Hello Fine Folks!

I have a question to see if anyone has been down this road before. First off, I love my little B II. I bought it from a guy that lives behind my work address. I seen it in his back yard and walked over to ask him about it. The paint is a tad rough (looks like a clear coat is coming off) {Dark Blue with pin strips} A great looking little 4X4.

He gave me the keys telling me he had taken it in on trade and knew almost nothing about the truck. I had owned one before and knew about the rear CV click click, pop pop at takeoff and was not worried about it. It is loaded. The drivers window seems to want to stick on the way up and have to give it a little help from time to time. (electric) I assume 89 was the first time for auto locking hubs. The 88 I owned before made you get out in the mud and lock them yourself.

The ride is fine (for a suv) but IMHO is underpowered. I can drive 75 on the freeway and the tac is showing 2950 RPM in OD. (5 speed stick). before I changed the tires it would tac about 3100 RPMs at the same MPH.

Here is what I would like to do. Change out the 2.9 EFI for something like a small V8 (a 302 v8 would be perfect) My question is have you done this before? Will the mounts bolt right up OR am I looking at some sort of "kit" to drop a 302 in it?

If this not a aftermarket avbailable kit available or a pretty easy install I will just buy a used 2.9 and start building it in my garage over time. The current motor has a LOT of life left in it. It has 88k miles and will need one quart of oil for about every 3000 mikes. This is due to a small leak on the rear main. Oil gets on the clutch and will cause it to shake a little at start off. The valve cover gaskets has a small leak too. You can smell burning oil after you stop in the driveway.

Anyone done this and how did the projest turn out?

Thanks Guys/Gals

Rick

 

i've seen it done to the Bronco II's and Rangers.. i know it will bolt to the trans but i'm not sure if the engine mounts need to be changed or not. It's deffinately the way to go..excellent upgrade.

 

Thanks for the reply. Something I didnt think about is the ODP (if any) and what will have to be done with the wiring. Going from a 2.9 v6 to a 302cid v8 would most likely freak out the onboard computer. Lets not forget the cruse control too. I may be biteing off more than I want to eat

 

Welcome to FTE!!
If it where me I find another 2.9 to rebuild.There a lot of little tricks out there to get more HP from them.JMO Ken00 can tell you what book to get to help you with it ,I dont rember the guys name.

 

Sven Pruett, How to Build and Modify Ford 60 degree V6's

 

Thanks KenOO.I new I could count on you.

 

That book is now out of print. I was able to contact the author at Vanir.com (?) and he confirmed that is was no longer available. That being the case, could it be legally copied? Anybody willing to do that, or lend me one so I can copy it?

 

I don't have a copy, I would try getting a copy brought in to your local library and you could copy any pages you need.