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I swore never again....


91stranger

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if you don't go with a 2.9 then I would see about putting a 4 bolt chevy 350 in it. They are tough, decent power and cheap AF. You can get these for a dime a dozen and i'm sure someone has info for swapping it. I think theres a chevy 350 in just about any make and model.... They can make one fit in a frickin fiero lol.
 


PetroleumJunkie412

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if you don't go with a 2.9 then I would see about putting a 4 bolt chevy 350 in it. They are tough, decent power and cheap AF. You can get these for a dime a dozen and i'm sure someone has info for swapping it. I think theres a chevy 350 in just about any make and model.... They can make one fit in a frickin fiero lol.

How much experience do you have with the swap you're suggesting?
 

85_Ranger4x4

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How much experience do you have with the swap you're suggesting?
Its so easy a caveman @RangerFabWorks can do it!

V8 swap no matter the breed is going to cost about the same to do. You can dumb luck yourself into deals if you are lucky. You will be hard pressed to have that happen if you want to get it running in the near future. Not near as cheap, easy or as quick as plugging in a 2.9 or swapping in a 4.0.

Right now you just need an engine and maybe a y-pipe. You go V8 you are going to need a transmission, transfer case, driveshafts, cooling system (different radiator/fans/hoses) and full exhaust added to your shopping cart. Then whatever you need to get fuel and fire to work, dizzy, carb etc. Don't forget incidentals like hose clamps, hoses, spark plugs, gaskets etc (you ain't gonna just poke in your $100 greaseball are you?)

And then your D28 front axle won't be long for this world so you are going to be thinking about swapping that and the little 7.5's future is going to keep you awake at night too...

It is a viscous cycle... :icon_twisted:
 
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sheep herder

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Its so easy a caveman @RangerFabWorks can do it!

V8 swap no matter the breed is going to cost about the same to do. You can dumb luck yourself into deals if you are lucky. You will be hard pressed to have that happen if you want to get it running in the near future. Not near as cheap, easy or as quick as plugging in a 2.9 or swapping in a 4.0.
He did it with a 2wd. 4x4 (which is what the OP has) is gonna be a bit more complicated.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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He did it with a 2wd. 4x4 (which is what the OP has) is gonna be a bit more complicated.
I added to it. I am not really familiar with how a SBC fits (engine is a little bigger than a 302, I am unsure of oil pan and header fit/choices which will vary slightly 2wd to 4wd and swap to swap for that matter) but after that you can get a drivers side drop t-case out of an IFS truck and the rest of the legos should more or less fit similar to a SBF swap.
 

franklin2

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A v8 swap, no matter what brand, is doable. I just see it as a large clunky over powered engine in a small vehicle. And a gas hog. I have a herd of vehicles, and find myself always using the smallest one that will do the job. The smaller vehicles have the smaller engines and better fuel economy. A v8 swap may make a fun play toy, I am not against that. But I daily drive my vehicles, and I can see me tending not to use a small vehicle with a over sized engine in it very much for everyday use.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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A v8 swap, no matter what brand, is doable. I just see it as a large clunky over powered engine in a small vehicle. And a gas hog. I have a herd of vehicles, and find myself always using the smallest one that will do the job. The smaller vehicles have the smaller engines and better fuel economy. A v8 swap may make a fun play toy, I am not against that. But I daily drive my vehicles, and I can see me tending not to use a small vehicle with a over sized engine in it very much for everyday use.
Actually if done right a V8 swap will compete pretty handily with a V6 for fuel efficiency.

For power, most stockish older V8's are well below what new midsize trucks have so it isn't like it is stupid easy to burn tires off at every stoplight and the McDonald's drivethru. I figure I am around 200hp, the new Ranger is at 280 and most of the other midsizes are around 300hp.
 
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franklin2

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Actually if done right a V8 swap will compete pretty handily with a V6 for fuel efficiency.

For power, most stockish older V8's are well below what new midsize trucks have so it isn't like it is stupid easy to burn tires off at every stoplight and the McDonald's drivethru. I figure I am around 200hp, the new Ranger is at 280 and most of the other midsizes are around 300hp.
I know what you guys are doing. You are putting in a v8 in were a 4 cyl or 6cyl was, that has 3.73 ratio rearends in it. Any vehicle with a 302 and 3.73 gearing is going to be fun and have a lot of get up and go. I doubt fuel mileage will be that great. Most v8 Ford cars had a 2.75 or 3.00 gears in them, I don't know what optional rearends they made for the mustangs, maybe a 3.23?
 

Rick W

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I appreciate the help, and the passion.

Having been a car nut for 50+ years, and having had many zany as well as cherry vehicles, my first desire would be a late 80s 5.0 Lincoln 302 with the mustang top end like my two Town Cars. I know that means different tranny down the line, all more $$$. I’m at a different point in life and this is a way way budget project. I’ve got the money, that’s not an issue, but this truck isn’t where I’d spend it.

first, I think the rest of the running gear is ok, but I really don’t know. I have no need for a black hole no matter how cool it seams. Second, if I was going to do a cool project, many other options ahead of this. This just fell in my lap. I have done some exotic swaps when I was younger (283 in a chevy luv truck, and a 400 small block in a Datsun 260z) but I’m at a different time in my life. This is a fun little bug to play with, and all my other wheels are big gas (or diesel) hogs. So, with everyone’s advice (appreciated) I’ll have my guy pull the heads on mine, see how bad it is, ang go from there.

to give you an idea of my expectations, if I can’t find a lower mileage used 2.9, & if the heads are ok, I’ll probably get a short block, get it running, and then see how the rest of the running gear is. If it’s good, I’ll spring for a deluxe bottom-end MAACO paint job (no more Earl Sheib in Atl), and if it’s so-so, I’ll get a $20 can of rustoleum and a couple paint brushes from the dollar store. Better than a rat rod, but not by much....

I’ll keep you posted when my new-dad mechanic comes back to work. I’m pretty sure it’ll be a used 2.9 or short block, and then go from there....
 

85_Ranger4x4

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I know what you guys are doing. You are putting in a v8 in were a 4 cyl or 6cyl was, that has 3.73 ratio rearends in it. Any vehicle with a 302 and 3.73 gearing is going to be fun and have a lot of get up and go. I doubt fuel mileage will be that great. Most v8 Ford cars had a 2.75 or 3.00 gears in them, I don't know what optional rearends they made for the mustangs, maybe a 3.23?
Actually most 302 (or older engine powered vehicles) are kind of weak by modern standards anyway.

Most V8 Ford cars had crap gears because they didn't have overdrive. I get the same or better mpg as most 4.0's with my carbed V8 swap with 3.73's running 1500rpm, high teens. For a lifted brick on mud tires I am happy with it.

I was just saying that for all the reasons not to do a V8 swap (and I have been no big proponent of it in this thread) fuel economy doesn't have to be one of them.
 

PetroleumJunkie412

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I appreciate the help, and the passion.

Having been a car nut for 50+ years, and having had many zany as well as cherry vehicles, my first desire would be a late 80s 5.0 Lincoln 302 with the mustang top end like my two Town Cars. I know that means different tranny down the line, all more $$$. I’m at a different point in life and this is a way way budget project. I’ve got the money, that’s not an issue, but this truck isn’t where I’d spend it.

first, I think the rest of the running gear is ok, but I really don’t know. I have no need for a black hole no matter how cool it seams. Second, if I was going to do a cool project, many other options ahead of this. This just fell in my lap. I have done some exotic swaps when I was younger (283 in a chevy luv truck, and a 400 small block in a Datsun 260z) but I’m at a different time in my life. This is a fun little bug to play with, and all my other wheels are big gas (or diesel) hogs. So, with everyone’s advice (appreciated) I’ll have my guy pull the heads on mine, see how bad it is, ang go from there.

to give you an idea of my expectations, if I can’t find a lower mileage used 2.9, & if the heads are ok, I’ll probably get a short block, get it running, and then see how the rest of the running gear is. If it’s good, I’ll spring for a deluxe bottom-end MAACO paint job (no more Earl Sheib in Atl), and if it’s so-so, I’ll get a $20 can of rustoleum and a couple paint brushes from the dollar store. Better than a rat rod, but not by much....

I’ll keep you posted when my new-dad mechanic comes back to work. I’m pretty sure it’ll be a used 2.9 or short block, and then go from there....
Keep it stoc, shove a fresh cam and good lifters in it, flush the oil, run something with racing in the name has enough ZDDP in it to keep cam alive. Low zddp oil kills.

Have your guy thoroughly check your coolant passages with a long metal rod. Every 2.9 block of mine has had casting sand left behind pistons 3 and 6. If I had to guess, it's why they blew heads.

Ii got mine out with soda blast and electrolysis. It's covered in my 1988 build thread. Cheap and easy stuff. I pulled casting flash 1/2 around out of mine as well. And it ran dependibly for 32 years and 285,000 miles like that, and did NOT detonate a set of heads.

Good little motors. When fresh, will impress due to how light the chassis is.

Consider zerex, Motorcraft thermostat and cap, high flow if you're feeling frisky, and flush and backflush the crap out of the heater core and rad.

Catch can is a must. They like clean conditions. Crc gdi and turbo cleaner is good stuff. They took the good stuff out of peefoam. Doesn't do crap.

30 year old sensors get feeble. Do your homework and don't be afraid to ask for brand recommendations, most of us have been through them all and know what does and doesn't work.

I usually recommend a set of reman injectors. Link in said sticky to good cheap mom and pop. Merkur injectors are Bosch 4 hole in 1989iirc. Put a little more pep into it with atomization alone. Your call, but 30 years of ethanol plays hell.

Autos apparently make them a bit sluggish. Don't know. Haven't found one in PA that still works. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Tons of performance stuff if you follow the rabbit hole. There's a sticky with some of the sites I used for research in the 2.9 form. Kuntz Korner in the tech section. Did em all. Would recommend.

There's a ton of history in those engines. A few very successful performance companies (westlake, turbotechnics) were built on cologne 2.6/2.9. When kershaw built the Minker out of the 2.9 Sierra, he made them gods in their era. They would outrun the Lamborghini countach on the quarter; outcome on a track was driver dependent.

Sierra was the legacy for Cortina r/s 2600. They got it right.
 
Last edited:

bobbywalter

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How much for it like it sits?
 

bobbywalter

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My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
A v8 swap, no matter what brand, is doable. I just see it as a large clunky over powered engine in a small vehicle. And a gas hog. I have a herd of vehicles, and find myself always using the smallest one that will do the job. The smaller vehicles have the smaller engines and better fuel economy. A v8 swap may make a fun play toy, I am not against that. But I daily drive my vehicles, and I can see me tending not to use a small vehicle with a over sized engine in it very much for everyday use.
You sure about that.?.?.
 

Rick W

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4WD
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97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
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My credo
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Thanks again for all the pointers.

Everything you guys are talking about runs in my blood too, but again, different time in life, different desires and priorities.
If I can make this on run on the cheap, and the rest of the drive train is ok, it’ll be a toss up if I put the a/c back together (it’s called Hotlanta for a reason) vs A cheap paint job.

after we pull it apart, I’ll know which way I’m going. If I decide to stop, you guys
 

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