Long time Ranger owner.

This is one of the better pics, currently under repair in the garage to fix 2nd gear. Got the hood off another ranger to install the air scoop.

Well, tell you what, you know the freefall ride when you first get dropped, about the same feeling when you slam it in second, gun it and hold on. Guess this being the first vehicle with 300 horses except before taking the engine from the mustang, is about the best way i can describe the look on my kids face at that moment, sheer terror. On the interstate is seems to cruise effortlessly in 5th gear, hills are no problem anymore. The 2.3 gave me alot of grief on the mountain passes just trying to keep up with the 18 wheelers and sucked down gas like it got done running a marathon. Any kind of load caused the mileage to hover around 16mpg as compared to the 16 to 18 with the 302.
The body and frame have probably lasted so long with all the washing, waxing and wiping down taking place since purchasing the truck in '90. Some minor rust has popped up and try to take care of it before it migrated to other parts. It was in a front end quarter panel crash in '93 while stationed in Hawaii, thought the duty van with the turn signal on was going to turn. It spent about 2 weeks in the body shop and wasn't about a year later that the clearcoat they applied started to peel off. Been constantly polishing and waxing since then.
About a month ago, i was taking the truck to one of my r/c airplane club events an as i accelerated into 2nd from the stoplight, it just gave out. 1st and 3rd through reverse weren't affected and was able to drive home. Wasn't doing anything outrageous, just means having to pull the engine to get the t-5 out and perform some surgery, keeping the fingers crossed that it wasn't caused by the increase in hp when the engine was modified. Might have to look at getting the Tremec TKO or getting an AOD from a friend that has it in his mustang currently.

Guess I could make a mention that i own and currently driving the 2000 taurus until the truck gets fixed, i find that the truck is a hell of alot more fun to drive and leaves the 3.0 duratec dohc in the dust as far as acceleration is concerned. It makes up for better gas mileage and can fit all the kids in the taurus vs having to make the person sitting in the middle seat in the ranger ride side saddle with the other passenger to avoid the stick shift. Of course it could double as a stick shift training device for the unsuspecting passenger :.

I have burned the clutch in a couple of times when yanking a ford exporer on to a flat bed trailer and hauling a load of wet fill dirt out of muddy grass field(loads of fun). It's beefy enough to carry enough gravel till the rubber stoppers were riding on the axle and keeping the fingers crossed all the way home. Absolutely my work truck and daily driver(probably assembled on a wednesday or something like that). The 302(er 306) doesn't hesitate for anything and definitely spoiled driving with it since January 28 2008. The EFI setup wasn't as hard as i thought to install since the tach lines were of the biggest concern next to splicing in the fuel pump relay from the old engine harness. It started up after 2 turns of the crank and was the most beautiful sound and look of a v8 ranger coming to life. Just had to fix the leaks from the remote oil adapter and coolant lines for the next 6 months. This is what I dread about having to pull the engine out before it's time, runs like a fine watch right now. Just hope the tranny fix is quick...

Hey, just got back from a week of out of range communications off the coast. Worst week of sleep i'll ever have, anyways to answer part of your question about the emissions, checked it out on the dmv site for Wa state, states as follows:

from the http://www.dmv.org/wa-washington/smog-check.php site...

Who Needs to Be Tested
Hybrid vehicles that get 50 mpg or better are exempt from emissions testing. But emissions testing is required for all other gasoline and diesel vehicles between five and 25 years old that are registered in the following Washington counties:

Clark
King
Pierce
Snohomish
Spokane
Your car will need to be retested every other year. If it's your turn, your registration renewal notice will indicate that you need an emissions inspection in order to renew.

In addition to registration, Washington vehicles also need to be tested for emissions when either of the following happens:

Title transfer and change of ownership of the vehicle, unless the transfer is within the immediate family or among co-owners listed on the title.
You bring a vehicle from another state to one of the Washington emissions-requirement counties listed above.

I guess the best advice is , don't register in one of the listed counties if worried about the emissions.