[Doug Hoven]

I'd say one disadvantage of a 7.5 vs an 8.8 is that it is getting hard to find more performance ratio gear sets for a 7.5. I would assume that if you go for a short 26" tire on this truck, it will need most likely a 5.13 gear or so, and even though I'm sure they are out there, it's much easier to find gear sets for an 8.8. My advice would be to make the swap early on. Find either a wrecked mustang and put spring perches on it, or out of a newer model ranger than what you have. On another note, there is an aftermarket ecu that popped up in the "classifieds" section of this forum. Even though its older technology, it's going to be much cheaper than a new aftermarket ecu. And I'm sure there are a few people on this forum that can help with the older Holley ecu's. I wish you the best of luck on this project, coming from a bit of a "newbie" myslef.