well, at least its civil in here still
i will do a general rant anyways.
as a stubborn 17 year old, i would have just done it. back then i had to drive around and call places to be insulted and made fun of face to face and on the phone as it was 10 years before internet was even a word.
i have been installing v8's in rangers since the 80's and people were telling my dumb ignorant 14-15 year old ass i couldnt do it if i tried.
i have to admit i dont like when most people with no upgrade swap experience at all input drivel on the subjects, but it can be entertaining. (but guys like adsm08 are top notch, not sure if he has v8 swap experience)
like most people, my developmental years always had some bias. at first i preferred the carbs and keeping breeds pure where practical and compared to a dana 44 ttb was for fagz etc....typical ignorant silliness....guilty of all i am.
but in the end and generally speaking the 350 is as bolt in as the 302 when you have done these both.... of course you want the small dizzy ect for typical carb swaps but trial and error fitment isnt so bad depending on what your willing to do. i had/have a basic formula for 302 but its never identical either....
initially, most people always like swaps to look factory etc.....well i think most vehicles from the factory suck to do basic maintenance on, let alone incremental upgrades like heads and headers and cams as time goes on. so i prefer to make a rig easier to work on when at all possible during the build phase. and dont fear hacking stuff away to make those ends easier and this includes using body lifts etc.
things to remember when your 17 and looking for advice about building a ranger thing..
any ford rbv.....unless the frame is obviously rotted to death in or from the salt belt or ocean or whatever....it is a ruthlessly effective chassis for any engine swap.
they are not weak.
whatever engine you choose, learn about its operating system...or at least the system you intend to operate it with. figure out what trans you want and t case if its 4x4. this means finding, buying and
READING books relative to your goals....if you cant understand that....stop now and keep reading the last paragraph until you do.
a key to success is to assemble it all out of the truck and run it so you know how it all goes together and works. then fit it up to the chassis. of the current easy to get engines available the gm's and windsor fords have setups to easily make them stand alone in factory efi form..
the link i posted in my post above should contain all the things you need to know.
spend some time looking at all types of v8 swaps.
while looking at the various horseshit out here and there, try to remember this as well. especially when looking at a few other ranger boards...the best rigs i have seen, the owners do not have internet pages or talk much on these forums because of the endless supply of fawktards that spew crap even know they dont know their asses from a screwdriver.
i always see pure ignorance like, "i have only seen this many of this kind of swaps" so there are not many, or only x, xx and xxx have done that swap etc. there are or were dozens of repowered rangers in michigan and afew other states by my hands alone from the late 80's to the early 2000's....and i have seen repeatedly guys say they are super rare...only a few dozen around etc. there has to be hundreds here alone.
like i said initially, i would throw that 305 in the trash. if you want to use it, a good 4 bbl intake and small dizzy with a 500 cfm carb and 3550 trans combo from a 4.3 would install fairly easily. the camaro manifolds should work out ok as well. cooling isnt a huge issue either.
better money would be a 5.3 from a 2000 or so gm imo.
the ford 302 and 351 fit easiest of the fords. up to you. hell put a hemi in it if you want to be different.(not a real 60's or 70's hemi though)
i personally am very disappointed with fomoco. all they offer is extreme wallet job bullshit. and very limited bullshit at that. they been claiming for years to change that....but i dont see anything happening.
gm makes
HUGE EFFORTS to
cost effectively and easily fit their powerplants into anything.
that speaks to me very plainly and clearly.
rant off.
now go read kid. its almost free.