What can we fit in a third gen ranger?

[b3million]

Hey fellas. I've been doing a whole lot of browsing on the forums lately picking out a swap motor, seeing as I haven't bought anything yet, but in around a year or two I'll likely have the money to start my first project with this truck. So- I wanna ask- What can we fit in a third gen? We know the 5.0 Windsor can be fit without issue, but what about a boss 302 (pushrod) crate from Ford? Someone was swapping a 6.8 v10 in there, I saw that too. What about a 5.4? I've seen the idea thrown around, but no clue if it's been done.

The rules are as follows: No frame stretching or having to cut the fenders to lengthen the engine bay. Engine bay has to stay the same dimensions as before, but everything inside is fair game. Let's say for the sake of "fun" we're working with a 4wd truck with torsion bars, which puts a hard limit on how tall the motor can be. Lift kits of any type are allowed. You can cut the hood if you have to, but you have to be able to drive it... which means you have to be able to see. Ford motors preferred, but anything is fine. For the transmission, if you can make it fit, anything goes. Let's imagine we have unlimited money.
If you've seen something crazy that's been done, link it so we can all ogle it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

For the $$ I would rather do a 7.3 or 6.8 Godzilla pullout over a Boss 302 crate engine if they even exist.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

2.9l

No, I'm not joking.

 

[Ranger850]

A guy in New York, tiktok name is The_Baker_man, is doing the ford 300 I6. He's got the block in and didn't have to stretch anything.

 

[Shran]

Engine swaps are kind of on a bell curve if you are familiar with that. On one side you have a lot of older carbureted engines that may be easy but with the tradeoff of low power, weight, poor parts availability. In the middle there are the 5.0 swaps - can be a big complicated with wiring but have been done enough that they're documented. On the other side, you have a lot of newer engines that are light and make a lot of power but require a lot more on the wiring/tuning side. It's easy to say "5.4 swap it" or something like that but you need fabrication skills in addition to wiring skills AND possibly aftermarket support... engine swaps with late model parts get impossibly complex real fast. Making it a 4x4 application increases that complexity even more.

I would like to see someone do a supercharged GM 3.8 V6. I think there are a number of ways to make that happen in a 4x4 platform. VW TDI diesels are high on my list and have been done many times. LS swaps!!! Let's be honest, there are very few of those documented in the Ranger platform but they would be on the easy side of late model engine swaps. Even a Hemi V8 from a newer Ram/Dodge donor would be cool. Or, an EV swap.....

I find it kind of hard to get excited about swapping in a lot of other newer stuff though. We no longer live in the 90's/early 2000's where good donors are easy to find, wiring is primative, and what we started with was kinda crappy from the factory.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Or, an EV swap.....

We used to be friends.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

A guy in New York, tiktok name is The_Baker_man, is doing the ford 300 I6. He's got the block in and didn't have to stretch anything.
View attachment 146703

View attachment 146704

Except the accessory drive is about to occupy the radiator space…

I wish him the best with his build but he’s only got the easy part done so far.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Engine swaps are kind of on a bell curve if you are familiar with that. On one side you have a lot of older carbureted engines that may be easy but with the tradeoff of low power, weight, poor parts availability. In the middle there are the 5.0 swaps - can be a big complicated with wiring but have been done enough that they're documented. On the other side, you have a lot of newer engines that are light and make a lot of power but require a lot more on the wiring/tuning side. It's easy to say "5.4 swap it" or something like that but you need fabrication skills in addition to wiring skills AND possibly aftermarket support... engine swaps with late model parts get impossibly complex real fast. Making it a 4x4 application increases that complexity even more.

I would like to see someone do a supercharged GM 3.8 V6. I think there are a number of ways to make that happen in a 4x4 platform. VW TDI diesels are high on my list and have been done many times. LS swaps!!! Let's be honest, there are very few of those documented in the Ranger platform but they would be on the easy side of late model engine swaps. Even a Hemi V8 from a newer Ram/Dodge donor would be cool. Or, an EV swap.....

I find it kind of hard to get excited about swapping in a lot of other newer stuff though. We no longer live in the 90's/early 2000's where good donors are easy to find, wiring is primative, and what we started with was kinda crappy from the factory.

Agreed.

Well, I dunno about the whole EV swap idea, seems kinda sacrilegious…

There’s a ton of unique or downright cool engine swap possibilities. But the more you get off the beaten path, the bigger hurdles you have to overcome. I found out with my green Ranger that even doing a documented swap and just tweaking stuff can create headaches. Major modifications of any type require a level of fabricating skill and not be afraid of electrical (but respectful of electric), because major surgery often involves dealing with wiring sooner or later.

Major work isn’t for the faint of heart.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

We used to be friends.

It is awesome for crawling...

Except the accessory drive is about to occupy the radiator space…

I wish him the best with his build but he’s only got the easy part done so far.

Yup, unless he is throwing in the back he is in for a treat.

Its a shame, its a super clean truck too

 

[rubydist]

A Boss 302 pushrod engine is virtually the same size as a 302 Windsor. The issue will not be size, it will be finding exhaust that will fit. You will most likely need to custom fabricate something for that.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

It is awesome for crawling...

Walking is more efficient past a certain age.

Walking is also more efficient than an EV.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A Boss 302 pushrod engine is virtually the same size as a 302 Windsor. The issue will not be size, it will be finding exhaust that will fit. You will most likely need to custom fabricate something for that.

And intake

And you don't really end up with more than you can build with a roller 302 with aftermarket heads that use a normal 302 intake and headers.

Walking is more efficient past a certain age.

Walking is also more efficient than an EV.

The things I can do with my little R/C truck... torque everywhere, runs upside down, instant forward/reverse with no gear change. If a person could scale that up it would be a phenomenal rock crawler.