Thanks Buddy!! I'd like to do a 5.0 swap but the only way I would is keep the AC... I haven't seen one with the AC still in place...
I'll be doing it soon hopefully. Got the 98 Explorer Donor, and the 86 Ranger with factory AC. I think the hardest part will be connecting the compressor to the system. I'll either have custom hoses made out of the original hose assembly, or get a conversion block for the compressor and get universal threaded style hoses made. The AC box can be modified to clear the valve cover, might take a little more work but it can be done. I also think the wiring will be pretty easy, doubt that the compressor cares what vehicle it is connected to as long as the clutch is told to engage and disengage. I'll let you know what I actually find out when I get to that stage of the build.
I was looking at my "Donor" car, it's a 95 t-bird with the 4.6, I notice the ac is all in the cab, with only 2 hose's coming through.
I would like to find a explorer that I could trade my t-bird for that has the 5.0 in it.
I was thinking about the Cobra thing, I think Mr Shelby would have put a small block 427 in it
If there is physically room for a 4.6L with A/C compressor, it doesn't matter where the rest of the system is located at in the T-bird. All you should need is the compressor and some line made as I mentioned above to mate it to the Ranger's stock system. The Explorer's 5.0L would fit a lot easier than the 4.6L, and would definitely fit with the compressor. If you wanted the Explorer to salvage the rest of the AC system from, don't bother, the explorer's A/C Heater box won't fit without major firewall modifications.
I don't think that Shelby would have gone so far as to install a 427 in a Ranger. Shelby's ford based offerings were more the exception than the rule. If you look at his ties with other car manufacturers you'll find that most of those vehicles didn't get the big engine install that he is so popular Ford in his Ford based vehicles (most of them were FWD too

). In fact, most of those vehicles simply had a hopped up factory engine and some suspension modifications. The only non-ford that really got a big engine up grade just so happened to also be the only Shelby truck, the Dodge Dakota. It was only the 89 model year which came stock with a 3.9L V6, he swapped in a 5.2L V8. From what I can tell the 5.2L was the small Dodge V8 at the time, though it was probably modified by Shelby before being installed. Based on this I think if he had built a Ranger it would be almost exactly what Mac has built except with a slightly beefed up 5.0L under the hood. He wouldn't have gone too wild on the engine mods because if he were building an 80s/90s Shelby Ranger, he would have been building a Mustang as well. We couldn't have a Shelby Ranger kicking a same year Shelby Mustang straight off the lot now could we. Of course I'm speaking hypothetically, hopefully it'll be many-many-many years before any of us can ask him what he would have done. I'm guessing the answer would be along the lines of: "Would have? Hell son, I did it, they just didn't like it. Couldn't have a pick-up that would kick their Mustang's ass."
They funny thing about the 427 cobras is that the 289 cobras were so much better, they had to beg people to buy the 427 cobras
I wouldn't want to have made the swap either. Granted I'd take a more modern 5.0L, or even a 4.6L, over the 289. Never drove a Cobra be it 289 or 427, but that's just extreme overkill. Enough so that I imagine the car was pretty hard to handle. It's almost like the GT-12, could you imagine trying to race that thing in Le Mans. I think the GT-12 will do fine in normal driving, but that kind of upgrade can kill track performance or just make the car unmanageable.