I have an 83 ranger longbed completely gutted.It's getting beefed up for some off road racing I'll be doing next summer.I have a couple questions about the powerplant.

Will a boss 302 fit in that engine bay?And if not what's the most powerful motor I can fit in that thing?And what transmissions would mount up to the 302 or a motor that will fit my truck.The help would be much appreciated.
Thanks friends.

 

Welcome to FTE Nuclearblueberry. I like the screename.

Yup...302s will fit without too much difficulty, though get used to changing spark plugs through the wheel wells and the like. Of course, kiss A/C goodbye.

Remember that the 302/5.0L came in the Explorer, which shared lots of common structural parts with the Ranger. Thus, mounts and the like are easy to find.

The most powerful motor you could fit? That'd probably be the 460. Will it fit easily? No way. But you can shoehorn one in there if you absolutely need tons of power.

302 and 351 are some of the easier swaps. 460 is a lot more work, so I'd say go for a built 302 or 351 just because of the aftermarket they have. The 4.6L is also a possibility, and we have a member here who put a 4.6L DOHC in the Ranger. Considering the size of the DOHC, it makes the 302 or 351 look like a cakewalk.

The V8 swap is well documented on here. On the main forum page you can do a search for "V8 Swap" and get lots of previous posts that should be able to answer most of your questions.

 

The 302 seemed like a good choice for my truck.I've already welded a rollcage to the chassis front to back, and beefed up the suspension.I just need something that'll get me down the track pretty fast and give me some real power.Thank you for all the information.Very helpful.

 

Oh...and coming back I see that I totally neglected anything about transmissions.

Depending on what kind of speed you want, what kind of rear end gearing you would like, several different choices of transmissions are available.

Do you want this engine EFI or carb? Auto or manual?

If you're going EFI on the engine and want an auto tranny, all you'll need is the appropriate computer to run the transmission as well, if it is an electronic transmission. If you want to go carbed, you'll need to pick between an electronic transmission (such as the E4OD) or a non-electronic transmission (such as the C6). Electronic trannies will need stand-alone transmission computers.

For the 302 or 351, you can get any kind of small block V8 patterned transmission. For the 460, the C6 is about the only option that can stand up to the power. If you end up building up the 302/351, you'll pretty much end up needing a C6 as well if you want to go automatic.

For manual, with a well build 302/351, or with any 460, I highly suggest finding a ZF transmission, just for the benefit of the OD gear, and the wonderful strength these posses.

There are adaptor plates to run transmissions from other manufacturers as well if you so desire, as well as to convert small block to big block bolt patterns. Just takes some careful mixing and matching.

NOW, if you decide to go 302, I assume you'll build it up for more power. I'd suggest the AOD for automatics. It's got a good set of ratios for racing, even better so if you can find an SVO AOD, and is quite durable. I would still suggest getting an adaptor to run either a T-5 or a ZF tranny (if you want to run incredibly high rear end gears, such as 5 something, I suggest the 'vette ZF), as few other manual transmissions can compete with them on a durability level.

And on the topic of rear axles, you'll need to beef that up. I'd suggest the 9". It's easy to get ahold of, has a huge ratio selection, and is about as bulletproof as rear axles come.

 

Make sure you take plenty of pics. I'm sure we'd all love to see it.

 

If you'd like to draw some real attention to yourself at the track, look up the 351 Cleavor build. It's a windsor block with the Cleveland heads. It's a pretty good budget build with readily available castings and parts. Lots of lightweight power for the money, and if you've got till next year, it'd make a good winter build up. Depending on the type of racing your going to do, the 460 might push the weight to the problem zone. The Windsor's lightweight and the 351 isnt much heavier than the 302.

Fred

 

I left with all the info today and got my hands on a 302.I have to rebuild it from the crank up but it was only 75 bucks, so you can't beat it I guess.I'll take pics once I start working on this truck again. Thanks to everyone for all the info.I'm glad I joined FTE.

 

Where would I be able to find a decent block and heads for a cleavor build?And would it make more power than the 302? Better fittment into the engine bay? I have a friend who works in a junkyard and he says it's hard to find decent blocks and heads in junkyards anymore. So is there a way to build a cleavor cheap? My kids are still yound so I don't have an enormous budget. And as far as transmissions go I'm going with the C6.
I may end up getting a newer ranger(91 and up). I love my 83 but I can't help but think it might do me some good in the long run to do this to a newer truck. Again, I thank everyone for all the help and suggestions.

 

And I'm going efi, if I can with a cleavor.

 

I've never heard of a Cleveland that was EFI (Cleavor uses the Cleveland heads, so same principle). I'm sure if you were dedicated enough you could make it work, but I don't know of any that have been done or any kits to convert it.

 

Try a thread search for the cleavor. Lots of info if you Google it. Cleavland heads are pretty available at good bigger boneyards and 351 W blocks are everywhere. Rangerpilots right that EFI is a bit rare on cleaveland builds cause its kind of old school stuff, but Throttle body injection should be the ticket.

This'll take a little more time cause some intake modifications are involved. Holly used to make a special dual plenum intake for the application because the coolant passages are reversed. The Windsor block is considered extremely strong compared to the cleaveland block. It drove Cleaveland racers nuts. The main bearing caps in the Windsor are massive even with the two bolt. From what I remember from the old Hot Rod magazine article, Just replacing the main cap bolts with studs made the bottom end indestructible for anything short of using a blower. I think its a worthy endeavour just for the 'cool' factor. We watched an oval racer outside of Windsor(ironic) win a few races whith a car he called 'The Cleavor' complete with graphics of a crazy eyed devil with a butchers cleavor dripping with blood on the side of the car. The crowd LOVED it. And it 'screamed' around the track. He ran a single plane intake with a Holley 4 bbl.

Back then, guys were used to manually tunning timing advance and carb float levels(Holleys' floats were adustable in the car.) You judged rich or lean by tailpipe and plug colour as well as performance. You also got an assortment of vaccum diaphrams for timing secondary opening. If you go EFI, you might find someone who can custom program the ECU for you, and even teach you how to play with the parameters.

I'll see what I can dig up myself for you on it. I've always had a soft spot for this buildup and wish I had the opportunity to do it myself, 'one day'

Fred

 

Thank you sir.

 

something to wet you whistle.

Smoke'em if you've got 'em
https://www.ford-trucks.com/lc/lc.ph...351Cleavor.htm
Some tech info
https://www.ford-trucks.com/lc/lc.ph...evor_engine%2F
If your ebay inclined
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/351-C...spagenameZWD1V
An FTE member with a 351 Windsor in his 89
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...?albumid=15112
More tech
http://www.darkhorseracing.net/clevor_head_mod.htm
A proud builder
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...87181372033485
This info was pretty easy to dig up, but I misspelled. I'ts 'clevor'. Keep in mind that you'll be buying parts that are custom to the application including pistons and intake, if they still have them. There 'are' great Windsor heads available but may be pricey, but you can use cheaper intakes and valve train components. All you can do is research and decide.

Fred

 

One of my co workers just gave me her 91 explorer.The tranny is bad but everything else is good.What can I use from this explorer for my ranger?And would it be worth it to use all these parts or should I buy new?