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Buy a 1998-2000 Ranger 4x4 with bad engine and/or bad transmission but good body and swap over your drive train or swap over body parts
Should have same size engine as yours if you plan on swapping engine

20 year old pickup trucks with bad engine or trans is not worth much
Running pickup truck is always worth something, lol, regardless of looks

 

 

Here she is, any ideas lol

 

Doesn't look that bad, you're in Kentucky so from the photos it looks like there's no rust, just the paint is shot.

Replacing the headlamp assembly's goes a long way in helping things out.
Other then the paint, tire rims and chrome look good.

If the engine is sound and the interior is not ripped and dirty, I would get it repainted.

Some guys like jacking it up adding huge over sized tires and adding all sorts of LED's, but I always thought the stock look was more preferable.
I guess it depends on how long you want to keep it too.

 

 

I would think that most frames in your area have just surface rust, so applying some sort of rust neutralizer then painting is better then grinding, grinding only removes the stuff on the top.
There are many products, you can do a search on them or on this forum, there are many posts.
Removing the box makes the job much easier.

I wouldn't paint those rims, they're either alloy or chrome, so the paint won't really stick that well.
If you want some black rims, just get some stock steal ones, sand blast, prime and paint them.
From my experince a good prime and paint job lasts longer then powder coating, if you're thinking in that direction.
I had some rims powder coated for winter use and they didn't last at all.

 

 

Is it the shackle that's gone or the frame where it attaches, or both ?
Shackles rusting out on the rear is common.
The other thing that goes is the spare tire carrier and in worst cases the entire rear goes too.

 

 

Yeah, the anodization is pretty shot.
Even if you cleaned that up, it doesn't last long and it's incredibly time consuming.
Once the hard anodized surface is gone, the polished alloy doesn't stay shiny, especially if it gets wet.

If you sand blasted them and got the right primer, I suppose they could be painted.
Proper automotive paint with a hardener in it would work best.

Prep is everything.

If you're on a budget, you can hand sand them and use self etching primer in a rattles can, but in the end that is a lot of work too.
Most sand blasters would charge around 20 to 25 bucks a wheel, but you would have to dismount the tire, remove any weights and the stem.

If you do it by hand, be sure and where gloves and a mask, the alloy/aluminum dust is pretty nasty stuff.