You can put a 5.0 in a ranger with the stock hood if it's factort efi, of course not with a tunnel ram or something. They sell converstion kets that make swapping in a ford small block easy as pie, it's becoming quit common and easy to do. The kits come with motor mounts, shorty headers, relocation brackets, everything you need. You will need to swap in a better automatic or a teramc 5 speed from a stang. Advanced adapters even seels a kit to swap the T-5 into a 4x4 ranger so it hooks up to the t-case. The V-8 powered rangers at the strip are cool to watch, they pull the wheels when they launch, they make a 9 or 10 second pass and then they drive them home. There's even some V-8 powered rangers and bronco II's out on the trails, they turn rocks into dust and splash mud boggs dry. Of course you don't need a V-8 to wheel, just good gearing and tires. y 4.0 has all the power I need in the rough, even my 60 hp ****** will climb a tree with it's 5:38 gears with it's flat head 4 cylinder.

 

ive had 2 a '88 s/c 2.3 2wd and the current '93 s/c 4.0 4x4. both have 3.73 gears. the 2.3 got excellent milage but not enough tourque to deal with long upgrades or trailer towing. the old pushrod 4.0 gets done what i need done. im kind of "old school" i prefer the older twin I beam / twin traction beam front ends, dont like power rack and pinion steering and would sooner have the pushrod 4.0 over the newer ohc 4.0 if i were to do anything to mine, id swap in a 2V 302. ive added tube steps, manual hubs, hurst shifter and a grill guard. ive also got the "dixe" air horn setup-bought that way back in '89, still works. cant afford to buy anything right now, just going to keep the old stuff on the road 'till the body falls off the frame. i got lucky that my truck came with a cap and trailer hitch.

 

BUMP!!! is there anymore? There's gotta be more of us out there.

 

They're probably out frolicking in the snow. O yeah, BTW Wendell. I know the V8's fit really well in the Rangers, but apparently some guys have trouble with many of the engines after dropping the body as opposed to a good lift. That's why I suggested those guys might think about welding up oil-pan scrapin' new x-members. It was an attempt to drag out more of the lurkers. I wouldn't delve too deeply into thier arena. Not my cup of tea, but I did thrash out some notions of whether it could be possible & still drivable. Actually, easiest to wait for electric infrastructure. It's a lot more practical for nervy DIYer now than most would guess... I don't care for most of it, but I've learned stuff that can work well & would rather save my fav chassis'... Not bad, outlandishly expensive, or unreasonable, so long as means of recharging can be arranged every hundred to 200 miles. And that's assuming decades old battery tech. Perf/ econ fair by today's standards too. Cost to build for others has been under $2k.

 

I haven't formed a meaniful relationship with my ranger yet, I purchased a 1992 one owner 2wheel drive long bed to drive 125 miles each day at work, it is a 5 speed 4cyl with chrome bumpers stainless trim and nice interior.

But i will tell you this, every day I drive it I notice how well it rides for a small truck, 26 MPG and solid no rattles and such. She (ranger) is earning my respect even if she is really slow, gosh is she slow. If the sixes got decent milage I would be in the market for a nice V-6 A/T

 

How many miles on it? my 2300 is still a rocket with 126K on it. Will light up the 33's on request.

BTW with 4.56 gears and 33's I am getting a consistant 25mpg. with the 4.0 in the big truck and 4.56s with 38.5s I am getting 16. Same as stock.

 

I'll never get rid of her! Best truck I've ever owned or drove and I've owned a few. I spent 5 months looking for it back in 99 (actually wanted a 4x4 w/4.0L and a 5-speed manual, but very very rare to find one in the used ads), and it was a one owner. Extremely satisfied with my the ole Ranger. Been almost completely problem free and has never left me strainded, or even close to it cept for the ice pellet's storm - but that's another story.

The only thing out of normal routine maintenance that has been replaced is a rear brake line section from the rear ABS to the "T" on the rear axle from rusting out, carrier bearing and ujoints, and a new radiator. Everything else is original (water pump, alternator, etc.). Has a very small trans leak at rear seal that needs attention, but other than that nothing else has failed out of the ordinary. Uses/loses no fluids other than a few drops a month out the trans.

Unfortunately it's never been garaged and is just this past year starting to show some rust driver side rear wheel well but I got a pint of matched paint and plan to fix that before it gets worse.

Always had a fondness for the Ranger and always will. It's a real truck and a great truck - I'm dern glad I have mine. No monthly payments for 5+ years and counting is another big plus!

 

the 1992 is last year for that body style, right now it has 119K on the clock, but I have already put on 5-7K miles since I purchased it, It had the rotten gas tank filler hose that the jerk that sold it to me didn't tell me about, (over $300.00 to repair that) I assume that was the final straw to sell it, the waterpump was weeping also. But I have no regrets at all and I am very happy with the truck, but I am telling you it is slow. Maybe I need to drive another Ranger and see if mine is not up to speed.

I really like the stepside models, and may bite the bullit on gas consumption if I can find a V-6 A/T used one at reasonable price

 

Just to let every one know I found FTE cause I have considered buying an old F-600 truck for the last year, been watching the Forum to see if there was much intrest in the old trucks and happen to notice the other day there was a Ranger section.

 

Great trucks seem to get better with age Mighty. I like 'em as old & solid as I can find. Then build to suit. Don't know much about the larger trucks though. I have seen most hard-core actual trail beasts tend to be Fords or old Wranglers... Fords are harder to steal than anything from Jeep for some reason. I use Fords to get me through snow storms, haul family stuff & yank heavier full-size autos out of ditches. Only limitation is reg cab with 2 bucket seats & tops out under 80 mph into expressway headwinds 600-800 feet above sea level. It doesn't seem to care if I have a few hundred pounds of payload through any of the above.

 

I've owned four Rangers, an 88, 90, 98, and an 03, and they are great trucks! I keep buying them because they're good looking, reliable and can do whatever I ask of them.
A friend and I hauled 28 sheets of drywall in the '98.
Two of trucks had the 2.3-5 speed, one had the 3.0-5 speed, and my latest Ranger has the 4.0-automatic. All of the engines were good but I like the 4.0 best. Lots of power and plenty of torque.
I like the styling of the 88 and 90 better. IMO that is the best looking generation of Ranger.
The '03's extended cab is real handy and my wife really likes not having the groceries in her lap, but I like the looks of a standard cab truck better.
I took the '03 off-roading with a friend who has a Wrangler with a lift kit and 33 inch tires. My truck is all stock with jacked up torsion bars. He noticed my truck was going through the mud ruts easier than his Jeep was.
A construction company I worked at in the late 90's had S-10 pickups. There was no comparison between those and my Ranger. My truck, at the time I had the 90 and just bought the '98, had a better ride, quality, handling, and was way more reliable.
I have never owned or driven an import car or truck so I can't make a comaprison, but I'm sure my Ranger can hold its own.

 

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Nothing better looking than a Ranger.

If everything goes as planned a Ranger will be my very first "new" truck. I would love to own a 4x4 4.0L Ex-Cab. All black.

 

If you "try" to get one used all i can say is good luck, very hard to find. Those who have them don't want to part with em.

 

While my ride may be a B-4000, it's still a Ranger under the skin. It's not my first Ranger and won't be my last. I trust it with my life in some truely bad driving conditions. It [they] have yet to fail me in dangerous siuations.
Sorry, not some show truck, just a machine I place my getting from point 'A' to point 'B' in. Never been in a ditch or stuck . It gets me where I need to go safely, and that's all I ask. And my truck does it well.