Cost Breakdown

It's understood that there are too many variables to accurately arrive at a ballpark price for swapping in a v-8. With that aside, list what you have done in your swap... 2 wheel or 4 wheel, manual or auto ect... what did it cost for YOUR swap and where was most of the money spent ect...

1997 2wd Ranger 2.3 wif a 5 speed, swapped in a 5.0 HO with an AOD. Both the engine and trans were good, so I just yanked them from the donor car and put em in the Ranger. My build was done as cheap as I could do it.


$400 for the donor car, a '92 Thunderbird. From the Thunderbird I used the engine, transmission, computer, wiring harness, gas pedal cable, floor shifter and cable.

$160 for some headers

$700 for exhaust

$Free radiator from a '91 Supercoupe

$20 junkyard electric fan

used the factory driveshaft

$40 for fuel line

some small $$$ was spent on things like gaskets, fuel pump block off plate for the EGR, hoses, belt, etc...


.

96 ranger 4x4 auto, got my donor (96 explorer AWD) for $700, used engine, trans, tcase, ECU, engine and trans harnesses. It didn't have the exhaust on it, otherwise I would have used it (the Y pipe). $100 for the Y pipe at the exhaust shop, $70 cooling fans, $50 oil filter relocation kit, $20 new oil pump pickup tube, free oil pan, re-used the 4.0L motor mounts...I got $564 back from scrapping the donor. I didn't need new valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, thermostat, but while I had the engine out, I went ahead and changed them now so I didn't have to change them later as well as more work involved...
Donor $700
Exhaust $100
Fans $70
Filter relocation kit $50
Pickup tube $18.00
Oil pan gasket $ 18.00
Valve cover gasket $ 30.00
Rear main Seal $ 12.00
Lower Rad hose $12.00
Thermostat $8.00
$1,018 total up front, $454 total cost for the swap. Would I do it again, HELL YEAH!! Read my build thread, the complete V8 swap is covered in detail in the first post
SVT

Engine I traded for a 351M & C6, but rebuilt with forged pistons and a B303 cam, also installed GT40 heads. Holley Carb, dual plane intake, new duraspark dist. ARP bolts in the rods also and engine is balanced.
150A 1-wire alternator
New PS Pump
New FEAD
Aluminum pulleys
($$$$$$$)

Reused MSD TFI-IV coil
Reused stock throttle cable w/ some mods
Reused 2-row 4.0L radiator I had
Motor Mounts & Headers $200
Oil filter relocation kit $90 used (dual filter, stainless braided line)
Lokar SRK-4000 & TV Cable Kit for AOD & Carb ~$100
Return style fuel pressure regulator - $60
Fittings for Spring-Loks to regulator ($30 I think)
Driveshaft $280 for a complete brand new one

Include new fluids, wiring, tools, hoses (coolant, ps, etc), filters, hard trans lines, etc, etc, etc all of this adds up for sure. Just go until it's done. So much that I can't remember everything. All depends on your goals, what you have lying around, and who you know. Some claim to have done it for $10, others it has not been so cheap. I traded my old 2.9L engine and A4LD trans for another AOD and 5.0L (trust me, the person I traded got a hell of a deal).

Calculate your budget, then double it.

1993 standard cab ranger: $1000
Tool Box: $100
Flat Bed: $150
Wheels tires: $650
Suspension rebuild: $500
8.8 build/trak loc/axles/gears: $650
fuel system: $250
Built WC T5: $1000
Centerforce Clutch Assembly: $450
Clutch pedal mod/quadrant/cable: $250
Crate motor: $7500
Headers: $350
Exhaust: $200
Accessory drives/pulleys/PS/Alt: $500
Radiator: $350
Relocated battery and -2GA cables: $325
hoses and oil filter kit: $100
Synthetic dope, oil and ATF: $130
Blower Holley/Air Filter/throttle stuff: $1200
Mallory dist: $400
head liner/carpet/seat covers: $400
gages: $450
Drive shaft/joints: $150
Paint: $30
Electric fan: $100
Grant Steering Wheel and adapter: $125
Mallory ignition noise suppressor: $50
Fire Extinguisher: $20
Blower and related parts $5000
$3 gallon for gas at 12 -14 mpg or less
Basically a new truck.... Daily driver for fall, winter, spring....
Total ~$22,380 Don't tell her....
My original swap,,, many many years ago was done for under 1000 but the truck was beat, donor was beat, 84 merc cougar, ran for a long time, not much power, smoked, bad mileage, leaked oil, leaked coolant, loud, over heated all the time, just wore out...

94 Ranger $500
2000 Explorer 5.0 $240
Rebuilt the 5.0 with performance parts $800
Ford E-cam (Already had)
GT40 heads w/1.7 Cobra roller rockers (Already had)
Comp cams valve springs and componets
Mustang oil pan, pick up(already had) & mellings pump
All new gaskets, rings & bearings
24# injectors $25
73mm mass air meter for 24# inj. $50
Tri-Y headers $160
Magnaflo cats $160
Flomaster mufflers (Already had)
Exhaust installed $250
Oil relocator set up #80
89 Mustang harness & A9L computer(Already had)
2000 4R70W trans $80
Rebuild it with;
alto clutches & koleen steels
Kevalar band
Better 1-2 servo
upgraded boost valves
Trans-go recalibration kit
New converter $600 for all above
Baumann trans controller system $470
shorten driveshaft rebalance w/new U-joint
& add correct yoke for the 4R70W trans $125
8.8 LS from a 97 Ranger w/3.55 gears & 31 spline axles $40
97 4.0 HD radiator $60
About $3660 not including alot of small misc. stuff that I needed for the swap.

fordmike1 said:

Baumann trans controller system

Click to expand...

Nice.

gsp said:

Nice.

Click to expand...

You really want to know what nice is?
I found one of these systems at the wrecking yard and got it all for $25 dollars . I wish I would have found it about 6 months earlier before I bought a brand new one .

1988 BRONCOII chevy 350, manual transmission

$400-donor truck from classifieds which provided:
engine (complete accessories, mounts etc)
transmission (muncie sm465 with 6.55:1 low gear)
transfercase (np205 gear-to-gear)
radiator
both driveshafts

also included parts for sas:
12 bolt full width rear diff
dana 44 full width front diff
full steering components
front and rear leaf springs
shock absorbers

and parts to "spruce" it up
$100-new clutch
$30 -new radiator hoses
$60 -rear driveshaft shortening
$60 -new slip-yokes and u-joints
$80 -new flow-tech headers
$60 -new cherry-bomb turbo mufflers

and un-necesarry "improvements" to the engine:
$500 -machine work/rebuild parts
$1000-holley fuel injection system
$100 -serpentine drive from newer truck on classifieds (to replace v-belts)

so $730 in the bare minimum parts and about $2400 including un-necesarry upgrades

This thread got me thinking, so I dug up all of my receipts. I had no idea that I had spent this much money on my Ranger in the last few years.

1990 S-Cab 4X4 w/ 302 & C-4

$2,500 - Buy Truck from Family - Conversion done, but very messy

I started out wanting to change the cam, clean up all the loose ends (patched together hose clamps and stuff), and dress it up a little. One thing led to another, and needless to say I did more than I had planned on. Anyways, here is my list.
$200 - Lunati Cam
$90 - Edelbrock Valve Covers
$26+28 - Breathers
$93 - Edelbrock Air Cleaner
$400 - James Duff Ceramic Coated Headers
$80 - Lokar locking Dipstick
$80 - SS Bolt Kit
$380 - Edelbrock Air-Gap Manifold
$18 - Braided SS Heater hoses
$60+24 - Braided SS Radiator Hoses and Brackets
$96+50 - Holley Throttle Bracket and Kickdown
$26+17+12+10 - SS Vacuum Fittings
$165 - SS T-Stat Housing

Then I decided to take off the converted Chevy ignition crap and put on a proper Ford style ignition.
$240 - Mallory Distributor
$72 - Coil
$260 - Ignition Box
$65 - Polished Wire Looms
$48 - Plug Wires
$27 - Distributor Clamp
$16 - Ballast Resistor

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I decided that I might as well clean up all the crap that was being used for serpentine belt and engine accessories.
$580 - March Serpentine Pully Kit
$250 - ARG Power Steering Pump
$15 - Custom Power Steering Hoses
$140 - Alternator
$266 - Polished Edelbrock Water Pump
$143 - Timing Cover

I also decided that my cooling fan was not working very effectively, so I pulled it off and put in an electric fan setup.
$260? - Dual Spal Pusher Fans
$206 - B&M Tranny cooler and auto fan under bed
$35 - Custom fan shroud
$20 - Radiator cap
$35 - High flow thermostats

Other Miscellaneous Stuff:
$110 - New starter
$73 - Battery Relocation Kit
$15 - Battery Lugs for Jumper cables with Battery re-located
$42 - Lokar Throttle Cable
$105 - Billet Fuel Pressure Regulator
$42 - Fuel Pressure gauge
$53 - Tach
$300 - Valve Job and Plane the Heads
$90 - Water Pump (1st Time)
$66 - Lokar Kick down
$70? - Rubber Material for Inner Fender Skirting
$350? - New Exhaust from headers back
$??? - Misc Gaskets, Clamps, Paint, and Stuff

-------------------------------------------------------

Making this list has made me sick to my stomach. I was thinking that I had spent around $3K, but when you total it all up, it's closer to double that number. The really sick part about it is that I lost a head gasket a couple of weeks ago, and a lot of this work has to be re-done now. I'm about ready to sell the whole project.

I guess this list was mostly for my own benefit, but it should be a good illustration of what you can spend if you really get into it. One thing definitely leads to another. I think the best advice in this thread it to take whatever estimate you have and double it.

That's a great example. People think I'm nuts when I say I spent close to ten grand on the swap. That's how it happens!

No way am I totaling up my receipts!

$1200 truck going on 11 years ago. Setup for a carb from the factory, converted to Duraspark by me several years ago (V8 ignition will be plug and play)

Truck is 4x4, 2.8 with the floor shift A4LD, BW1350M t-case, D28 front and 7.5 rear.

Truck will be 4x4, 5.0, with floor shift C5, BW1350M t-case, D28 front (for the moment) and 8.8 rear.

Truck still sets in the same config as it always has been and the engine/trans/axle are waiting until spring.

Just going by memory (I do have a 3 ring binder at home with all my receipts on my current engine)

$200 '87 non HO roller 302, came with dual sump pan and serp belt setup
$200 or $250 V8 C5 with RBV C5 tailhousing installed, and shifter (didn't think to ask about the stinkin bezel though)
$50 oil pan gasket
$30 valve cover gasket
$10 front seal
$15 rear seal
$25 reman waterpump
$170 Weiand Stealth intake manifold
$60 reman Duraspark dizzy
$25 oil filter adaptors (I am going to make my own hoses)
$5 rotor
$15 adaptor ring
$20 distributor cap
$20 Edelbrock valve covers
$20 Mallery oil pump
$10 Mallery oil pump driveshaft
$30 Mallery oil pump pickup
$40 blue 9mm Ford Racing plug wires (cut to length)
$15 spark plug loom kit
$25 SN-95 Mustang motor mounts x2
$30 C5 Ranger transmission mount
$30 C5 Tranny filter
$40 Mr Gasket electric fuel pump
$10 aluminum water neck
$5 thermostat
$30 (might be high) new temp and oil pressure senders
$40 Cloyes double roller timing set
7x 10W-30 Motorcraft oil for about $3/qt, I got a couple extras to keep on hand.

Free 4.0 automatic Explorer radiator with a slow leak to check if it will keep it cool before I drop $200 on a new one.

$100 31 spline 3.73 8.8 L/S with disc brakes and leaf springs all out of an Explorer, not really part of the swap itself but something to keep in mind when adding power is putting it to the ground and not breaking stuff.

What I need to get yet:

$20 Edelbrock air filter housing/filter (to go with my valve covers)
$315 Edelbrock 1403 4bbl carburetor (or comparable used, 500cfm carbs are not that common used though...)
Accessory drivebelt
Power steering pump (tired of the whiner in the truck now)
?? some sort of fan and shroud
Driveshafts ??
Radiator hoses
Spark plugs
Possibly headers (if so it will be Hedman 88400's which are about $160)
True dual 2.25" exhaust - roughly $200 in pipe
$30 x2 Thrush glasspacks
$50 x2 stainless tips
Tranny fluid, dunno what that runs.
Going to try to use my Ranger alternator... hopefully it works.

Who knows what else will pop up...

It adds up quick and plan for misadventures

85_Ranger4x4 said:

$1200 truck going on 11 years ago. Setup for a carb from the factory, converted to Duraspark by me several years ago (V8 ignition will be plug and play)

Truck is 4x4, 2.8 with the floor shift A4LD, BW1350M t-case, D28 front and 7.5 rear.

Truck will be 4x4, 5.0, with floor shift C5, BW1350M t-case, D28 front (for the moment) and 8.8 rear.

Truck still sets in the same config as it always has been and the engine/trans/axle are waiting until spring.

Just going by memory (I do have a 3 ring binder at home with all my receipts on my current engine)

$200 '87 non HO roller 302, came with dual sump pan and serp belt setup
$200 or $250 V8 C5 with RBV C5 tailhousing installed, and shifter (didn't think to ask about the stinkin bezel though)
$50 oil pan gasket
$80 valve cover gasket
$10 front seal
$15 rear seal
$25 reman waterpump
$170 Weiand Stealth intake manifold
$60 reman Duraspark dizzy
$25 oil filter adaptors (I am going to make my own hoses)
$5 rotor
$15 adaptor ring
$20 distributor cap
$20 Edelbrock valve covers
$20 Mallery oil pump
$10 Mallery oil pump driveshaft
$30 Mallery oil pump pickup
$40 blue 9mm Ford Racing plug wires (cut to length)
$15 spark plug loom kit
$25 SN-95 Mustang motor mounts x2
$30 C5 Ranger transmission mount
$30 C5 Tranny filter
$40 Mr Gasket electric fuel pump
$10 aluminum water neck
$5 thermostat
$30 (might be high) new temp and oil pressure senders
$40 Cloyes double roller timing set
7x 10W-30 Motorcraft oil for about $3/qt, I got a couple extras to keep on hand.

Free 4.0 automatic Explorer radiator with a slow leak to check if it will keep it cool before I drop $200 on a new one.

$100 31 spline 3.73 8.8 L/S with disc brakes and leaf springs all out of an Explorer, not really part of the swap itself but something to keep in mind when adding power is putting it to the ground and not breaking stuff.

What I need to get yet:

$20 Edelbrock air filter housing/filter (to go with my valve covers)
$315 Edelbrock 1403 4bbl carburetor (or comparable used, 500cfm carbs are not that common used though...)
Accessory drivebelt
Power steering pump (tired of the whiner in the truck now)
?? some sort of fan and shroud
Driveshafts ??
Radiator hoses
Spark plugs
Possibly headers (if so it will be Hedman 88400's which are about $160)
True dual 2.25" exhaust - roughly $200 in pipe
$30 x2 Thrush glasspacks
$50 x2 stainless tips
Tranny fluid, dunno what that runs.
Going to try to use my Ranger alternator... hopefully it works.

Who knows what else will pop up...

It adds up quick and plan for misadventures

Click to expand...

Dude, you spent $80 on valve cover gaskets
SVT

RangerSVT said:

Dude, you spent $80 on valve cover gaskets
SVT

Click to expand...

Good call, not for sure where the $80 came from but I just checked online and it was $30 on their website for the steel reinforced rubber ones.

This is not mine but when cleaning out my old files found it. STranger's list, he was one of the first to do it in the later Ranger so he had to back-track several times for buying the wrong parts. Several other things not included here but total over $10K, basically all new parts that ran the cost up.
Dave

2000 Ranger Swap cost

Explorer Crate Motor M6007-X50 $2195
Motor mounts $80
GER AOD with 10” conv, 2800 stall $1200
Trans mount $45
Motor insulators $80
Explorer acc. Brackets $180
Explorer V-8 v-belt, idler, tensioner, pulleys, fan clutch, fan, PS,
Alt, Rad, fan shroud. $650
‘98’ computer $350‘98’ O2 sensor, trans extension haress rewired to ‘97’ harness $250
‘98’ supply/return lines $180
10” AN-6 line & adapters $120
2000 Explorer V-8 4 cat pipes $800
2000 Explorer V-8 O2 sensors (4) $180
2000 Explorer throttle cable $60
2000 Explorer AC hose
Alt plug $60
MAF plug $40
Custom drive shaft $150
B&M Mega shifter $190
8 Ft cable $45
Mososo return line $42
Custom “X” pipe $400
Exhaust over rear axel $200
(2) Edelbrock HD rpm mufflers $200
FMS headers $165
Weld in fitting for EGR $25 (wrong year header)
EGR pipe $50
TFS heads $1075
Comp Cam Rockers $250
TFS Push Rods $80
TFS Valve Covers $100
Blue Racer Cam $180
Gasket Set $100
24 Lb Injectors $200
75mm maf $190
75mm TB $200