot of complements. The interior matches with a grey Explorer console with all black buckets. Good luck & can't wait 'till you come up with something!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Really it comes down to what you want.

I often have struggled with a specific direction to take a particular truck. Sometimes I haven’t. My F-150 and dump truck are work trucks so everything they get is to make them more useful for work and nicer to drive around. My F-150 sits like it has a 2-4” lift, but reality is no lift, it’s got 1-ton rated springs. I’ve thought about going up to 33” tires from 31” tires, but I would have to re-gear and the truck would be another inch taller. It’s already tall.

My green Ranger I bought specifically to lower and do a V-8 AWD swap. I always wanted a sleeper-ish mini truck, so I bought a truck specifically for the swap.

My Choptop was one of my first builds. Another vehicle I’ve always wanted was a lifted Jeep “Wrangler” (YJ/TJ), but they were always out of my budget. A Bronco II is the same wheelbase and the body is about 10-12” longer and you used to be able to find them dirt cheap. My initial build on 33” tires with it, including what I paid for the thing was around $1,200. I’ve spent a lot more since, but it now sits on 35” tires with a 4.0 motor. You know you’ve done something right when you troll through the JeepFest campground in it and get a lot of interest. Actually it gets interest wherever it goes.

I‘m not much for factory bumpers, I’ve started building my own and customizing them to my requirements. Once I figure out a role I want for a particular truck, then it gets built to meet that.

 

[Brain75]

Since UT and CO are fairly comparable in temps, I am going to throw out that a black interior gets HOT in the summer - especially if you do leather/leatherette seat covers. Again, your truck do what makes you happy, but I would consider dark pewter/dark grey a more likely interior choice than pure black.

That said, I just went Black and Tan interior myself so do as I preach, not as I do (seat covers are mostly tan with a wide black stripe)

I just went blue exterior with my truck and I considered blacking the plastic chrome off just to avoid having to keep it up and have a single uniform exterior. Door handles and radio antenna are black already, but front grill, tailgate, and headlight trim are chrome... decided against changing anything because a completely black and blue truck looks like a bruise going down the road - leave some trim.
I am considering a silver pin stripe on my own truck now.

Everything that was chrome I left chrome (mirrors, grill, headlight, tailgate panel, fender skirts), everything that was black I reconditioned with a rattle can of GLOSS black and clear coat (door handle, tailgate handle, door locks, windshield wiper arms, windshield trim) - even at junkyard prices I would not want to replace all the door handles and and to make it all match, lots of little parts that will nickle and dime you to death.

 

[iamcams]

Well since I want to do some other things first, I will just wait on that. I wanna upgrade:
2.9L to 4.0L
FM146 to M5OD
7.5 LS to 8.8

Should I change anything else (Front Axle or Transfer Case)? Any guides, recommendations, or advice?

 

[Uncle Gump]

If your truck runs and drives...

No way I would start the powertrain/driveline changes first. Unless you have all the parts/pieces sitting there ready to go in.

What you have currently can be your daily and play a little off road.

Focus on the astethetics and smaller upgrades. Just don't do anything you'll have to redo when you're ready to upgrade the powertrain.

 

[Brain75]

There are lots of folks with basket case projects - everything is tore apart in a basket.
If you got the bug to wrench and you are just dying I would sit down and plan everything out to the letter first. Figure out the transmission and tire size you want to run, and that will change the gearing in the axle, etc etc.. Then pick small things that you can do in a weekend and not have the truck in pieces for months. A like for like engine swap can be done pretty quickly, not as quick with all the electric connections but a long 3 day weekend (make it a 4 day and take monday off). Swapping a 2.9 to a 4.0 I expect will be a lot lot lot longer. They share a heritage, but there is a mess of wiring to alter. If you aren't an electrician it will take you twice as long (even reading lots of articles here and asking for help).

I went through this with my '48 (the 4 speed was a total pile, screaming straight cut gears and a top speed of 40-something mph), figured out the trans, got rid of the PO's 15" tires, went on the hunt for a rear axle to fix the gearing.... took a while, but the trans was a weekend (and then 2 weeks waiting on the drive shop to make an driveshaft), the rear axle was a day, etc etc.. I kept the "basket case" down to a minimum. Believe me, you will much more enjoy driving the truck after each upgrade if you keep it together and driveable. Trans in that old thing was one weekend quick cause there was no wiring to change - 1948 wasn't computer controlled didn't have neutral safety switch, backup lights, nothing. hell you didn't even have seatbelts, side mirrors or turn signals, just one taillight.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Blacked out 2006 front grille with aftermarket headlights.......SWEET

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So now that I’m thinking of it, so the XL and STX packaged trucks typically got black painted bumpers and trim. The XLT and Eddie Bauer got chrome. Custom packages were just that, either or. I got into an argument with insurance when they wanted to evaluate my 92 STX as a 92 XL because they assumed only the XL package got painted bumpers. I had the window sticker to prove my case. Of course the carpet, power everything, cruise and AC should have been a hint that it wasn’t an XL, lol.

So if you care about sticking to as-built trim options, you would be restricted to whatever would have been available for your particular truck. Otherwise, customize to your taste.

 

[Brain75]

I did a little searching for a 2.9L to 4.0L swap and here's the take away, the wiring harness is different, you can even see it on pages 244 and 245 of the manual, fuses F7 and F8 (big huge maxi fuse under hood) are used totally differently.... so you have to take the 4.0L AND the complete engine wiring harness from the donor. A couple articles/threads here say if you get a RANGER donor to your RANGER recipient AND they are both 2nd generation (88-92), then it is totally straight forward just engine and harness. If you cross generations or go from an explorer donor to a ranger it is way way harder, splicing, pulling out the dash and doing the cluster too, etc etc - it is soooo much harder. So if you are absolutely dead set to get a 4.0L under there might I advise you spend your 3 months of winter hunting down a 4.0L 2nd generation ranger as a donor and buying the whole rolling truck, who knows maybe you will get chrome door handles and a radio antenna etc - giving you a complete chrome package. Heck given that ford still put manual transmissions in trucks back in the 80's you might even get your dream trans in that too. Maybe you will love the donor so much you drive it and sell your 1st.

 

[iamcams]

Ford Ranger | 1100 | Taylorsville, UT | KSL Cars

1992 Ford Ranger for sale in Taylorsville, UT on KSL cars. View Ford Ranger and other new and used cars, trucks, and SUV’s for sale.

cars.ksl.com

Would this work?

 

[Brain75]

That honestly is a question only you can answer... it is an extend cab, do you like extend cab?

The front stone guard has a crease right where mine did (after a front end collision) missing the front bumper (probably mangled in a collision), the hood has a big chip (also probably after a front end collision), the passenger fender has a crease right at the lower front mount - again probably a front ender... the grill looks perfect (replaced) another indication of a front ender.

The bed looks kinda like yours - is it worse?

If I had two 2nd generation rangers and one had the engine trans I wanted the other did not, unless one had been rolled and the body was completely destroyed I'd just drive/fix the one with the engine/trans I wanted.

It has chrome door locks, but black handles, so someone has replaced one or the other - probably the locks (they are easy and if you don't have the keys to the old ones - cheaper to replace than hire locksmith).

Whole next rant is "If it was me, for myself how I like it" :
I'm a little lazy, I don't like all the work of the electrical and weeks and weeks of looking at the truck saying "I wish I could drive it"... ideally I would find out the vin, run a carfax, and see if it is 160, 260, or 360k miles (it's possible in 30+ years) i do not believe a truck in that shape possibly has only 060k miles. Take the vin down to the DMV and check for lean/salvage title (they will only check for lean over the phone, not run a salvage title check unless in person). Pull up edmunds/kelly blue book and see what the value is (I can tell you my 90 was "$2000-ish" give or take for condition). If they have at least one door/glove key and ignition buy the thing and then use your existing truck as parts donor to fix the front end and paint it asap (I hate driving an embarrassing vehicle).

VIN is right there in the posting: 1FTCR15X9NTA38718

I would absolutely check for salvage title, because (at least in Colorado), a front ender that forced a bunch of repairs pretty much instantly is a "total". Total loss vehicles get a salvage title and there is not a single insurance company in Colorado that will insure a salvage title, it is "parts only" not street legal, "not driveable" (and value is like $500 when it has a salvage title).
Hate to see somebody spend a lot of money on a vehicle only to find out they can't insure it and drive it.
There is a process in Colo (have not been through it myself) where you can get a vehicle re-inspected for road worthiness in order to obtain registration and plates, but that still doesn't solve the insurance issue and you still have a salvage title. The one person I knew who ended up with a salvage title eventually gave up took it to the junkyard and took home his check for $350.

 

[Brain75]

BTW, a quick VIN decode says that is a 4x4 with 3.73 rear end

VIN Decoder - Ranger-Forums - The Ultimate Ford Ranger Resource

Ford Ranger VIN Decoder - Decode your vehicle identification number

www.ranger-forums.com

there are a hundred different vin decoders, some others might confirm ORIGINAL engine size, etc. (trans is not in the VIN, it is in the door sticker)


That listing says it has "CLEAN" title - don't know nothing about KSL, are they a reputable reseller or just a fly by night online re-lister with no real brick-mortar location. If you know and trust them (to the tune of $1500+) you could skip the title check up to you.


Edit:
The engine article here (TRS) says X (8th digit of vin) is a 4.0L OHV

Ford Ranger 4.0L OHV V6 - The Ranger Station

The Ford 4.0L OHV engine was introduced in the Ford Ranger in 1990 and made 160 horsepower and 220 ft-lbs of torque.

www.therangerstation.com

So at least the original and the listing both agree it has the 4.0L