Well, it comes down to horsepower vs weight ratio, and it looks as if you have a good one :)
Nice project! Should be fun. When I was in elementary school, my aunt/uncle had one. 4 cyl 4 speed. Theirs was green.
They are/were good cars. They got a bad rap with the exploding gas tank thing. It was blown WAY out of proportion by the media. They actually competed against the Japanese econo boxes of the day very well. Just look how long Ford made the 2300 engine and how many vehicles they used it in. It's only been a few years since they stopped putting it in the Ranger.
