2.3L ('83-'97) Can I swap my 83 parts onto an 85 block to carburate it?

[RayInStl]

I have an 83 ranger with a bad motor. I bought a motor from an 85. I didn't grab the computer and harness because I thought it'd be the same as a 91 parts truck I have. But they're different. So I'm thinking of trying to go the other route and swap parts from my 83 on to the 85 to make it carburated. I've searched a bunch and haven't found any definitive answers, so my questions are:

1. Can I get away with just swapping the intake and distributor?
2. If I need to swap the head, will an 83 head work on an 85 block?
3. Are there any other parts that would need to be swapped to make it work?
4. Will it work at all?
5. Is there an easy way to tell an 83 2.0 from a 2.3? Not entirely sure which one I have and I'm not certain it's the original engine, so I don't know if the VIN would be right.

Thanks!

 

[scotts90ranger]

There's been several intake patterns, the carbureted heads had a different pattern than the fuel injected then they changed again for the dual plug...

Yes the heads are interchangeable, there can be issues with putting a 2.3L head on a 2.0L since the combustion chamber is bigger on the 2.3L but a 2.0 will go on a 2.3L fine...

 

[RayInStl]

Any way to tell a 2.0 from a 2.3 without the head off?