Hey guys deep in the rust belt here and my 7tt long bed 1995 xlt 2.3 manual is suffering in the rear from rust…

I bought donor 1994 splash bed 4.0 automatic that I wanna use the frame off of. Now let me preface;
The truck was 300 dollars, no title, not steering column, no radiator, no MAF, no starter solenoid. It sat for 6 years after being bought at a police auction so the 4.0 is seized. (Jumped the wires not hand turned.)

anyway, I have no mechanical capability of working on the engine, however im certain I could swap my 1995 cab, motor, and trans onto that splash frame.

I just wanna know the best way I should go about it because I’ll have to do it at home… any ideas???

 

Ranger Long bed(7ft) has a different rear frame than other Rangers, regular cab or extended cab, the rear axle was 6" farther back, so you can't use your 7ft bed on a 6ft bed frame, it just won't fit with wheel wells lined up
You could take the rear frame from the 1994 and weld in 6" extensions, like Ford did, to make the 6ft frame into a 7ft frame, that would be much easier than body swap

Cab will fit, assuming both are regular cab
Swap in 4cyl motor mounts to new frame
Transmission mount should be the same

Best path would be to remove the cab, front fenders and grill from the 1994, oh and the bed, so you have a rolling frame
You really need a fork lift to do this, the cab part is quite heavy
Google: 1991 Ford Ranger body swap
Watch the videos

Then do the same on the 1995 once you know what cables and wires you missed on the 1994, lol

You could build an A-Frame to lift the cab up and roll the frame out from under it
But hard to move the old cab out of the way, unless you have a trailer that could be backed under it to haul it off for scrap

Engine and trans is just wrench work but also not light so hard to transfer them from one frame to the other

 

hey ended up getting everything swapped and I’ve accomplished my dream, finally have the stepside blue splash lol, anyway, I tried using the driveshaft I had from the donor (1994 4.0 automatic shortbed) and it didn’t fit my 2.3 manual, I had to swap the front u joint and yoke..

however it didn’t seat all the way, maybe a half inch over the output shaft. A ton of chrome yoke is visible, and when I drive it, at about 55 it vibrates like I’m on the rumble patch.

is the driveshaft just too short? And or do I need to buy one for a 2.3 manual 108”wheelbase? (Current frame I’m on)

 

Yes, you need a longer drive shaft to stabilize the front

I am showing 1990-1997 Ranger 2.3l 2WD Manual trans, 108" WB using the same rear drive shaft

1998-2001 2.5l 2WD Ranger manual trans, 108" WB, should also work and its aluminum, but not 100% sure