203/205 doubler in a ranger?

[fordtrucknut77]

the reason the body is moving around is because of the body lift and my big right foot, there are several of the bolts you can obviously see are sideways. therefore my reasoning for wanting to remove the thing. and just what do you mean by * hanging the weight off the front of the motor*?

 

[Mudhound]

Oh, okay. I didn't know that you had bent/loose bolts on the bodylift. When I said that you would be hanging the weight from the front of the motor, I am referring to having to lift the motor/tranny combo by the front end of the motor to be able to get the tranny to clear the radius arm mount crossmember, even with the tranny adapter removed it is still a tight fit.
Here are a couple of pix,to give you an idea of the lack of room:

Now, with a B/L, you will have extra space, of course, but it will still be close, I'd say.

 

[fordtrucknut77]

ok i understand now lol...is there any reason you cant install the trans and transfer after the engine is in ( from underneath like a normal trans swap)?

 

[fordtrucknut77]

and oh yea my radius arm crossmember went the way of the scrap pile when the front 44 went in

 

[Mudhound]

Well, with the radius arm Xmember gone, that DEFFINATELY makes things easier. Now, you can do it like a normal swap. I would, however, at least mount the bellhousing on the block to aid in locating the motor, front/rear. Oh, and maybe take a hard look at the pinch seam right above the top of the tranny, just to make sure that it will clear...

 

[Mudhound]

Oh, and as for trying to install the tranny from under, on my truck anyhow, I had NO room to get the T-18 over the Xmember, into the bell, and still keep a jack under it. The Xcase is not that hard to do, along with the adapter.

 

[buildinabeast]

I thought that I would stop in a give you my $.02. I am in the process of doing the exacpt same swap into my '84 B2. I have just finished hanging my HP Dana 44 up front and have the 5.0 on the engine stand. (I moved my front axle forward about 3"). And I am planning on moving the rear axle back about 3-4". I have a 3" bl and it makes a huge difference in the clearance issue (I had quit a bit of room when I did the mock up). The Bl makes a huge difference. You may need to get a bell housing from an F150 (not '88 though) that was bolted to a straight 6 or 5.0. I did becasue the bolt pattern on my NP435 bell housing was not the same as the 5.0. I will post a new build thread here soon with some pics. As I haven't added to my old one in a few months. Feel free to PM with any questions you have. I am still trying to work out all of the speed bumps in the way too.