89-92 factory v8 ranger

[trusche]

i cant find anything about ford putting 302 engines in rangers. about 13 years ago an old man blacked out and crossed in front of me and ditched a 89-92 ranger that was white with ground effects. i helped him pull it out of the ditch and checked it for damage. under the hood was a quiet smooth running 302 that looked 100% original. the truck at the time wasnt very old. i have never heard or seen one since that was a factory 302.

 

[Jim Oaks]

It was swapped in:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/V8Conversions.html

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/AAInstructions.html

The only Ranger I know of that Ford put a V-8 in was a 1988 GT model using a 1987 Mustang 5.0 HO motor. It was a concept that never came to be.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

Ford did 1 or 2 302 Ranger prototypes. They were going to show it/them to the press as test mules but one caught on fire in the engine compartment. Ford soon did a recall on some 302 powered cars for a fuel line or something that could fail and cause a fire.

 

[Mac]

Ford has also done a couple of late model ones using the 4.6 and 5.4, just as show trucks/engineering projects. I still have a scanned list of the parts that Ford used in that '89' prototype.
Dave

 

[281Ranger]

Sometimes these concept/testmule vehicles get out to the public. The auto makes also like to get their concept/testmule vehicles out in the real world.

When doing research on the prototype intake I have on my Ranger, I found out that of the five '93 Mustangs Ford put a 4.6 dohc in, two escaped the crusher. One was sold to a race team and has disappeared. The other ended up in the hands of a gentleman I talked with. He gave me alot of info and emailed me some pics. It now sits in his buddy's collection.

Back in the mid-'80s, a buddy of mine was talking to a couple guys who had a Fiero GT at a gas station. Turned out they worked for Pontiac and the Fiero had a Buick GN V6 complete with turbo. They were out for a little drive. Detroit to Denver, that's some "little drive".


The Ranger that trusche describes sounds just like the picks I've seen of the factory built V8 Ranger. It is possible he saw that truck, unless someone knows for sure it was destroyed by Ford.

Greg

 

[Bent Bolt]

There was a mid 80's Ford LTD ( the smaller one ) that used to come into the shop I worked at in the late 90's. 4 door, plain interior,auto and a HO 5.0L. Factory installed. Had all the right emission stickers and the VIN said 5.0.

After seeing that, I think just about any reasonable combination is possible.

 

[Totalled]

The LTD LX was legit. The V8 ranger was a concept.

 

[Turbo-T]

There was a time when you could get just about anything you wanted in a vehicle. It was a matter of asking the right poeple. I worked for a Cadillac dealer in '69. I asked the sales manager if I could get one with a 4 speed. He said "yes, it's a $500 option". I was making $70 a week at the time. Sigh.
I've seen a mid '80's T,bird with a 351W in it. It was documented as 1 of 5 Ford built.

 

[Wanderer]

It was swapped in:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/V8Conversions.html

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/AAInstructions.html

The only Ranger I know of that Ford put a V-8 in was a 1988 GT model using a 1987 Mustang 5.0 HO motor. It was a concept that never came to be.

I peronally have seen 2 white GT's (ground effects and all) with the 5.0's in them...I think it was a custom job by a shop like Roush or someone...kinda like the convertable B2 and the camper B2..

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

There was a time when you could get just about anything you wanted in a vehicle. It was a matter of asking the right poeple. I worked for a Cadillac dealer in '69. I asked the sales manager if I could get one with a 4 speed. He said "yes, it's a $500 option". I was making $70 a week at the time. Sigh.
I've seen a mid '80's T,bird with a 351W in it. It was documented as 1 of 5 Ford built.

My dad special ordered a '76 Volare Roadrunner, he told them he wanted a 360 and a 4sd, they said no the 360 only comes with the auto. He told them to forget it then. They called him up and said they can do it, and he watched them drive it off the truck before he picked it up, however according to the records they never made on like that.

 

[BigOil]

So i live in Alberta, Canada. and today something very weird happened. i was driving down the road when i was flagged down by some guy on the side of the road, i pulled over and he asked me if i could give him a boost. being the friendly Canadian i am i said yes and followed him to his ranger. when he popped the hood of the ranger i couldn't help but look at what sized motor was in it. On the valve cover to my surprise read 5.0 liter. the motor looked like it was installed from factory and when i asked if it was his wife told me the everything was stock from factory. I asked her if she was willing to sell the truck and she said yes, she was asking $4000 for the truck. I'm kicking myself in the ass for not asking the year of the truck. but i got her information and i plan on looking at the truck tomorrow. i was wondering if anyone knows what year the ranger might be and if $4000 is a fair price. i didn't get a chance to look under neath to see the condition it was in, but the body was in good shape from what i could tell (it was very dark when i looked at the truck) and she said the truck had 280 000 km on it. any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[RonD]

As said, the compact truck Ford branded as "the Ranger" from 1983 to 2012 only came with a 4cyl or V6, there was no factory option for V8.
The market for the Ranger was for an economical smaller truck, the V8 would have been counter to that market.

From 1965 to 1981 Ford "F" series trucks did use the Ranger name(and Explorer name) to denote trim packages, and some of these did come with 302(5.0l) V8s.
So there were "Rangers" with factory V8s, just not after 1982.