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1988 Ranger Engine Swap




bodied91ranger

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Because it's made by GM and their crap belongs in a dumpster.
you guys all hate gm platforms, but while your all sitting here trying to figure out what engine to swap in your trucks wondering which ford motor will work the best, whether its a 4.0 or a 5.0. regardless you can swap an ls In there and you can be guaranteed to have a dandy of a time driving it.
 

alsalp

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Does anyone make a kit to put an LS in an 87 Ranger
 

PetroleumJunkie412

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Does anyone make a kit to put an LS in an 87 Ranger
No clue. I'd suggest 2.3 EB way before the LS though. It's a Ford vtec with a turbo. It can be reliably built to 600hp for the same cost of a comparable LS build, possibly less. What more could you want?
 

alsalp

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At stock 4.5/5.3 would be plenty of power and way cheaper than an EB 2.3
 

PetroleumJunkie412

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Ecoboost is 328 lbs. LS is 497. Just a thought.
 

Jim Oaks

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I'd say anything that's modern. If you want an LS, use an LS. Document the engine swap and I'll add it to our Tech Library.
 

alsalp

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I'd definitely do a write up. What to swap depends on bang for the buck. Eco-boost 2.3 would be the best engineering upgrade but for me it would too expensive. CA won't let me do a Turbo Coupe as of 2018. Ford Explorer 5.0 would be most cost effective when getting a cheap donor car. They are only about 215 hp. An LS 5.3 can be had for cheap and gets you 300 hp easily. For my pIurposes I'm not gonna track the truck. Just want to fly up a grade with a load in the bed.
 

Jim Oaks

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Doing an engine swap in California.

Step 1: Move out of California.
 

alsalp

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Honestly I get tired of that suggestion. I'm looking for real solutions within the constraints of CA legal swaps. I'm not moving to a hillbilly state where I can slap a carburetor on something and call it good.
 

sheep herder

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Honestly I get tired of that suggestion. I'm looking for real solutions within the constraints of CA legal swaps. I'm not moving to a hillbilly state where I can slap a carburetor on something and call it good.
Will CA actually allow you to swap a GM motor into a Ford?
 

Craig0320

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Honestly I get tired of that suggestion. I'm looking for real solutions within the constraints of CA legal swaps. I'm not moving to a hillbilly state where I can slap a carburetor on something and call it good.
Mines fuel injected thank you very much. ?
 

snoranger

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Ramcharger90

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Someone needs to put a built LA block 360ci with a nice whiplash cam etc. In there.
 

Ramcharger90

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Doing an engine swap in California.

Step 1: Move out of California.
I dont think those California IP addresses should even be able to post these questions. Lol the amount of server space with just "can I swap this into this CA" LMR isnt even legally allowed to ship anything but OEM type parts to CA.
 

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