I have been wanting to put a 302 in a Ranger for many years now. I had this Ranger when I moved to Hawaii in 2003. It was a 2.3 Turbo 5 speed truck that sat for 3 years in a friends garage. I drove it for a while when I moved back to Washington in 2006 until I bought my F150.

After I bought the F150 I sold it to a friend who wanted the engine to put in a SVO that he was restoring. After he pulled the engine he parked it behind his shop where it sat for a few months until he decided he wanted to sell it. After so discussion about the price I gave him a $100 for it.

I had been collecting parts for a while. The engine is a rebuilt 302 bored .030 with GT40 heads and a "mild" cam, performer intake and edelbrock 600 carb. I have Hedman swap headers and explorer mounts ready for it. The Tranny is a fresh C4 with shift kit and 2800 stall and B&M Star Shifter.

I have an 8.8 out of an 97 ranger with 3.55 gears for it also. The truck already has bucket seats from before. I had also bought new carpet just before I sold it.

I have been picking up gauges off of ebay and other websites and just finished the instrument panel for it last weekend.

I am hoping to have the engine put together and in the truck next soon.

Here are a few pics.

The truck.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/450207-R1-7A.jpg

The instrument panel with Ultra-lite gauges.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC01406.jpg

Here are a few shots of the engine build.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC01566.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC01700.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC01748.jpg

those are the sweetest valve covers in the history of man!!!!!

Subscribed...

Wow! x2 on the valve covers! it's like the old viper engine. That's a beauty... I want to build an engine...

Looking good. Im digging the gauges. That something that still on my to do list.

wow. and that list sounds just like mine. thats what im wanting to do on mine. just an automatic.

just a nice mild setup and one that looks VERY good. are you running a mech pump or electric?

im going to watch this build. im doing the same thing, sp can you get some good pics of the swap for me? thanks man...

Loving the gauges also, how hard was it to do that? And engine is looking very nice also..

Totally bitchin man!

are you running a mech pump or electric?



I am going to use a holley blue pump. I also have a fuel cell that I am going to put in the bed. That way I can run dual exhaust and not have to worry about the gas tank in the way.

Id like to get specs on engine and if possiable list of where you got engine parts and price, Im about to start on my engine build..

The engine is a 306 with trw pistons, GT40 heads, Edelbrock Cam, Performer intake and Edelbrock 650 carb. Duraspark distributor. MSD 6Al

I bought the .030 over short block from a friend that pulled it from a parts car for $150. Spent $225 at the machine shop having it cleaned and new cam bearing and freeze plugs installed. Bought the GT40 heads off craigslist for $350 with the roller rockers included. Traded a Spec clutch that came with a parts car for the Edelbrock Cam kit #7122. Bought the intake carb and air cleaner off the corral mustang site for $275. I had the head studs that came with a parts car also.

Here is a list of what I bought for it.

Short Block $150
New Crankshaft $118
Machine work $225
Heads $375
Intake, Carb and air cleaner $275
Cam $200 (Value of clutch)
Timing Cain kit $50
Head, Timing cover and one piece oil pan Gaskets $120
Arp Main Studs and Rod bolts (Ebay) $90
Rings, rods and main bearings (Ebay) $75
New oil pump $65
Valve Covers $75 (Ebay)
MSD 6AL $135 off the Corral
Duraspark Distributor. $70

So that is about $2025 just in the engine.


Cam Specs
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=EDL%2D7122&autoview=sku

Nice Im wondering what the diffrence in 302 blocks as in i see some with XXX and some with YYY enprinted in them.. Im not sure if they mean anything i couldnt see what was on yours..

The block that I am using is out of an 80 F150.

what about your driveline? is you driveshaft ok to use? it doesnt need to be cut down or anything? i know using a T5 they need to be shortened. but what about a c4?

im going to try and get my 302 in before april... its scarin me

what about your driveline? is you driveshaft ok to use? it doesnt need to be cut down or anything? i know using a T5 they need to be shortened. but what about a c4?

im going to try and get my 302 in before april... its scarin me

It also needs to be shorteded. I already have one the is shorter due to the truck having a turbocoupe T5 in it already.

hmmm. well you wouldnt happen to know if id need to shorthen mine huh? its stock one piece

I will measure the one I have this weekend. I cannot remember if I used the turbocoupe driveshaft or the ranger one. I do rember having to change the yoke and getting an offset u-joint. So that makes me think I used the ranger one.

Nice!

Project has taken a slight turn. Picked up an 88 ECSB Ranger of craigslist for a wonderful price of $80. Already has the engine/trans pulled. needs a little interior TLC but should turn out good. This is the only pic I have for now. It is the picture from the craigslist ad so it is kinda small.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/1f312014b3md3oa3p08bq1056a163a1e613.jpg

what about the other ranger? lol

Lets get some more info on that gauge setup. You make it?

The other ranger is going to be used for parts for a friends Ranger GT. The GT was hit in the front so we are going to use the cab and the frame rails for it.

I made the gauge panel. It was easy to make. I made a cardboard template of the factory dash. Then traced it on 1/8 thick aluminum and cut it out with a jig saw. Then used a 3 3/8 and 2 5/8 hole saws to cut the holes for the gauges. The aluminum plate is bolted to the plastic dash trim with 1/4 20 bolts in the corners.

Looks real similar to my build. Mine has a much tighter budget though...

Another change in plans. The 88 has some body damage in the drivers side of the bed and the previous owner cut the dash wiring harness out of it. So in my search for a bedside and other parts. I came across a complete 91 ECSB. Ended up getting it cheaper than what a bed would have cost me. This one also has a better interior.

So this is what the 306/C4 will go in.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02196.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02197.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02198.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02199.jpg

Anyone need any parts for an 88 Ranger.

MAN! youve got a few rangers and a good bit of parts now huh? lol

well i hope you start the swap soon, i just got my motor and tranny pulled. as soon as i get the new pickup and pan, ill have some mounts so i can start mounting it all up. i hope it dont take me long.

I want that dash :) lol.. Also love to see how you do the gauges now cause im going to be doing same interior with custom autometer gauges

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC01748.jpg

Well here is the idea that I came up with last night for the 2 5/8 gauges. I am thinking about selling all of them and replacing them with 2 1/16 gauges.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02202.jpg

If someone wants the panel shoot me an offer, It is not perfect but it does look good.
Frank

Sorry I have not updated in a while. Between work and remodeling the Kitchen, livingroom and dinningroom of my house I have had zero time. The remodel is done so now it is time to get to work on the truck. I have the wiring harness and everything out of the way, I just need a nice day to pull the 3.0 and trans out.

Here are some pictures of what I came up with for gauges.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02467.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02468.jpg

I am going to put the tach in its own mount on the dash somewhere.

Made more progress on the Ranger today. I got the 3.0 V6 and tranny out. Trimmed the core support for the radiator to fit. Picked up a Chrome grill, bumper and headlight trim Thursday.

Plan now is to finish taking everything off that needs to go. Change the 7.5 rearend out with the 8.8 I have in the garage. Pull the stock tank and fuel lines. pressure wash the engine bay and paint it all with Black POR-15.

Here are some pics of the progress.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02521.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02522.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC02523.jpg

lookin good. keep us posted

Its been awhile since I have posted any thing. I have been going through some marriage issues and have not had much time for working on the projects.

I have made one major change. I sold the 331 shortblock that I had for my Mustang to fund the 393 build. I decided that I want different heads for the 393, so the trickflows that were on the 331 are now going on the 306 for the Ranger. I have cleaned up and painted the firewall and engine bay. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/Frank91lx/DSC01455.jpg

updates? i wanna see this thing goin

Will have some soon. I am in the process of moving. I will have it in the new garage this weekend. I should have it on the road in a few months.

what did you use to make the panel for the 83-88 gauges? i just picked up a 84 and looking for ideas.

Wow, how did I miss this thread back when he was posting on it? I hate to see a build like this stall out. Those valve covers...

what did you use to make the panel for the 83-88 gauges? i just picked up a 84 and looking for ideas.

I made the panel out of sheet metal. If you send me your email I will send you more pictures of it.

I have gone through a lot of life changes in the last 6 months with a divorce, school and a new job. I have moved the truck 3 times and had no time to work on it. Things are better now. I have it in the garage and have done some stuff to it. I have the radiator mounted and the firewall painted. I will be doing much more in the near future. I need to get it done so I can get back to my mustang.

Welcome back, best of luck with life!

We'll be watching your progress when it resumes!