83 V8 5speed

[fordmike]

Ok I have finally found a early Ranger for my V8 5speed conversion that I have been wanting to do ever since I started do my 94 Ranger V8. I am going to be pulling the 5.0 and trans out of my Mustang to put in the 83 and then its going to be lowered and stiffended up for some road racing. This is going to be a low dollar build to be able to go out and have some fun with it. The engine is a very healthy 5.0 with trick flow heads, Victor jr. intake, 750 Holley, all MSD ignition, custom cam, and its .030 over. This little 5.0 will just roast the tires well into 3rd in the mustang and is very fun to drive so it should be a blastin the Ranger to. I am going to put newer lowering I-beams and spindles under the front and a older Machinist that I have known for many years is going to make me some adapters to do the 13" Cobra brakes on the front. This guy is the one who started Baer brakes here in Phx,az. I am going to use a 8.8 rear from a 4.0 Ranger with 3.73 gears and I have a set of disc brakes for the rear also. I will be looking for a Factory front swaybar and a rear one also. I will be doing a rollbar in it with racing seats and all Autometer gauges that I already have. This is going to be a fun build and an ever funner one driving it. I will post up pics as I do this build and here is what I have so far.........enjoy.

[cgrey8]

I like those rims in the last pic. What are they from?

[carvinmark]

Looks nice and solid compared to what we can find here in Michigan.

[fordmike]

I like those rims in the last pic. What are they from?

Stock 98 Mustang GT 17x8. I also have a set of real Ford Cobra R rims that are 17x9 that I might use
instead of the GT's.

[fordmike]

Looks nice and solid compared to what we can find here in Michigan.

Yea its a solid truck that has been here in AZ all its life. No rust but the interior is a little cooked from the sun here. We are at the total oppasites, you guys have rusted bodies and nice interiors there and we have nice bodys here and sun baked interiors here.....

[fordmike]

Ok so I finally got to pulling the engine & trans out of the Mustang and got the engine on the stand. I will be cleaning the engine up and pulling the heads, oil pan and the front of the engine to put all new gaskets and to inspect everything to make sure that its all good. The engine is a .030 over 5.0 with Trick Flow heads, Ford racing 1.6 RR, Vic jr intake, MSD ign and a 750 dbl pump Holley. I dont know what cam it has as I didnt build the engine but, I will find that out soon. I will be opening up the T5 to inspect it and install a rebuild kit into it and add a few up graded parts. I picked up a clutch peddle assembly, clutch master w/reservoir, and some flag mirrors for the truck already from the wrecking yard. I hope to get the 4cyl and trans pulled here in the next few days so I can start getting the engine compartant cleaned, painted, a/c box removed and ready for the 5.0. I found a 8.8 rear with 3.55 gears at the wrecking yard the other day and I will be going back to get that soon to. I will get some pics soon and post them up......Mike.

[carvinmark]

Good to hear about your progress. We have too much snow for me to be out working on mine.

[jzwartster]

Looks like shes in good shape, it will be nice to see her come alive!

[fordmike]

Ok so I got some more done on the Ranger. I got the engine and trans pulled and sold and now I have a bare block (302) and a bare T5 sitting in the truck and using it for mock up. I used the stock 2.3 lower engine mounts and a set of Explorer V8 upper motor mounts and got the block bolted in now. I was able to move the trans crossmember back easy as the frame was already drilled from the factory making it very easy. I have three sets of mustang shorty headers laying around and none of them would even come close to working but, I also had a set of Mac long tube Mustang headers laying around and I couldnt belive it but the passenger side header fit in pretty good. I had to trim the frame a little but other then that it fit great. The driver side on the other hand was not so good. I have never built any headers before but I decided to cut the front two tubes off and see it the driver side would fit and it did very well. I am using the front two tubes to cut up and see if I can mock something up to fit and its coming out pretty good. I have ordered up some 1 5/8" J bends to use for the final design that I get to work good. I will take some pics of what I have going tomarrow and post them so you guys can see the way the headers are fitting. I will also be heading out to the wrecking yards this week looking for a 93-98 Ranger 4.0 V6 heavy duty radiator and a 93-98 4.0 Ranger 8.8 limited slip rear axle. I am also going to need some bucket seats for this truck if anyone has any good suggestions for me.

[v8ranger]

Sounds like your making some good progress on it...... Cant wait to see some pics....

[fordmike]

Ok here are some pics like I said. The headers are a set of Mac long tube for a 85-93 Mustang. The motor mounts are the stock 83 2.3 4 cyl lower insulators and the ones bolted to the block are stock 5.0 Explorer's.

[v8ranger]

Looks like a pain in the backside to even mess with trying to making those headers fit... But on the other hand, it would be kind of fun building and fabbing it up... Where are you going to run the front pipe?? I cant see where you have any place to run it, from that picture angle anyway

[fordmike]

Looks like a pain in the backside to even mess with trying to making those headers fit... But on the other hand, it would be kind of fun building and fabbing it up... Where are you going to run the front pipe?? I cant see where you have any place to run it, from that picture angle anyway

Actully its been real easy. I am waiting on some more J-bends so I can continue making the two pipes. Its been kinda fun to do to as I have never made or customized any headers. Well here is a couple more pics and in the last pic it looks like its going to be tight going around the frame to the engine but there is alot of room there and it will be quite easy to do. Enjoy.

[Teddyzee]

Excellent job with the plates!!!!

The stock Ranger mounts have a pin and a bolt? (I forget...)
Did you use any holes form the Explorer plates, or just make new ones?

[fordmike]

Excellent job with the plates!!!!

The stock Ranger mounts have a pin and a bolt? (I forget...)
Did you use any holes form the Explorer plates, or just make new ones?

The plates bolted to the block are stock Explorer V8 plates and the isolators are stock 83 4cyl Ranger isolators. I just got the trans mount bolted to the stock crossmember and then measured where the bolts would go thru the Explorer plates and drilled them thru. Yes the stock also had a locator pin in them.