Looking for advice on my 94' ranger

[Iwheels]

So I recently bought a 94 ranger "4x4" off of a friend for essentially nothing because the owner before her did some interesting things to it. I say 4x4 in quotes because there is currently no front drive shaft, and from what I can tell, there are like 5 total remaining teeth in the dana 35 and the u-joints on the axle shafts appear to be destroyed. I have wiped the pile of oil and dirt off the suspension and it appears to have an old James Duff stage 1 3" lift kit on it. Im posting this to see what people recommend my next steps to be. I plan on rebuildng the front end to work properly again, but I havent decided on what "properly" means yet. I have 3 options that I'm currently debating. 1: (the most likely) find a donor ranger,explorer, or bronco to swap the functioning front end with (ensuring its the same gearing as the rear). 2: just give up of the ttb and swap in a twin I-beam out of a donor. 3: solid axle swap. Ive kinda fell in love with driving this thing so far, but Im in Colorado, and the snow is coming, so Im thinking this decision needs to be made soon so I can start on finding parts. That being said the end goal for this would be a truck I can daily drive on my short commute, and Id like to eventually make this thing a prerunner or "prelander" build for messing around in the mountains. Im somewhat limited on budget, but I have all the skills and recourses to do fab work and save money on labor. Im just looking for what people think the best option would be in terms of longevity of the truck and being capable enough in the future. Side note: I have 3.27 gearing in the back with 31" tires (the other guy had 33s on it when I got it, and Im guessing that relates to the grenaded front diff) and Im wondering what people think the best gearing for this would be If im already doing the front. I know theres plenty of other things wrong with it im specifically asking about the TTB drive system

The day I got it: The lift (not sure how bad this is) Now

 

[sgtsandman]

I would see if you can find an axle to replace the damaged one.

3.27 gearing, with 31s, in Colorado? Woof! I would see if you could find a front and rear axle with either 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 gears in them. I would prefer 4.10 but some prefer 3.73 because of the highway speed side of things. 3.27 is just too tall, especially if you are going to be driving the mountain passes out there.

We were just out there for the Expo and rode a good number of the mountains passes before the Expo. So I have a pretty good idea what the eastern side of the state is like. At least during the summer months.

 

[Iwheels]

I would see if you can find an axle to replace the damaged one.

3.27 gearing, with 31s, in Colorado? Woof! I would see if you could find a front and rear axle with either 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 gears in them. I would prefer 4.10 but some prefer 3.73 because of the highway speed side of things. 3.27 is just too tall, especially if you are going to be driving the mountain passes out there.

We were just out there for the Expo and rode a good number of the mountains passes before the Expo. So I have a pretty good idea what the eastern side of the state is like. At least during the summer months.

Yeah I think the guy just diddnt understand gears when he put the 33s on and regeared just the rear. And he regeared it the wrong way. I appreciate it.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I would be looking for a donor with 4.10 gears front and rear. Bonus if it has a 4.0L and manual transmission/transfer case. Swap the front and rear axles first... harvest engine/transmission/transfer case for spares and a manual swap in the future. Model year 95 to 97 were OBDII... so not the same as your 94 OBDI.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

FYI; the TIB has different frame brackets.