Alright everybody im new to this sight and this is my first post. quick little bit of information so you know where i am coming from and how important this is to me. i have a 1986 ranger short cab short bed 2wd with a 2.0 and 5spd. my little brother wanted the truck so he could eventually turn it into a 6 second truck. he just passed away last month from a car accident. now i cant sell the truck cause i have to turn it into the baddest ranger rollin. my qeustion is what would be the best motor/tranny set up to have a single digit quarter mile ranger but it still be street legal in case i wanted to drive it around on sunday? money is not a factor due to i dont care how long the build takes i just want it right. i have been thinkin about a 351w but then i was reading posts about people and how they love 351m/400m. my brother nick has a 400m in his 1978 f-150 ranger that is bored .60 over and it is a nasty beast. i just think a motor of that size in a ranger will be too much weight in the front end. once i figure out how to get pictures on here i will put them up of his trucks and mine. any help that can be given will be greatly appreciated. thanks and be safe
Ranger v-8 swap help!
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Reality check - perhaps he meant a 6-second 1/8-mile truck, as one that could do 6's in the quarter would not be a truck. It would be a custom built chassis with nothing ever on a Ranger, an engine that was never offered by Ford, and copies of the body panels in composites. It would just look like a Ranger. No, you couldn't drive it around on Sunday.
If he meant a 6-second eighth-miler, then that would be about a 9.50 to 11-second quarter-miler and could be done with an actual Ranger, and driven on Sunday. Which one is the goal for sure?
David
If he meant a 6-second eighth-miler, then that would be about a 9.50 to 11-second quarter-miler and could be done with an actual Ranger, and driven on Sunday. Which one is the goal for sure?
David
PSIG- No I don't think he meant a 6second quarter mile truck my mistake for it coming across as that. I am aware that won't happen. I think the goal is to be able to get the truck to be a single digit quarter mile truck. Even high 9's would be fine. I'm not trying to win anything with it I just want something fun to drive and when I take it to the strip it will run a single digit quarter mile.
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Fun to drive or just plain scary? 460 is always an option. Hit www.460.com for info on doing a 460 swap. Keep in mind I have a 460 in my F100 that is fun to drive with the ability to get scary in a heartbeat. Nothing like getting sideways on accident just from throttle on a dry straight away. There are kits available to do a 302 swap into the Ranger. I think they are around $500. The 302 is only 200 lbs heavier than the 4cyl. All I have read says no suspension mods are required. It you are serious about doing single digits you will be swapping out the Ranger suspension in favor of something a wee bit more precise (read that as costly as well). To hit single digits you will need to be able to launch hard. Plan on a narrowed 9" with 4 link as a base with minimum 31 spline axles.
Torque is what gets you out of the hole. There is no substitution for a big block when it comes to making torque. There is no replacement for displacement! 9 seconds is a lofty goal but definitely doable. My F100 turns high 12s & I am far from finished with drivetrain mods.
Torque is what gets you out of the hole. There is no substitution for a big block when it comes to making torque. There is no replacement for displacement! 9 seconds is a lofty goal but definitely doable. My F100 turns high 12s & I am far from finished with drivetrain mods.
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I'm all into easy and cheap as long as it makes the required power and is reliable. That is not a combination that usually happens with normally-aspirated setups. The 460 or small-block stroker can make the power without too much sweat to hit the 9's. However, going stroker means immediate cash flow, and 460 means using some of your HP to fight weight increase. If I were doing a hot Ranger (which I and a couple others on this forum are), I'd go with a 351W and almost stock performance rebuild, and use a power adder. On mine, I'm doing a daily-driver streeter boosting with a single turbo, bone-stock 5.0 but only looking for 500 FWHP for street and weekend drag fun. A 351W with new pistons and rod bolts, with a set of decent but cheap heads, intake and boost, will easily make far more power than that and enough to hit the 9's on a bad day and do it year after year.
An NA stroker can certainly do it, but at greater expense and less reliability, as it needs to spin higher, and your launch will have to be harder to get your times. The power-adder version can have considerably more HP, and so would not have to launch as hard to pull the same time slips consistently. This is important on the street as a showoff 9s NA hard launch on DOT tires from a stoplight is near impossible, where a soft boost or delayed N20 launch will easily outrun it. Just a thought, and a direction that many racers are moving in for better power with better reliability. While often considered 'cheating' in the past, it has swung around to become the 'smart' way to make power. But, like building and feeding a good NA race engine, you have to learn what to do and not do.
James302 has an induction article in the Tech section where he's using a stock short block 302 and cheap turbos to hit 9s in a 3200 pound Fox. Your Ranger should be lighter and faster than that, but I'm suggesting the 351W mostly for solid reliability without spending more than a 3 thou on the whole engine package. If you aim for something like that, without experience projects always cost twice the budget, so keep that in-mind.
Finally, as mentioned your chassis will suck the lion's share of the money. Your first concern is safety and track rules. Running faster than 10s at any track will require a lot of specialty safety gear and mods than do not make you faster, but keep you safer. It's not only smart - they will not let you run a 9 without it. In-spite of that, $10k should cover the whole project with careful planning and shopping, and you doing all the work. You can easily double that on bling and cool stuff that isn't necessary for the time slips. That part is up to you and your budget. Plan carefully, build smart, and make decisions based on the end-goals.
David
An NA stroker can certainly do it, but at greater expense and less reliability, as it needs to spin higher, and your launch will have to be harder to get your times. The power-adder version can have considerably more HP, and so would not have to launch as hard to pull the same time slips consistently. This is important on the street as a showoff 9s NA hard launch on DOT tires from a stoplight is near impossible, where a soft boost or delayed N20 launch will easily outrun it. Just a thought, and a direction that many racers are moving in for better power with better reliability. While often considered 'cheating' in the past, it has swung around to become the 'smart' way to make power. But, like building and feeding a good NA race engine, you have to learn what to do and not do.
James302 has an induction article in the Tech section where he's using a stock short block 302 and cheap turbos to hit 9s in a 3200 pound Fox. Your Ranger should be lighter and faster than that, but I'm suggesting the 351W mostly for solid reliability without spending more than a 3 thou on the whole engine package. If you aim for something like that, without experience projects always cost twice the budget, so keep that in-mind.
Finally, as mentioned your chassis will suck the lion's share of the money. Your first concern is safety and track rules. Running faster than 10s at any track will require a lot of specialty safety gear and mods than do not make you faster, but keep you safer. It's not only smart - they will not let you run a 9 without it. In-spite of that, $10k should cover the whole project with careful planning and shopping, and you doing all the work. You can easily double that on bling and cool stuff that isn't necessary for the time slips. That part is up to you and your budget. Plan carefully, build smart, and make decisions based on the end-goals.
David
- High Power
- High Reliability
- Low Cost
Dropping a 460 into an 89 ranger would take a huge amount of chassis mods. I had an 88 ranger that squatted with a 330 pound guy in the cab. New coils and shocks were also on that ranger. FEs were never built for light weight they are just plain out heavy as hell.
Also with the 351m they aren't easy to find an if you find a decent one the person who has it ( if he knows anything about them) won't just give it away. I think your best chance would be a good 302 stroked with good heads and intake.
Good luck ! And I would like to see updates on this v8 swaps on rangers are always awesome
Also with the 351m they aren't easy to find an if you find a decent one the person who has it ( if he knows anything about them) won't just give it away. I think your best chance would be a good 302 stroked with good heads and intake.
Good luck ! And I would like to see updates on this v8 swaps on rangers are always awesome
Alright everybody I appreciate the input so far. Now lets just for ****s and giggles say I go with a 351w and it puts out 600 hp I would like to a standard transmission and not an auto. What would be my best choice? Also I was reading on another post that the 5.4 is the smallest big block ford made. how far can they be bored and stroked and what is the hp range that can be expected from one of those? The reason I ask is because they are everywhere around my area and very easy to get a hold of. Also can the 5.4 be converted to a carb and not fuel injected? Another reason I am asking is because if I am not mistaken they are aluminum blocks and would be lighter then an iron block.
HPS makes one and now Edelbrock I think.
The Ford 4.6L Modular Engine
Too many transmissons to list. My preference would be a power glide for a drag only and a TKO for street and strip.
The Ford 4.6L Modular Engine
Too many transmissons to list. My preference would be a power glide for a drag only and a TKO for street and strip.
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