================
I bought the donor 98 Ranger 4x4 with bad motor for less than $400 2 yrs ago, and my Son bought a donor 01 Ranger 4x4 with bad motor for $800 last year, so they are out there, ya just have to keep searchin......our search was for Standard Cab 4x4 and those are HARD to find, they are either junk or crazy priced. At least around here.

But between not having the means to keep it somewhere while I strip it, and not having continuous exposure to a lift, welder torches air tools, it's hard to wanna do that, I'll Definetly do that once I get my license and start making real money, I'll buy my house and put a garage on it, not out of sight at all, unfortunately as is rusty won't make it long enough to see that

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

=====================
Finally looked at your bio and pics.............with your lack of tools & etc. you just need to buy another truck! NOI, but the parts trucks I mentioned above were show car quality compared to what you have there.

Sorry if i seem to babble here but when i bought rusty my initial idea was to run her till her inspection (bought her last October and she was inspected that may so she has till next may 2018) then Craigslist her for a slight loss. I only had a heater valve and tranny pan gasket done by a shop all other work has been me

Between falling in love with her, and a new truck not being in the budget, I love all my vehicles, but my daily being a pickup needs to make my money as an electrician, this truck really fuckin does it in comparison to the other high maintenance trucks I've owned, this truck needs nothing other than some minor suspension and frame work, a rear supercab door, bed sides and rockers are far to convince me to dump her

All that being said, truck box and ladder racks and doing 18 to the gallon highway make her perfect for my line of work, so the way I see it the best thing I can do is fix her up one project at a time, I have a lot of friends who owe me favors, who have lots of tools, and access to a lift when needed.

since me and my wife decided to commit a little more to this truck and can't afford a newer one, my budget increased, there's a plethora of ranger here but none with good frames, mines in good shape in comparison, so that's my first big fix with her, a buddy is gonna patch it up, help me well my temp fixes to make them permanent, then I'm going to have the auto rust shop take me for $1500 to have then restore it to shiny steel with professional undercoating, then in going to work on my brakes and bodywork!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I just finished a similar project on my 07. From your pics you dont need to do a complete frame swap. The frame on all 98 up rangers is riveted together right behind the cab. I purchased a bed and rear frame of CL from an 04 that was hit hard in the front. Just remove the old bed, and then support the cab section in front of the riveted area with jack stands or blocks. Remove the gas tank, wiring and brake lines. cut the heads off 16 rivets with a torch or grinder and drive them out. Have a buddy help you pull the old section of frame out and slide the new section in. replace the rivets with grade 8 bolts and re-assemble the truck. I rebuilt mine in 1 day. Granted I have a lift but you should be able to do it in a weekend with a floor jack and some help.

========================
Pics just for curiousity?

Ya know, I don't k me of your experience supports this or not so tell me what you think, but I had a diesel mechanic friend of mine who works at a big time local shop that specializes in frame work and patches and he convinced me to do the patches I need and replace the rear worn out sections, and have it professionally sandblaster and undercoated, so that saves some money and frees up some time and effort for other things. This weekend I too the interior to clean and check out the cab floor pans

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk