New Guy with an 83' V8 Ranger

[zbart1108]

Hey all,just picked up an 83' V8Ranger and what fun it is. Always had mustangs so this should be fun

[cgrey8]

Nice.

What are the pertinent details about the build?
Manual or Auto?

Carbed or EFI? My guess is carbed. Most V8 Rangers are and for good reason.

Engine donor or specific build if known?

Any other notable mods/upgrades other than the rims?

But more importantly, what's you intention for it? Drive it as-is and enjoy or do even more to it?

[zbart1108]

Well the plan when i got it was to put 1ton 4x4 suspension under it but it is just so fun to drive like it is lol.
Not sure where we will end up with it but should be a fun build either way. It looks to be like someone tried to or started to make it a drag truck and lost interest or something. Wiring is pretty hacked up and horrible looking under the hood, and everything else is back yard cobbled is seems too lol.

Anyway, i have cleaned up some of the wiring...removed the obnoxious Malory fuel pump (new factory one found on frame rail )...replaced the rainbow worrier shifter handle (with a hurst T i have had since i was 18,taken from my '66 Coronet)...put new rotors and pads on up front...added a brake booster (was missing,modded to manual )...and moved the tach to the center of the steering column (instead of covering the speedo )...speedo not working so i ordered new speedo gears for the 373's (could not feel the gear on the shaft in the tranny ,hope thats not a bad sign).

Things to do next are to replace the starter which is hanging up and appears the solenoid has been beet to death...and delete the starter relay cluster **** they have going and switch to push button start (just always wanted to do it lol)...rewire the stereo...move gauges to better locations...fix speedo (abs VSS sensor on rear end,possible speedo sending unit mod?)...go to solid motor mounts...new carpet...new seats...replace beat to **** radiator...and paint...whew,did i leave anything out?

What it came with:
89 mustang 302
Borge Warner T5 WC,w/short throw shifter
Ford 8.8 373 posi
Holley 4150 650
Big cam (I think e303)
Edelbrock Torker intake
Mallory comp 140 fuel pump with all aluminum and braided steel line and all new an fittings
Headmen headers with true dual h pipe exhaust
Brand new rebuilt trans
New clutch
New flywheel
New drive shaft
Brand new 16'' tires on pony wheels

[zbart1108]

Interior...

[cgrey8]

Depending on your perspective, the E303 is either a pathetic cam or the most versatile cam on the market.

It's pathetic because it ruins low RPM idle and while it does give better performance than a stock cam, that's not saying much. That's like saying you are the smartest person with down syndrome...maybe not quite that bad or politically incorrect, but hopefully you get my point.

But what makes it so versatile is that it can be used with acceptable benefits in a WIDE range of applications:

• Bone stock engine including stock heads/springs/lifters
• Works better with 1.72 RRs (even on stock heads)
• Super/turbo/stroked engines can also run it
• Isn't so oversized that aftermarket heads cause problems
• Can pass emissions (although it probably will require tuning help in the EEC to actually do so)

It truly is a jack-of-all-trades kind of cam. But in any of the various combinations that people use it in, guaranteed there's an aftermarket off-the-shelf cam that can serve the application better. And if you know enough details about the engine to spec a custom grind, that's going to be the best you can get. But most people don't have accurate info about their engine build nor realistic use-case intentions for the engine for a cam grinder to do a custom cam service any justice. However if you don't know how to select a cam and you don't trust others to select a good one for you, the E303 is a safe call that will deliver better than stock performance in the RPM range most people care about. Few people ever complain about the performance they get from an E303 until they upgrade to something better suiting for their build. The #1 complaint about the E303 is that it kills low RPM torque and doesn't "kick in" until around 2500RPMs. With 4:10s or 3:73s in a Mustang with an automatic and high stall converter, that's hardly a problem. But with highway gears in a manual transmission truck where you are hauling heavy loads in stop-n-go traffic, that's a bit more of a sacrifice than I, personally, would want to make. But that's just me.

Anyway if you ever do replace the heads without any other mods to the engine, you might find the E303 is too big for the engine and thus you'd benefit by something a little milder. The aftermarket heads alone are going to get you more performance at the high end. A fast ramp rate, mild, high lift cam will improve the low end without destroying the high end WOT performance.

Anyway, enjoy. And keep us updated as to what you do with it.

[zbart1108]

Ya, it seems to start making power about 2500...not much low end torque.

[plowboy34]

The E303 debate roars on... We put it in the boy's truck for that exact purpose, his starts really talking about 1800-2000 rpm range. Let's face it these trucks (2wd) have a serious traction issue. That's why I went with the E303 cause by the time the power really starts coming the truck is generally moving enough that tire spin is put to a minimum. From time to time she can still put up a smoke show but most times it works out real good. It all goes back to you need to know what you want your truck to do. We don't have any idle issues with it, we really like the idle. It lopes enough to know it has a little something something under the hood but it doesn't lope so hard the dash is bouncing (had a V8 Pinto that once did that). Again you just need to know what you want your engine to do, if you want it to pull right off idle then the E303 is not what you want.

[cgrey8]

I should've clarified, I'm just so used to talking on the EECTuning.org forum that I sometimes forget that most people here are carbed. Most of the idle issues I refered to are with E303 and EFI. One of the problems with any big cam and EFI is the overlap. At low idle RPMs, there's enough overlap that some of the aspirated intake air gets sucked out the exhaust as the intake valve opens with the exhaust valve closing, but not yet on the seat. The larger the overlap, the more open (and longer) both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time. With a carb, that's just wasted air-n-fuel. But with EFI, that unburned oxygen plays hell with the computer in normal Closed Loop mode because the HEGOs report the presence of that unburned oxygen in the exhaust which the EEC interprets as a lean condition and tries to correct for by adding more fuel. But since the cause is mechanical, not a lack of fuel, the EEC can add all the fuel it wants, it's not going to eliminate oxygen presence in the exhaust. What it will do is run the idle so rich that the idle is unstable and the engine starts hunting and idling erratically. In these cases, the tuner is forced to either run the engine at a higher idle RPM (the lazy way) or force the EEC into Open Loop fueling mode while at idle and then trial-n-error find fuel values that run the engine stable at the target idle RPM. Another thing the tuner can do to preserve fuel is time the injectors to not fire until AFTER the exhaust valve has closed so the majority of the intake air that gets scavenged into the exhaust is just air. With $1/gal fuel in the late 80s when the E303 was developed, nobody cared. But At $3-4/gal, every little bit helps particularly if you do a lot of stop-n-go city driving. Now am I trying to say that this feature alone is worth going EFI? No. I like EFI, but I can't deny that carb is 10x simpler to deal with and cheaper to implement.

And yes, putting the E303 in a truck just to keep the off-idle spinout to a minimum might have been a good idea particularly if the truck is std cab and no locker/limited slip diffy. Even the stock Explorer 302 I used to have had disappointing off-idle performance. I couldn't spin the tires right off the line without getting the engine RPMs up above 2000 and popping the clutch...that'd do it. Easing the clutch out and taking off from ~800RPMs then flooring it once the clutch was completely out yielded lackluster takeoff. Above 1500, it started picking up. Around 3000, it was alive and I could feel the tires were just barely on the verge of slip. With the 331 and the Crane 2020 cam I have now, 1st gear is not really a WOT-possible gear unless I'm hauling something in the bed. Even off-idle RPMs have the torque to break the tires loose at WOT in 1st with no weight in the bed. But 2nd gear WOTs are a blast!!!

[plowboy34]

did not know that about the E303 and EFI, that was a cool read. Yes I am an old fart and a carb guy...

I bet that 331 is cool to drive...I still have a serious bug to build one or maybe a 347....although the wife says if I do it is going in her Mustang II....

[cgrey8]

Learn from me, go 347. People said that a few times and I didn't listen. Looking back, I really should've. The benefits of a 331 over the 347 are lost on a Ranger unless you are building a high RPM screamer. A 347 will serve far better and for about the same price.

[zbart1108]

Whew,lots of info...thanks. I have always been a pony guy like i said but never got as deep into it as some of the others, like a friend who all said and done i think had 40K in his '84 Pony Car...but wow!
I did get a chance to have him look it over and it is what the guy said it was and does have the e303...it is a roller motor...does need stiffer valve springs...as well as him recommending going to big tube headers (the Headman shorty's are restricting), as he noticed on his with the e303 in it, could not get enough exhaust out and once he switched to long tube he gained another 1000rpm pull.

[cgrey8]

If it has stock heads, I'm not sure how much exhaust tube diameter is going to be a factor if what you already have on there are headers, not stock exhaust manifolds. Usually you don't start noticing better flow with upgraded tubes until you are in the big strokes, high RPMs, and major mods such as aftermarket heads/cam/intake. A stock engine's biggest restriction is going to be the heads and intake. I'm not saying you won't get some amount of improvement with larger diameter tubes, but I'd be really surprised if you upgraded and actually felt like it was worth the money.

Also note like most other things, upgrades like larger tubes will increase the flow capacity, but will further reduce torque on the low end. Part of what headers do is promote scavenging, not just reduce back pressure. Scavenging is attained when the velocity of exhaust through the tubes is great enough to actually create a suction in the line at the point where the exhaust isn't being "shoved" out of the cylinder. Smaller tubes will give you much better torque at the low end thanks to scavenging happening earlier in the RPM/Loads, but smaller diameter tubes also can be a restriction at high RPMs with an engine with major mods. Increase the diameter, and you increase the max flow capacity, but you also reduce the scavenging at low RPM/Load conditions...and thus reduce your low RPM torque. It's always a trade-off between max HP & driveability/cruising responsiveness.

Point is just be sure the mods you do are necessary...not just something your buddy suggested would make better HP. The 3 main things people most often oversize and shouldn't are:

• Carbs. I don't know how many times I've seen stock and near-stock engines with Holley 650 or 750 carbs on them. Near stock engines need something closer to 500cfm. It's not until you start getting near up into the high RPM 331 or 347/351 range that a Holley 650 actually becomes necessary. And the ONLY time a Holley 750 should be used is with big displacement engines or super/turboed engines. Ditto for injectors on EFI systems. 42lb injectors on a stock engine are meaningless. The EEC will only fire the injectors the amount needed based on the amount of air the computer detects is being aspirated. You don't put gigantic injectors on the engine and think that'll produce more power. You upgrade the injectors when the engine is in NEED of more injector.
• Cams. Big cams may sound cool, but most of the time they are always oversized for the real capacity AND general use-case. People get sold on that MAX HP number. But what they don't realize is there's another concept that's far more meaningful to engine performance. It's referred to as area-under-the-curve. The curve I'm talking about is the HP or Torque curve. It's possible for an engine with a higher max HP to not run the 1/4 as well as an engine with a lower MAX HP, but more area-under-the-curve. The engine doesn't live at the RPM that MAX HP is attained. It has to run in an RPM range above and below that point. The average HP in that range is what's important.
• Intakes. A bigger intake is only useful if the engine needs a bigger intake. On EFI setups, most of the time the stock intake is good for 300hp before it becomes a significant restriction that warrants a change. And often the better change is porting it. A stock GT intake can be ported to easily support 350hp. Stock GT40/Cobra/Explorer intakes can be ported to support 400hp. Once the engine is capable of producing more than 400hp is its appropriate to consider aftermarket intakes. Although carbed intakes probably follow a different philosophy since you have options like whether to go with a single plane or dual plane. Singles are fine for milder engines. Duals become more meaningful to get better idle quality, driveability, fuel economy, fewer less stalls on take-off when running radical cams. From a pure performance standpoint, the single will probably produce more power than a dual, but the dual will make driving on the street more fun.

In almost every case, money spent on these parts would've been FAR FAR better spent on heads instead. I'd much rather have an engine with stock intake, cam, and exhaust manifolds with AFR165 or 185 heads than an engine with a big cam, big carb, huge headers, but stock heads. Even if AFRs are outside the budget, then go down to what is in the budget. TFS Twisted Wedge, Holley, Edelbrock, whatever. Any of them are going to be better than the stock cast iron boat-anchors Henry put on the engine in the factory. Heads are where the power is and give you THE BEST bang for the buck if you have the bucks to spend and the time & tools to replace them yourself. Once you upgrade the heads, the carb/intake/cam/exhaust upgrades become more meaningful.

[zbart1108]

Ya totally agree,only going by what the po said and what we can see and hear without opening up the motor. Wish it had an AOD instead of the T5 but whatever its a progress thing to make it the way "I" want it lol.

BTW, after looking into my non working speedo issue i found that when i pulled the sender out of the trans the drive gear could not be found on the shaft inside ...this could explain the leaky tail seal. I ordered gears anyway from LatemodelRestoration.com previously since i was told it had 3.73 gears so that is no biggie.

This is where my question would be...the truck has an 8.8 rearend with the abs vss sending unit in the pig...would it be possible to switch to an electronic speedo and use that as the sending unit, just for something different?

[v8ranger]

I went to the junk yard and pulled a few different color gears out of some transmission's till I got one that made the spedo right. Its still fast by about 5mph at highway speeds.. close enough for me.. I just have to remember that truck is fast, Mountaineer is slow, ( 31-10.50 Made it slow )

[zbart1108]

taking the Holley off and going old school...Predator .