1984 V-6 2.9 to 302 swap heads and cam??

[joey0229]

Hello...
I have a 84 ranger which currently has the 2.9 carburated V-6. and the 5 speed manual transmission. I recently picked up a 302 (Throttle body injection) out of an 84 grand marquis , but it didn't come with a harness or computer so the plan is to convert back to 4 barrel carb, for the fuel system. the plan is to do a complete rebuild from the crank up, seals, bearings..etc. I'm looking to do a couple small upgrades during that process. i.e... bigger cam, heads or head work, bola or edlebrock exhaust and a 4 barrel carb and carb intake obviously, along with lots of other small upgrades and new parts here and there. Im going to afghanistan soon so the build will have to wait till I get back... but I need to get started on the research..

the question I have is, to those who have done a V-8 swap, what is your advise?

what cam size is good but not to much ?

should I do head work or just do new heads.. and what about taking heads off another truck ?

would my stock trans hold up for a while or no?

Thanks for yalls time ! looking forward to this build !

 

[cody93]

your gona wana replace the transmission, because 1, they wont fit, 2 the v8 will gernade it.

as far as upgrades, some of the best OEM heads are the ones in 90's mustangs and explorers, there called the GT40 n GT40p heads..

 

[BLOODBANE]

Still some unanswered questions. main one is what are you gonna use it for. Wheeling, street/strip, etc. That will really help determine what cam you want. In mine I went with the Lunati VooDoo cam with a 351 profile (low rpm, high torque)Since mine was a 69 block and I had a set of 68 heads I choose to have my heads rebuilt. I sent my cam specs sheet in with them and had everything matched, with the understanding that they are going on a 347 Stroker. (the heads changed in 69. Bigger combustion chamber. Mine being 68 heads=smaller combustion chamber. ) I am getting around 10:1 compression because of this (around 425 hp out of the stroker). I also only went with Weiand intake. (Im running a QuadraJet now, but started with the Holley Pro-Jection 2D kit). Make sure this also matches what your cam can handle, dont over induct your engine. Bigger is not always best. As you can see mine is built so everything works together, and I didnt really get crazy on parts (only about 8k in the total build price).

As far as your stock trans I dont think they will even bolt up (different bellhousing patterns) I went with a C-6, which is overkill, but I will never kill it, even being stock it would be tough to hurt it (I did add a B&M torqueMaster TorqueConverter). A TK5 would be a good candidate for a 5 spd. You8 could always find a AOD if you wanted overdrive. Your stock T-case (if 4x4) will hold up and there are different vendors with adapters (if just a 2 wheel drive, add your driveshaft and done, but you may want to upgrade that rear axle to a 8.8) The 7.5 can handle a moderate amount of power, but I never trusted mine (I went with Explorer axles. Explorer 8.8 is 31 spline where the Ranger 8.8 were only 28. If 4x4 all D35s are the same).

As you can see there are a lot of things to take into consideration. I think your on the right track though. I did a ton of research before I did mine and back then, there werent a lot around (back in 99/2000), and of course I used parts that others didnt (C-6/Dana 20 combo in a 4x4)
Be safe when you get over there and get back home safe. Thank You for what you do.