V-8 Swap or body swap?

[jdraughn]

Hi. i really like my Ranger, it's nice and small, gets great mileage and is great for hauling small loads. I have always been interested in swapping in a v-8, which would actually kind of suck since my mileage would go down, but then again, a ranger with a v8 sure sounds like fun so I think I would be ok with that.

BUT, I have gone to get loads of top soil or compost, and that is just too much for my poor truck. The rear sags so bad it looks like something broke, and if I keep doing that it WILL break. So I have been thinking of getting something like an F150 or F250 so I can haul larger loads. If I were to do that I have thought about swapping my Ranger body onto the truck so I can keep the looks of my interior and exterior but get the durability and suspension of the larger truck. Plus it would lighten the truck a little and take some of the sting out of my gas mileage.

I have searched all over the place to find out more info and have come across a bit of info here and there, but no real info about the process.

Does anyone know any other posts/articles/web pages/anything that will help me learn about what years chassis will work the best and what kind of problems I will run into and what I need to do to get past them?

 

[RangerSVT]

I would stick with the V8 swap, then upgrade your leafs...a body swap is very indepth, custom mounts, custom wiring, engine, radiator body aligning issues, computer issues...Not impossible, but improbable
SVT

 

[cargs]

try some air bags in the rear for added load carrying ability. You can adjust them to suit whatever job you are doing. best part is that you can let the air out and be back to a soft ride.

 

[tpking]

do the air bags and a V8 swap or maybe just a little bit lower gears, if its and auto add a bigger trans cooler