I drove a 96 Ranger 2wd reg. cab with a 4.0 ohv and a 5spd, that thing was fast!......
Made every other Ranger I have driven with 2.3s, 2.8s 2.9s, and 3.0s look sick by comparison.

 

I did have a friend here do a Ranger 4x4 with a 2.3 witha turbo, engine and turbo from a 85 turbo T-Bird. That thing was fast.

 

We rebuilt my buddies 2.3 4x4 Ranger, no turbo, but .040 over, comp cam, header, 32/36 Weber 2bbl.........It will leave my V6 in the dust off the line, and my 2.8 is not stock anymore.......takes me a while to catch him too.

 

This really isn't fair because i want to go work on it now but I'm broke and I have to go out of town for a week, and you guys are taunting me with your tales of fast rangers.

 

This is the truck I traded for the diesel I got now. 1994 Ford Ranger 4x4 5speed 221,000 miles when sold a year ago. Dad bought it new in 94 drove it 12 years 65 miles round trip to work 5 days a week and then gave it to me. Here it is towing my 1968 Tri Hull, boat and trailer combined weight 3620 lbs! It towed her no problem, just needed 4 Low to pull the boat out of the water and up the ramp without smoking the clutch.



Now you want to talk race V6's! I got a 81 turbo v6 231 shoved in an old 1972 Vega GT Hatchback that in it's day pulled low 12's all day long on street tires and would break 11 under the right conditions. Then the boat shown in the pic has the old dauntless jeep/buick v6 231 odd fire, the one that started it all! I have converted it to HEI and put a holly 390 marine carb on it. That boat can pull 4 200lb skiers out of the water at once... with 3 people on board

 

Well Ed, if you what to talk fast V6's, I got a pair of SHO Taraus. They run flat out at 140 bone stock. And you can bolt them to a 3.0 ranger trans and make it a rear wheel drive.

 

I wonder if the supercharged 3.8 v6 from T-bird SC will bolt to any of the Ranger transmissions?.......There is one floating around on craigslist, good motor, wrecked car.

 

Those T- Birds 3.8 SC's were hooked to a 5sp and a auto trans. But I do not know if it would bolt to a Ranger trans.

 

I think the auto was a 4R70w.......I can't say on the 5spd.......same as a Mustang GT?

 

You nay be right on the GT, the Mustang did use a 3.8. But if I remenber right, the 3.8 had some issues.

 

The SC 3.8 suffered from the head gasket problem all 3.8s suffered from, and people who failed at maintaining the maint. schedule on supercharged car..........those things were wicked fast, not as fast as a Buick Grand national, but fast enough!

 

I tried out a SC Bird one time, I was driving a Turbo 85 Bird at the time, but I dicided to keep the turbo. I ran the turbo cars, ended up with a second one later, until I got the SHO. Now I got to of them. All fast cars and any of those engines would make great power in the Ranger.

 

If you are wanting some insperation, drop by the AZ chapter and chat with thim about desert Rangers.

 

I was thinking that a turbo 2.3 from a T-bird would be a great race motor for a ranger. The 4.0 would be good too.

My buddy had a '93 Supercoupe t-bird that was modified a little and it would top out at over 160mph and still ran high 10's at the track. Loved that car, left my '95 t-bird with the 4.6 V8 in the dust!

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/g...LJForrist.html
So here are the pictures of the "sweet" ranger in question.
I think that i probably need to find more time to work on it because i'd like to have it together enough to run in one of the events at the race park this summer.