351 w into 95-2003 ranger

[Cbibb]

Hey guys just joined and have been reading alot of your great articles. My dad gave me a 1993 f150 long bed that has a brand new 351. New e4od transmission and the rear end has been rebuilt. But the body and interior are very rough. I would love to drop everything into a ranger. Seeing that 95-2003 are the best years to swap. I can fab and weld.

I see that I will have to massage the heater box and do some fab work on the exhaust to clear the steering box. Those are not a problem. I do want to keep ac and heat. Are the body harnesses separate from the engine? Would it be easy to.keep ac and heat?

I will have the entire wiring harness. Ecu everything from the f150. If possible I would like to stay efi but not opposed to carb if needed.

I assume the f150 rear will be too wide for the ranger unless it's narrowed (not worth it). Looks like the explorer rear is a popular swap and if i understand correctly is a little wider. But i assume wheel offset can take up for that??

I also understand the oil pan issue. I'm pretty sure the f150 pan is dual sump (not.near it currently). Would that work for the ranger?

Any advice/guidance is greatly appreciated!

 

[Cbibb]

Should also note my f150 is 2 wheel drive and would like to stay 2wd with the ranger

 

[19Walt93]

I put a 351 from a 95 F150 into my 93 Ranger with a C4 and a Mustang II 8 inch rear- because I had all 3 pieces. I used a carb so I could have instant throttle response. I don't know if the factory plenum would clear the hood. My truck was gutted out when I got it so I used a Vintage Air heat/a-c/defrost system to retain a flat firewall. At 40 degrees in the rain, the defrost is crappy because the system recirculates inside air. Probably won't be a problem in Florida. You'll have to do some major tweaking to get an e4OD under the tunnel. I used some swap meet exhaust manifolds with 66 Galaxie numbers on them but I think 289 hipo manifolds might fit, too. I'd look into your states rules before you spend money. NH does OBD II emissions testing on 96 and newer so the VIN in the PCM has to match the VIN on the registration. A tech could inspect it without noticing the VIN mismatch but he'll end up in a DOT hearing and probably lose his inspection license.

 

[19Walt93]

If you go with a carb- don't use a Pertronix distributor like I did at first. The centrifugal advance didn't begin until the engine was held at 2000 rpms for 8 seconds. I sent it to Pertronix twice, they said it was OK so Summit took it back for full credit and I bought a new off shore Duraspark distributor from Napa.
If you're happy with a shiny turd, Pertronix is just the ticket.

 

[Cbibb]

Thank you for all the info. Pics look great! Sounds like a killer build! The more research I do I may just end up swapping this 351/e4od into a rcsb f150 and do the 302 swap for the ranger. I definitely don't mind doing some fab work but don't feel like building a complete truck right now. Just finished my turbo silverado. Bet your truck is a blast to drive!