Hagan's '86 Ranger build!

This is the start of another build with my Ranger. I'd call it a rebuild, I'm doing it better this time.

Ranger







Donor truck

So far I pulled the engine out of the Donor truck. I picked up this truck running and driving for $1000. It has a 351w/zf5/bw1356 combo. I drove it home and I pulled the engine, transmission, and transfercase out. I kept some other parts for my '89 F350.

Here she is. Its a 351w/zf5/bw1356


After i pulled the engine, transmission, tcase, axle, and a couple other parts I made around $500 back. So I have $500 in my setup so far.

I drug everything over to my house (I kept my junk at my parents house!) and here is the engine alone...


It was easier to squeeze into my 1 car garage if I pulled the bed and bumper off...and I wasn't sure if they were going back on. I pulled the gas tank because I will be welding on my truck and I wont be running gas anymore I dont know about you guys but when I weld or grind on any vehicle I always have a bad gut feeling.




I initially started off using Mustang convertible motor mounts because I wanted it to be easy but I found out it was more trouble than it was worth. I found out the mounts were too wide in my opinion and slotting whats left of my cross member was a task I dont think I could have accomplished successfully.





Instead I used v6 motor mounts and I cut the knubs off next to the stud. The v6 motor mounts were a direct bolt on on my 4cylinder 4x4 frame.



I built adapter plates with the old motor mounts being a template. I tacked them to the 1/4" plate I cut out. I used a 15/32" drill bit to mark the hole. I cut off the motor mount and drilled the holes.



I had to notch one side for the fitment on the 302 block I had. Apparently my 351w didn't need to be notched. Oh well it doesn't bother me.


At this point the engine is ready to go in (It has the old motor mounts still bolted on though)


Here she is sitting in her new home. This is the drivers side. Looks like I will have lots of fun the exhaust/steering shaft fitment.


Passenger side

Looking good. Keeping the same axles?

To be honest I haven't quite yet decided. I'm thinking I want to go with a Dana 60 up front and a Sterling 10.25 in the back. But I have a lot of work ahead of me so I will worry about that later!

Nice work so far!

Thanks!

Been working on my Ranger all day. I admit this is actually a pretty difficult task. The hard part so far is everywhere i have read said that to mount the engine and transmission together on the truck and build motor mounts. The problem is my zf5 wont fit unless i cut the body. I want to minimize work so I'd rather not cut out a huge portion before i know exactly where the zf will sit. I believe I am sitting about 2" too low with the zf hitting the body. And, my zf has "ears" that protrude out from the integral bellhousing. The ears will hit the floor pan where it curves to make the transmission tunnel. I can either cut the ears or modify the floor pan/tunnel. I found a diesel thread where they cut the passenger side off to fit a down pipe but I want to cut both off. I'm sure if I ran a 3" body lift this would be a piece of cake. I dont want to run a body lift purely because they look hideous and I want to keep a good COG.



I built a custom transmission jack out of my pile of shit Craftsman floor jack


Had to lift the side of the truck to get it under without putting the transmission on the jack under the truck.





Doesn't even get close...



So I pulled the engine so I could trim this lip.

Removed heat shield

I removed the heatshield and cut slits


Used my BFH to beat it back...




Passenger side "ear"


Drivers side "ear"

I ended up cutting the "ears" off the sides of the trans. It would have required serious modifications to floor pan to make fit.


Stock Ranger transmission tunnel and shifter hole


I cut out the top part of the tunnel all the way to the bond line and approx 1' behind the shifters


Image from the engine bay looking towards the rear of the truck...


I managed to get the transmission attached to the engine without a clutch. Here is the transmission through the top of the tunnel I cut.


Passenger side of the transmission/engine. There is good clearance on this side.


Drivers side of the transmission. I have approx 1/16" of clearance from the "ear" I cut off of the trans to the side of the transmission tunnel (more specifically at the front where your foot push on the gas pedal. I thought I was going to have to move the pedals over.

Picked up a np205 today. Paid $125 for it. Seems to be in good working condition. It shifts into every gear and spins freely. I chose this tcase because its strong, compact, and has fixed yokes. Unfortunately its 150lbs, and has a 1.96:1 low range. Not the greatest but it has the potential to be a doubler.

Just finally took a look at your build. Im also in the middle of cramming a 351 into my rig. How far back are you putting your engine? Do you know what you are going to do for a radiator?

I moved my engine back as far as I could without the transmission bellhousing (this is integral) hitting the firewall. Basically I crammed it in and marked it. If I went too much further my shifter would be under the dash.

I was hoping to get away with using a 4.0 Explorer radiator but I haven't gotten that far. Are you going auto or manual?

Oh man! Tapatalk won't show me half the pictures you've posted but I sure am glad you're a few steps ahead of me! I'm going to steal your design for the mounts!!!! Thanks ;-)

That 205 is much more compact than my 208, but I'll make it work.... Looks like you're doing a swell job. Any ideas on exhaust yet? Will factory manifolds not fly? Gonna try to run the ones from my donor until further notice....

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BronKitis said:

Oh man! Tapatalk won't show me half the pictures you've posted but I sure am glad you're a few steps ahead of me! I'm going to steal your design for the mounts!!!! Thanks ;-)

That 205 is much more compact than my 208, but I'll make it work.... Looks like you're doing a swell job. Any ideas on exhaust yet? Will factory manifolds not fly? Gonna try to run the ones from my donor until further notice....

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

stock manifolds will work but they need to be from a mid 70s 302. i went through 10 pair of headers and manifolds till i lucked out on the perfect pair.driver side should point down at the back and passenger side should point straight back or youll have frame clearance issues.they no longer make the headers for this swap,trust me i have searched.

and if you can score an AOD from a mid 80s bronco itll give you pllenty of room after you mount the transfer case. my build pics got lost but i posted what i could onmy build thread "still kicking this dead horse"

Hagan said:

I moved my engine back as far as I could without the transmission bellhousing (this is integral) hitting the firewall. Basically I crammed it in and marked it. If I went too much further my shifter would be under the dash.

I was hoping to get away with using a 4.0 Explorer radiator but I haven't gotten that far. Are you going auto or manual?

Click to expand...

I got a hold of a c4 with a full manual valve body so I'm going that route. Have you mocked yours up with all the accessories on the front of the engine? I have just done the block so far to get an idea, once I know how much clearance I have in front of the engine I am going to see about radiators.

Grunizzle said:

I got a hold of a c4 with a full manual valve body so I'm going that route. Have you mocked yours up with all the accessories on the front of the engine? I have just done the block so far to get an idea, once I know how much clearance I have in front of the engine I am going to see about radiators.

Click to expand...

I'm going to try and run the 5.0 Explorer front end accessory drive. I think it was years '98-02 will work other than the different harmonic balancer weights.

I took off all the accessories because it stuck out way too far. I had to turn the engine sideways to get it in with the harmonic balancer on.

Getting my tcase and transmission crossmembers is my main priority at the moment.