Better Donor Vehicle?

thebiga · Feb 20, 2008

Hey guys, I am working on gathering my parts to drop a 5.0 in my 2WD. I have the ability to get an 88 Grand Marquis or a Late 80's F-150 as a donor. I would rather use the F-150 because the motor has less mileage, and it is also cheaper.
But, is it possible to use the automatic from an F-150 in the ranger, since it looks bigger to me, but I'm not 100% sure if it is. Also does anyone know if there's a big difference in the wiring harnesses between a car and truck. Thanks.

mudnsnow · Feb 20, 2008

Look on the tech library under v-8 swap you will have plenty of info about this kind of swap. I,m doing a swap me too on my 83 4x4 ranger, the donor his a full size Bronco(same mechanicsthan a F-serie truck) and the tranny going in with no problem( i have 3 inch body lift).For the wiring i've just remove all the wiring from the Ranger and put all the wiring from the bronco. The only mod i have to do to the wiring is change some connector but the wire color are all th same. I think if you want to built a 2WD truck and don't want to add lift to your truck a the car is the better donor vehicle.

baddad457 · Feb 20, 2008

The 88 Marquis 5.0 has the advantage of being a roller cammed motor, with the dual sump pan you'll need fort he swap, but the HP ratings are in the dirt at 150HP. The F series 5.0 is basically the same motor as the Stang 5.0, but has cast pistons (no big deal there vs the forged Stang pistons) and will have a flat tappet cam in the roller block. The F series oilpan won't fit the Ranger.

red85 · Feb 20, 2008

The truck has better heads. The Marquis has a dual sump pan that you need for your swap. Trannies will both fit. As for the wiring, pull as much of the donor harness as you can. What are you using for exhaust manifolds?

thebiga · Feb 21, 2008

Thanks guys, I was leaning toward the grand marquis as well, unfortunately, the truck would be a little more convenient. As for the headers, I was planning on using a set that I found through Hedman. Anyone know of any flaws with that plan, or will they be ok?

mhughes165 · Feb 21, 2008

if they are the hedman conversion headers they work just fine. th IDEAL donor vehicle would be a automatic mustang, but i would combine your donor parts from both vehicles if i were u, truck enigne, gm trans and oilpan, just my .02

baddad457 · Feb 22, 2008

The Hedman 89500's (that's the Ranger swap headers) have issues with the right side collector dumping straight into the axle under it. You may or may not like that aspect. I didn't. And if you use the big starter, the header has to come off to remove it. The Hedman 88400 headers are a better fit. As are the Shelby tri-Y's for the early Stangs, if you use a 157 tooth bellhousing. With a 164 tooth bell, they need tweaking to fit.

Hate For State · Feb 24, 2008

The James Duff Headers fit my 4x4 nicely.

red85 · Feb 24, 2008

I run 89500's on my truck and I had to modify the pass side header to clear my big starter (for a FS Bronco). I can actually remove the starter without removing the header. I also made a special collector to clear the I beam with a 90 degree exhaust bend. Relatively easily done but Tri Y's are the way to go. If I can find a set of tri y's, my 89500's are going on ebay.

thebiga · Feb 29, 2008

Does anyone know what company makes the tri y headers? I found a set on ebay from patriot and some older sets from some mustang places and just curious if any specific ones are needed. I thought at one time i had read that these headers don't work with the aod in the ranger, but am i wrong about that? Thanks

Better Donor Vehicle?

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