Ok iv had a 97 ford ranger for about 3 years now and it just isnt fast enough for me so im curious to see what you guys think of this:

3.0L with about 250hp and 300ft-lbs of torque?

a fully built 3.0l camed with about 9.5:1 compression with 5psi out of a whipple super charger. now this is a vulcan motor and i have been doing my research and the cam would be about a .340 lift with good flowing heads and stock sleeves since the block is rated to hold about 10psi.

Just curious what you guys think it would look stock unless i feel like lowering it since its only 2wd with a 8.8 locking diff and a mazda M5OD-R2 transmission which was supposidly on the 300 straight6 so im gonna go with it may hold 300ish ft-lbs of torque (looking more into that).

Since everyone calls it the 3.slow i would love to be able to beat a few stock mustangs with it and shut them up. but still with 250hp in a 2800lb truck i dont think it would be that slow.

 

i'd say you got yourself a project!! i'm not up on all the numbers, but maybe one of the guys will pop by with a desktop dyno and give a word or two. good luck!!

 

The M5OD in your Ranger is not the same M5OD they put behind the 300 I6, and I don't think it would like 300 lb-ft for very long.

A 302 swap would probably get you better performance for your expense and time, but if you want to build a hot 3.0, by all means go for it- it's your truck.

Come check out the Ranger forum- there's a lot of guys there who know more about building fast Rangers than I do.

 

well i was thinking about doing a 302 swap but its actually cheeper to do this since i can do a little bit at a time and do it evenly instead of doing it all at once since i am a college kid

 

Don't forget to upgrade your clutch as well. Your tranny probably won't hold up very long, but being 2wd and these trucks being everywhere in junkyards, you'll probably get pretty familiar with swapping out transmissions. It sounds like a good project though and you have done quite a bit of homework already. I've done two v8 swaps into rangers, I wouldn't even mess with a v6, but good luck!

 

Yea i wanted to do a v8 swap really badly but then i thought to myself and was like well i like to be original and how many people do **** to a 3.0l v6 out of a ford ranger.....not many

 

Yah thats all fine and dandy but are you sure your stock blowk will be able to handle 10psi of boost from the supercharger? Im not into v-6 motors, and am not really sure why you would want to waste your money on a 350 hp motor. A v-8 would give you more bang for your buck and in the longrun you could have one hell of a truck.

 

i know safely it will hold up to 10 but im only going to run 5-6psi from a supercharger and im only looking for 250 hp and about 300ft-lbs so im not gonna be pushing this motor to its limits.

 

You do realize that you will have to rebuild your motor, you can't just slap a supercharger on. Low compression pistons will probably be custom ($700+) block work is probably going to be $600-$900 for machining and balancing, cylinder head work will probably be $200-$500, the block and head work doesn't include parts either. The lower numbers I got are the work I had done about two years ago.

I did a v8 swap for about $1500 in parts (headers, mounts, radiator, clutch, used T-5, 351W, etc.) The motor I built for an additional $3500 (pistons, block work, used GT-40 heads, head work, pulleys, main stud kit, main girdle, ford racing flywheel, SFI damper, aluminum water pump, etc.) Its in an 87 Ranger, supercharged, narrowed 8.8 rear with moser axles. It definetly cost a lot more than I planned and it pretty much just sits in front of my house every day. Winter in Montana doesn't lend itself to well to a 470 horse / 425 lb ft 2wd ranger with M/T Street ETs.

 

hey matts, was it a 1/4 ton ranger that you did the swap in?? do you have pictures??

 

yea i know its gonna be a lot for parts thats why im getting a spare block and doing things as the money rolls in im in no rush to do it either so i figure it wont be done for a few years.

But your truck sounds sick and my sister lived in montana for a little while and she basically had winter for a good part of the year so its a shame that the turck just sits there but its def gotta be a fun little toy.

 

It was just a plain 87 2wd supercab ranger. I didn't do any body work on it or paint it all. I found some cheap shiny 17" wheels and drove it for a few months but never really wanted to keep it.

I've actually done two of these swaps, I did the first one on an 83 ranger, but that was just a stock 302 and I bought a bellhousing adapter and used the stock transmission. It was pretty fun for a while, it had the same traction problems with the tiny wheels and narrow tires.

I probably wouldn't do another v8 swap into a ranger... I must be turning into an old man... I'd do it to a newer one and put in a DOHC 4.6 with a Roushcharger. The old rangers have such bad ride quality and need so much for upgrades (springs, frame support, brakes, suspension components) its just not worth it. I'd rather buy a half ton truck that already has a v8 and build that up. They still suck for racing, I gotta quit wasting money and time on these things and build something worth racing...

 

spend ur money, but realize the true cost of the project...

It will be fast if u do it, but speed costs money. Not just the truck, but it's not going to be reliable (srry), it's gonna need more maintiance, and it will suck fuel...

I am the bearer of bad news, srry

I drive a ford escort, my f150 sits and rusts in peace (in the BACK yard)
~Nate