cheap swap

[austin]

I was wondering if anyone has a complete list of things needed for a v8 swap. I have a 85 ranger and am looking to use the 302 5.0HO out of a foxbody mustang. What other parts will i need. I am trying to do this for the least amount of money.

Thanks

[cgrey8]

If you reuse the Ranger's crossmember engine mounts by using flat plates to mount the engine to them, then that'll save you a bunch.

You'll need a universal throttle cable if the stock Ranger one doesn't work (probably won't but being an 85, it might).

Most Ranger swaps require an oil filter relocator kit with a 90° adapter. These range from cheapo spin-on types to the more expensive L&L adapters. Canton also makes an adapter that is very similar to the L&L, but not quite as low of a profile. From what I can tell, it'll still work pretty good though.

The trans will need some help mating to the tranny crossmember. Some people grind off the rivets and physically relocate the crossmember further forward on the frame. I just used a 6"x6"x1/4" hot rolled steel flat plate with some holes drilled in it to make up the distance difference. It's worked great for years now and was FAR easier than grinding rivets and re-drilling holes in the frame.

With a manual tranny or a floor shift automatic, you'll need to cut a hole where the shifter will go. No biggie with that. However if you want an automatic to reuse the column shifter (assuming your existing Ranger is an auto), then there'll be some alignment work to get the shifter pointer to indicate correctly with the actual positions in the tranny. Being I've never done that, I don't know how difficult that is to do. But it certainly isn't a show stopper if the needle says N but you are really in D...just something you will get accustomed to.

Some people have gotten a Crown Vic driveshaft to work without modification, although you should always walk into a V8 swap expecting to have to shorten a driveshaft because it seems you can never just rely on the shaft to fit as is. If you get lucky, then that's cash you can spend elsewhere.

An optional upgrade that's always recommended is to ditch the stock Ranger 7.5" rearend. I don't think the 8.8" rears were even available until 86 and weren't common until around 90 when the 4.0L was introduced. If you have a manual tranny, you'll beat up the 7.5" pretty good. Swapping it out for a Ranger 8.8" will not cost you much and if you plan on building the V8 in the future, you'll be glad you went ahead and did the swap. The Ranger 8.8s are available in limited slip and you can often find them with a rear anti-sway bar in the yards. If you get a 93 or newer Ranger, you also get the benefit of the wider stance. I've got an 89 Ranger with a 93 Ranger 8.8". The average person can't tell there's any difference, but if I look for it, I can see that there is a width difference. Of course if you don't mind spending a little more on the rearend swap, then a very popular upgrade is the Explorer 8.8" rear which is even wider than the Ranger and has rear disc brakes. Unfortunately the Explorer rear is not a bolt-in solution. It requires a bit of modification (relocating spring perches, relocating shock mounts, parking brake cable complications, brake line incompatibilities, etc). All those issues can be overcome, but it is NOT a bolt-in solution like swapping out a 7.5" Ranger rear for an 8.8" Ranger rear is.

Reusing the stock exhaust manifolds shouldn't be too difficult, but you may have to notch the passenger side frame to make room for an exhaust pipe. If you go with some Mustang Tri-Y headers or some tight-tucked shorty headers, you can get away without having to do the frame notching. But the notch is a COMMON mod for people that want to use standard Mustang headers.

And since you said this is budget, I'm going to assume this will be a carbed install. Your complexity and cost go up when you start talking EFI.

[austin]

thanks for all your info, it really helps. I was planning on doing an efi swap with a T5 trans. I talked to my local mechanic and he said that the t5 shifter would be like under my seat, so he thought that trans wouldn't work. Wondering if a t5 will still fit before hitting my bench seat. Do you think its possible to stick the computer for the efi engine in the engine bay. My plan is to buy a totaled mustang and pull its efi 5.0 engine, harness, and computer and stick it all in the ranger. Maybe even the rear end if it fits.

[cgrey8]

If you get an 89-93 Mustang 5.0L with a T5, then hopefully you'll get all the pieces you need to maintain the EFI. As for the T5 not working, that's BS. I've got a T5 in my truck, but I've also got the room for it since my truck is a supercab. Malcolm had a T5 in his Standard Cab Red Ranger and the seat even let up some without hitting shifter. It's close, but it fits. If you have long legs and need the seat all the way back, having a T5 will not be a problem at all.

As for the Mustang rear, I don't think that's a common thing to do. If I remember right, Mustangs have 4 lugs where Rangers have 5 lugs. So it makes a mismatch between the rims you can put on the front and rear. Again the two most common Ranger rearend upgrades are yanking the 8.8" from another Ranger (bolt-in solution), or doing the mods required to get an Explorer 8.8" into a Ranger. I can't think of anybody that went out of their way to put a Mustang 8.8" in a Ranger.

[v8ranger]

I have a t-5 in my 86 and still have the bench seat. I had to cut the trans tunnel a little bit, but it was no big deal. I took part of my old shifter and part of the t-5 shifter and made a shifter that worked perfict. Then I got a shift boot out of a Mazda pickup, it had cup holders, lol, and it was bigger than my stock boot, front to back and side to side. Then I just screwed it in. You can take some sheet metal and rivit it in to cover some of the old hole also. I think I had to cut about and inch or two off the back of the shifter hole. I am going to put buckets in my truck some day, if I can find the right color. The ones in the new Rangers look nice and nost of them are like a 60/40 bucket, with a center console that folds up.
I dont see why you cant put the puter in the same place the Ranger puter is??? I dont know where they are in the mustangs compared to the Ranger and mine is a supercharged carb setup. The swap is pretty sinmple and you are at the right place to find all the trickes to dropping in the 5.0.

[MalcolmV8]

I dont see why you cant put the puter in the same place the Ranger puter is??? I dont know where they are in the mustangs compared to the Ranger

Depends on the Ranger. My 92 ECC was in the passenger's kick panel in the cab. My 94 was in the firewall/cab area on the driver's side. A very difficult spot to get to. The newer, 97+ Rangers I believe, are in the center of the firewall above the engine offset a little to the passenger's side.
The Mustang ECC most people use, 89-93, was in the passenger's side kick panel. On my 94 Ranger I just cut a hole in the firewall and put the ECC in the passenger's side kick panel so the Mustang harness mostly worked with minimal modifications.

[cgrey8]

An 89-93 Mustang wiring harness and EEC will locate the EEC right where the Ranger's EEC is...in the passenger side kick panel. Well, that assumes your Ranger has an EEC. I can't remember when Rangers went EFI. But with my Ranger being 89 and me using an 89-93 Mustang wiring harness, the harness reused the same hole the stock wiring harness went through. Some things just lined up. 99% of my swap's headache was in making the 89-93 Mustang wiring harness work with a 97 Explorer which has a totally different setup. With a matching setup, the swap may actually be far less of a PITA.

If you decide to do mods to the engine, the absolute best supported EEC out there for affordable tuning tools is the 89-93 Mustang EECs. So if you decide to do mods, the EEC can be tuned by you IF you choose to learn how. Read this article about EEC Tuning to decide if EEC tuning is for you or not:
Things to know BEFORE buying a TwEECer or Quarterhorse

[Teddyzee]

I put my ECU in the engine bay, where my stock one was, in the firewall.
Just left the harness the stock length.



You can use the Traction Lock from a Mustang rear (if it has one) with a Ranger 8.8 (if it does not have one) with no problems.
If you're getting a whole Mustang, the motor mounts will work fine.
I'm using tri-Y headers for a '65 Mustang. No issues at all.

As far as driveshaft, I hooked my stock one up when I drilled my holes for the motor mounts. No mods needed there for me.

My shifter is located about an inch to the rear of the hole in the stock floor. Very minimal cutting. I already had bucket seats, but I bought another Explorer console insert, and cut a new hole in that to work.

[94stranger]

what is that console from???

[Teddyzee]

The console is from an Explorer, '96 to '02. The inserts are available in many styles...

[austin]

I found a 5.0 efi out of a f150. Would this be a good buy, will it fit well and be the same to wire up like a 5.0 efi mustang motor. The price is right so I am considering. can a mustang bell housing be used for better clearance. I would bolt it up to a 5 speed from a 1996 mustang.
It is a T45 trans. Is this any different to use than a T50D? On either trans how does it hook up to the transfer case? Does advance adapters make a part.

[cgrey8]

What year is the F150 engine from? The only concern I'd have about the F150 engine is that it might not be a roller block. If you ever plan to do cam upgrades, you may have more in store for such an upgrade if the engine isn't setup for a roller cam stock. Also if it is a dual-plenum F150 intake with the dual-TB setup, you may have fitment issues with the hood.

I don't know anything about the T45 or the other details you are asking about.

[Dave]

Didn't realize you had a 4x4. No adapters made for what you have. The '96' Mustang was the 4.6, different bellhousing. Best to find a transmision and xfer case out of a F-150 with a small block. How good a swap motor depends a lot on what year.
Dave

[austin]

the f150 motor is a 89. Also the transmission from the 96 mustang was for a 3.8l. I guess now all i need to know is if any one has plans for 4x4 motor mounts. l and l makes some and so do AA but they are like 175 - 200 dollars. Does any one know if these motor mounts will line the motor up so that the transfer case will be in the original location. Or how to take measurments to make motor mounts. Also i have been searching for the adapter on advance adapters that goes between a t5 and the borg warner 1350 transfer case. I cant seem to find it. From other websites, it sounds like they make one.

[cgrey8]

Advance Adapters used to make a T5 4x4 conversion, but I don't believe it sells anymore.

And the kit was more than just a single tailshaft replacement adapter that allows the transfer case to bolt to the T5. From what I understand, it is quite a few different parts that have to be incorporated into the T5.

Since that kit isn't available anymore, your best bet is to get an F150 4wd donor. The next-best option is a 96-97 AWD Explorer 5.0L donor if you don't mind it being automatic. The catch is an Explorer setup complicates things since it is EEC-V. And if you abandon the EEC-V, then you have to retrofit the distributorless engine with a distributor and the 4R70w automatic would need a Baumann Transmission controller. If you go any newer than a 97, then you run the risk of getting a 4R70w trans without a Speed Sensor provision. Around 98-99 (can't remember which), the Explorer speedometer went electronic meaning it was controlled by the computer instead of by a cable and Ford completely removed the ability to install a speed sensor in the trans.

Point is, 4wd Ranger swaps have always been more problematic than 2wd swaps. They can be done, but it is a bit more of a headache and your options are fewer. And with the Cash For Clunkers deal that just ended, the #1 and #2 traded-in vehicles that were scrapped were Ford Explorer and Ford F150 further reducing the availability of those parts for guys like us trying to do Ranger conversions.