I just ordered to complete my front coilover conversion. Since I was fairly comfortable with the 800 lb coil even though it was a little stiff, I went ahead and ordered an identical one for the other side. That saved $$ by not having to waste the one I already bought and could not return.
I found out that QA1 makes a 1" extension for their shocks, so I ordered 2 of them along with another shock identical to the one I already have. This way I'll have the correct length shocks for a lot cheaper than dumping the $160 one I already have and replacing it with two new ones that are one inch longer.
A few notes on my mistakes. If I had no money to lose by already having ordered not-quite-the-right stuff, I think the ideal application for this mod would be to buy the QA1 shocks that are 15" extended, along with 12" long Hypercoils of 750 lb rating (or maybe 800 lbs like me if you have a heavy 4dr 4x4 setup and don't mind a trucklike ride). There are two caveats to this setup.
Firstly, be aware that a 12" length coil on that shock will need to be pressed slightly over an inch to insert on the shock, since it is longer than the shock. You'll need a press or a shop to press it down for you to get the coil on. If you have no access to a press then you'll have to settle for 10" length coils. If you look at Chad551's photos in post 51 of this thread, you'll note that his coil is way down the threads on his shock, and that's how mine will end up looking. A good match would be to use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the threads on your shock and a 12" coil will put you sweetly within that range with the 15" long QA1 shock.
Secondly, if you do use the 12" coil, pay strict attention to the RCD plan note about welding the shock tower gussets far enough away to "make sure you leave room for the coils". I
thought I did that when I welded my shock tower gussets on, but now that I've installed an actual shock I can see that at the top I do think I got too close. So I'm stuck with 10" coils anyway because the 12" coil would ride up to the top of the shock far enough in the area where my gussets may be welded too close to clear them
I'll have my complete conversion done in a week or two after I receive the rest of the parts but it will take a few months of "settling down" to see how much the 800 lb coils loosen up as Chad has described (and others who bought lesser strength coils have also mentioned).
The total cost for this conversion looks something like this:
$220 ~ RCD bracketry for your Ranger
$320 ~ QA1 shocks
$ 55 ~ shock tools (spanner wrench/thrust bearing kit)
$120 ~ Hypercoil coils
$ 30 ~ misc grade 8 hardware/bolts
=====
$745 ~ total
One more thought: I'll repeat an earlier observation that the coilover does indeed get extremely close to the axleshaft. The RCD brackets are wider than the QA1 shock eyelets and you'll need to buy two or three washers to fill in the space between the ears of the lower bracket. I ended up putting two of the washers on the side closest to the axleshaft to get every fraction of inch away possible from the axle. Last weekend I did bounce through the entire range of motion while I was playing in the sand dunes and I cannot detect any hint that the coil touched the axle so I think all is good in that regard.
Hope this info helps anyone that doesn't have a suspension lift but is still interested in dumping their torsion bars. I think I'm the first one (?) without a 4" suspension lift to do it; now we know it can be done.