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Idahome
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Some things you said that really make sense:
buy the entire donor = smart! You will want to have all the parts from the explorer available to you for the conversion.
Headers, torque monster headers are a great way to go! There are two options for a bolt in header using explorer gt40p drivetrain in a IFS ranger, OBX and TMH. The TMH are far superior they have a jet hot coating and construction quality that make the extra $$$ worth it. However the OBX headers can sometimes be had for under $400 something to consider.
Rear axle
There is not a ton of welding / fabrication required to put an Explorer 31 spline 8.8 in the back of a ranger, but there is some grinding welding and fab required.
The Explorer, explorer sport, explorer sport trac and mercury mountaineer all had the 31 spline 8.8 with disc brakes (95-01). Some of the v6 trucks did have 4.10 gears and limited slip. The Ranger axle in question is even better if you can find it the FX2 had a torsen traction device which we all love. But they are RARE and worth lots of $$$. So sometimes fitting the Explorer axle in is a cheaper option. If you were close to my shop I can do the fab and welding required to mod an explorer axle to fit your ranger for like $3-500.
true duals is nice if thats what you want. Many of these conversions we stick with a single pipe over the axle and back, for a mild v8 the single exhaust makes nice back pressure and keeps some torque. Plus with a spare tire, side mounted fuel tank and 4x4 drivetrain a single exhaust just makes sense.
Explorer engine is anemic. Although they put a cobra mustang gt40 engine into the explorer the explorer was never designed for this addition and a few "setbacks" were required to make it work. The first is the exhaust manifolds, they are choking the power we can make. Robert of TMH showed us that just by bolting on a set of TMH we gain 24 horsies to a stock explorer. Thats alot of HP vs $$$ spent for the torque monster headers.
The stock explorer camshaft is blah, its a HO cam, weak sauce. Again there is power here waiting to be unleashed.
Comp Cams makes a nice truck based emissions friendly cam grind for us.
The explorer for whatever reason was only made in RWD or AWD, a full time borg warner viscous clutch AWD t case was created for the soccer mom 96-01 5.0 Explorer. Ditch it. Unless you are in love with bad MPG, additional heat under your truck, loss of power, and tons of accelerated front end wear, ditch the AWD t case. This is the first thing to go on one of my builds. The stock AWD is a power sucker. Although it is nice on the road and in the snow, the wear and tear on front end parts and the power loss just makes this 70/30 full time split t case not worth it. There are several other t cases to chose from, our favorite is the 4406e or 4406m. Adapters are also available so you can use a Ranger case like the 1354, but adapters are pricey so we generally avoid those too.
Research is key when doing this conversion on your own, it sounds like you have done your share and are ready to take the plunge.
Next step decide what T case you want and find a donor!!
98-01 Explorer or mountaineer 5.0 AWD with as low miles as possible, buy the whole truck and get started wrenching!
I have lots more input but this is a good start. There are several threads right here on Ford-rangers.com that discuss ALL of this stuff
I love the gold truck, I even like the two tone black and tan interior you have going on but I can see the desire to have all black is nice!
You will love the truck with a V8, the 3.0 is a boat anchor in comparison. The GT40 cobra 302 mated to teh 4r70w automatic is about the most reliable and toughest drivertain you can bolt into a Ranger it will transform your truck into a real beast, reliable, tough, dependable and over built...that is how we roll
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I build custom RBV, specializing in drivetrain conversions, wiring, suspension and complete custom trucks