Saw the 2000 model available here in the area, and even though the front had been crushed in a rear end collision in stop and go interstate traffic, the frame rails appeared to be straight, and no damage was sustained beyond the front clip and engine compartment. The radiator had been shoved back against the water pump pulley, so in addition to the front clip body parts, it required the auto trans cooler, condenser, radiator, electric fan, mechanical fan, upper and lower shroud halves and the water pump replacement. It was a low speed collision, and the airbags remained undeployed, and that one detail was enough to convince me that it was a prime candidate for being rebuilt. It would replace the standard cab 1993 4x4 we had piled up over 350k miles on the original 318 ci that was about ready to either be rebuilt mechanically, retired or sold to someone else who could redo the power train in time. I had personally rebuilt and upgraded the automatic transmission and transfer case both twice in the 17+ years we had been driving it daily or close to it, but the 5.2 was factory original and with the decreased oil pressure and a little light smoke on cold starts, it was needing some tlc soon. I paid $1000 for the wrecked Quad Cab sitting in the guys front yard, and considered that a good deal since it was sitting on a set of 4 Nexxen all season rubber, had a custom Cat-back dual exhaust system that was nearly new, a new 6 year Interstate 920 CCA battery and a shiny new alternator under the hood as well as an ARE fiberglass topper on back. All the receipts he had totalled quite a sum more than the thousand bucks he was asking for it. I line locked the trans cooler lines, sleeved the upper radiator hose, topped the water and drove it the 7 miles home in the crumpled condition. An additional $1300 spent on all the parts to put the truck back in shape both mechanical and cosmetic, along with a new windshield, and the hours of labor I invested in the project, it was ready to drive. Turned out the 4.7L had been abused somewhat, primarily due to the owner's lack of mechanical inclination or aptitude, and all because of a faulty thermostat, the heads were both slightly warped. I milled .006" from the driver's side head, and .007" from the passenger side. New valve seals, all 3 timing chains and sprockets, tensioners, and a new oil pump while I was that far into it since 6 of the 8 cylinders still had tolerable compression numbers, so I figured I would spend a bit to refresh the top end and cross my fingers. That 4.7 runs like a champ now. Starts at the mere bump of the ignition switch and runs out excellent, especially considering it's got over 205k miles on it. I did end up swapping the factory 195° thermostat for a slightly cooler 180° Stent, since I pull my mower trailer with a heavy ExMark zero turn in the hills here in NW Arkansas, causing the engine temp to be a bit higher than I thought necessary in the mid-afternoon heat. The 180° did the trick. The truck doesn't get the best fuel mileage in comparison to the old '93 and the 318, but driven normal it stays in the 14-17 mpg range so it's affordable. Compare it to the 383 stroker I built for my son's '85 SWB 4x4 and it gets excellent mpg... Hahaha