Ford Explorer question

Hey, I'm thinking of making my 1991 Ford Explorer the only one in the area with (at least) 37s, but I don't know for sure how I'm going to go about it. My thoughts are as follows: Swap in a 351 and an E4OD transmission, NP205/203 double case, Dana 60 axles, and leaf spring suspension front and rear.

Cool idea, but also another option. A lot cooler, A LOT more work:

Buy a wrecked '99-current Superduty frame and running gear. Shorten frame, custom mount Explorer body on it. More work, yes, but I could potentially have the only Explorer with 37s and a 7.3 liter diesel motor. I'd have to most of the Superduty electronics swapped into the Explorer, though.

Anywho, I'm leaning toward the second option (for obvious reasons), but what do you guys think?

BTW: Four Wheeler Mag rocks! Brubaker, I love you!  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

Four link that rascal and git axles from wrecked S.D. The explorers came w/ the 5.0 right,for all the money stroke the 5.0 to 347 and bolt in ,,ahh maybe,it depends if they came in it that year. that wagon is gonna be cool and high high high! welcome to the community!  

Putting a heavy diesel in a a LD short wheelbase Explorer chassis is not going to play at all off road like you thing. Weight is NOT a asset off road, especially up front.  

i agree with snowman about the weight issues.torque move the world,you can do incredible things with gearing,example take a hundred foot lbs of torque,then put it through a hypothetical 3 speed tranny @3to1 first gear,now its effectively 300lbs,now a transfer case at 2.1 ratio now its 600 lbs of effective torque,were not done yet,the differentials have a 4to1 gear so now you have 2400 lbs of torque effectively,interesting numbers huh? all you got to do is take a given numberand keep multiplying for each drive train part
1.tranny 2.transfer case(cases) 3.final drive(drives) with hummer portal boxes.
just play around with the numbers theres deep tranny gearing,deep,3 even 4 to one ratio transfer case's,and multiple transfer case combinations,then deep gearing for the axles then portal boxes for more gearing options, but you already new this .now for the weight issue,i figured you could make a rear engine buggy of some kind .all the weight would be near centered and iffin your real crafty when you put the scales o all four corners you could adjust the weigth in front enough to make a true 50/50 balance! driver weight seat etc.then you could build a monster,high clearance,low center of gravity all around mocheen!cool huh?  

Just remember that while 600 ft lbs at 1500 RPM can sound impressive, 300 FT lbs at 3000 RPM delivers the exact same HP as 600 FT lbs does at 1500. It is all in the gearing.  

Remember, though, that I'm basically just putting the Explorer body on a Superduty frame. As rewarding as having a 1 ton Explorer with a 7.3 is, I'm afraid that it'll end up being more work than it's worth. Think about how cool that would be, though...wow!

If I recall, the Explorer's only got a 5.0 option in the late 90's. First gen. Explorers were only available with the OHV 4.0L V6 (hail to the pushrods!).

And thanks for the welcome!  
My current ride:
1992 Ford Explorer

Yea, the 5.0 wasn't available until the mid 90's (96 or 97ish I believe).  
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My truck has recently been described as both "Boring and Mechanical". And I love it!

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