So I sold my dirt bike, which was getting very little use due to my time being consumed with college life. Go heels So now I got 1200 dollars laying around and some of it's just gotta go into my ranger.

My ranger is a rusty piece of crap that I bought for $1860, so I'm not trying to make it pretty. It has some rusty, mostly just a nasty rust spot on my rear bumper, so I might try to pick up a used rear bumper. I think I may also get new leaf spring hangers, they're not lookin too good either. Oh, btw, it's a 1998 2wd long bed single cab 3.0 auto 87k miles with fabtech lift spindles up front. It also has an exhaust leak/issue either in the cat converter or near it.

Ideas
-Lift springs? I have coil spacers which I might put in to get up to 5.5 inches, but are aftermarket springs that much better? For the back, I've already got 2 inch blocks and 2 inch shackles, but I haven't found time to install these.
-Cherry bomb glass pack? Or something cool for my exhaust while I get that leak fixed. Ideas?
-Brush guard, I ripped off the lower plastic piece on my front bumper and the bottom of my radiator pokes out, I want to hide that maybe.
-Bigger tires? I have 31's. I don't want to regear, it's just not worth it for my cheap truck. I dont care if it's slow at first to accelerate. Maybe 33's? Would 35 be fatal to my truck w/ 3.73's? Let me state again I'm hardly picky about acceleration, I just don't want to hurt my truck. It rarely see's the high way nowadays.
-My trucks first transmission flush.
-New shocks all the way around.

What would ya'll do with 1200?

 

I'd fix the truck and put the rest in the bank...

 

bank the rest

 

Well I gotta get my exhaust issue fixed, it's loud as hell and I can hear a whistling noise. I should probably also get those hangers replaced so I don't die when one of them snaps haha. But yeah new shocks and tranny flush are essential at this point, maybe not the shocks but they are pretty cheap

 

Ride the truck as is...buy stocks....sell in five years and get newer ranger. Don't put money into a, "... rusty piece of crap that I bought for $1860." If you need a muffler, get a cheapo glass pack straight pipe muffler and coat hanger it up. Keep your eye on the 08, 09, and 2010 models out now that you're gonna get in 2014 with the money you saved and invested!

 

awww but 98 is one of my favorite body styles! It's actually a really nice truck, I just need to wash it and treat it well. The rust is there but only bad in the very back. It's not on the body. It was so cheap because I just had the cash and talked down a lady who was moving trying to get a quick sale. My reason was that the serpentine belt was squeaking so when I got a prepurchase inspection they quoted like 400 dollars to replace the assembly (tensioner and pulleys.) By the way chapel hill tire is retarded, or thought I was :P I ended up getting a 30 dollar goodyear gatorback belt and the squeeeaks were gone! With 87k miles and and good cosmetic condition I never want to think about sellin it!

 

So it's in better shape than you implied...great! I would definitely do the tranny fluid, exhaust, and bumper....then invest the rest. Trust me, there will always be something you just HAVE to do to your ride, and blowing the whole wad on todays trendy fashion ain't gonna fix a busted a/c compressor or whatever. At 87k miles, she's just a pup practically.

Hey, you got any pics...we all luv pics.