gtx0227's v8swap thread

hello everyone. my name is mike. i just turned 20.i just baught a 1996 ford ranger its a 3.0l v6 i believe honestly i baught it because it was cheap ( 300 bucks) the body is pretty straight,no major dents and the frame has a little bit of surface rust which will be sanded down and undercoated this summer . this is going to be my build thread. over the next 6-12 months( hopefully thats itl) i will be showcasing all the work me and my friends do to convert this beat up and torn up ranger to a street strip monster. any questions i will do my best to answer. i dont know how to weld but 3 of my good friends are welder fabricators and we are always building or wrenching on something.


here are 2 quick pictures i grabbed on my IPhone today.








here are this weekends plans. were going to take the front end off,removing the radiator and everything and pulling the motor and trans. maybe take the interior and dash out to who knows what we will get done.

their will be pictures everytime we get something done on the truck.

here's the plan for the truck.

Motor: something 351w based maybe boost, defiantly sprayed, PUMP GAS! we are aiming for 500-550 hp at the crank all pump gas its a street truck

trans:c4 or aod

suspension:
Front: mostly stock, lowered with drag shocks and springs
Rear: 4 link coil over

Rear: stock 8.8 narrowed and built

Interior: if its not needed its comming out,

Exterior: 4.5" race cowl hood, roll pan. everything else is gonna stay unless it needs to be changed or removed to lose weight

Wirering: stock harness with be removed and the truck will be rewired COMPLETELY from scratch so i dont have to deal with messing with the stock crap. its very time consuming but its defiantly the right way to do it in my opinion.

Gauges: All new Gauges including speedo and Tach i am not using a single factory gauge from this truck. all autometer stuff too just not sure which ones im going to go with yet.

any questions feel free to ask. any comments are appreciated if you guys have an idea to make the truck better or to help me with my build please speak up, if you think im doing something wrong please speak up! thank you for your time guys and please wish me luck!

I forgot to add im located in south jersey.

gtx0227 said:

Wirering: stock harness with be removed and the truck will be rewired COMPLETELY from scratch so i dont have to deal with messing with the stock crap. its very time consuming but its defiantly the right way to do it in my opinion.



any questions feel free to ask. any comments are appreciated if you guys have an idea to make the truck better or to help me with my build please speak up, if you think im doing something wrong please speak up!

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Are you talking about just the engine harness, or more?




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5.0 said:

Are you talking about just the engine harness, or more?




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nope everything. the truck is going to be build from the ground up by scratch

got some work this weekend,

front end is stripped down, all the fluids are dranned, exhaust is out, trans mounts and crossmember bolts are all broken loose, radiator is out. then my back started acting up. i have 3 bad disc and it acts up at times. thats why this build is gonna take me so long. here's some pictures guys.









hopefully one night this week if my backs alright the motor and trans will come out and i can start cutting and removing stuff

Looks good, one thing, an 8.8 will explode at the sight of 550 HP, you need a narrowed 9in

Bennybooster said:

Looks good, one thing, an 8.8 will explode at the sight of 550 HP, you need a narrowed 9in

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if you build the 8.8 right it will hold the power.

sorry guys i had some personial issues to deal with and i had to go away for a while. now im back and home. but i am not allowed to work, i have some health issues that im dealing with i have 2 bolding disc a narrowed disc, arthritus in my spine, nerve damage, and now disc problems with my neck, so i dont have much money to work on my ranger but i have the time now. hopefully this weekend we can get the truck to my house and i can get that thing pulled. i scored a 86 roller long block 302 cid with a c4 trans ( was a working drivetrain untill removed) for 200 bucks, it looks clean and im just gonna freshen up the motor and get it in the truck so i have something to drive around and toy with for now.

now does anyone have any tips for me on what will make it easier on myself to get the motor and trans out. i have plenty of time on my hands. plans are to remove motor,trans, dash, interior, wirering harness, pull the bed off, so i can clean up the frame, undercoat it and run all the wirering, fuel lines, and all that fun stuff over the next few weeks. any tips?


sorry for the mis-spelled words guys.