You gotta admit that this topic has been on the mind of every person who has considered the 302 engine swap for their ranger.

 

It's been done before on the older models. But I'm given to understand that it's much easier on the later ones because thay share a lot of suspension, body, and chassis parts with the V8 Explorer/Mountineer. According to information I've been given even the proper bolt holes are already in there for you. Now let's see I have a 01 XL and I know where I can get a stroked (427ci.) Windsor block. Now let's see the wife is going away to visit her mother when they close the middel school for a week this month. I wonder if the wife would notice the difference in the exhaust note when she got back? Have to think about this a little.

 

Possible? With enough bucks anything is possible. This month's Truckin Magazine has a PT Cruser with a v-12 Viper engine in it!
If you make the change, let us know about it.

 

This month's Truckin Magazine has a PT Cruser with a v-12 Viper engine in it!

V-12? I thought the Viper was a V-10? But I like the idea even if it is a Mopar.

 

Opps! Sorry about that, I put my one-finger typing in gear without engaging my brain ( not an uncommon occurence).

 

I started out on Teletype machines and never got any better. So I can sympathize with you on that. Have a nice day and keep on truckin.

 

This has come up a couple of times in the Explorer world. Get ready, this will take a minute...

It can be done, BUT unless you just won the lottery, and either have nothing else to do, or just need a long project, I don't recommend it. The mods to the frame to support the motor are pretty detailed. You have to extend the front clip to fit the motor and a new radiator. You have to re-bend the flooring to house the tranny. Put some type of scoop/vent on the hood to fit the supercharger. You have to cut the fenderwells for the width of the motor itself and a good set of headers, and reposition all the air conditioning, and anything else under the hood to make it fit in.

Then you have to do something about the suspension. That motor will sit the front end of a Ranger on the floor. Next would be how to keep the rear-end behind you when you mash the go-pedal. This is just brief thoughts running through my head. As you go through it in detail, it gets worse...


I had an 89' Mazda B-2200 that I customed and blueprinted a 302 for when I was 13(Had some help...). 3 years and $26,000 later, I had a spinning mobile. I could never really find a way to keep the back-end on the ground. Even tried pouring concrete in the ribs of the bed to hold it down, which is counter-productive.


If I was going to do it again with a Ranger, I would just buy a 347 Stroker and drop it in. Maybe some side mods on it also, but is still alot less work, plus you still have a hoss...


Hope this book I have written helps someone. As you can see, I have been involved in this before. We were going to try and put a crated Lightning with the Eaton s/c in my '97 Explorer. After 3 months of measuring, planning, and deciferring(sp?), I said NO. Just went through and built my 5.0, and keep building.

 

Teletypes - you bring back memories. I used to fix Teletypes (KSR 33's), HSPTS (high speed paper tape systems), computers with vacuum tubes and stuff like that.
Speaking of stuffing engines, I once put a 400 inch Olds V-8 in a 50 Chev. I had to move the shift levers which put the shift pattern upside down, clutch came out from floor while brake came down from firewall. It was strange but it would GO. I think there's always a way.
This is a great site - anytime I have a question about my Ranger, I know where to find the answer. Have a great day!