Has anyone put an inline 6 in a Ranger?

[PetesPonies]

anyone with any leads on the 200 swap?

 

[strvger]

hope someone has your answer. i'm still looking on the web for the 250 swap as it seems that engine will match up to my 5 speed easier.

 

[jimmyess333]

I gotta ask how the hell you blew a 3 year old 2.3?

It's not blown, runs well actually.
I said when the time comes.
There's a ton of miles on it and I'm planning ahead.

As for V6 engines, don't really like them...never did.
I've had a few over the years and hated them.
I like V8's for racing and inline sixes for work.
And of couse, inline fours for economy.
My truck doesn't haul all that often, doesn't have 4WD, big tires, or a lot of heavy gear on it so the 4cyl is ok for now.
All the best vehicles I've had for everyday use were all RWD cars with inline sixes.
There was always plenty of room maintain the engines and the cars were built rugged to last.
The lack of anything like that on the market today is how I gravitated toward the Ranger truck.
It's RWD(with a live axle), has a FRAME, and a decent amount of elbow room to work on it.
It's not a SMALL truck, it's a SUPER SIZED Ranchero.
On that note I always laugh when people in cars call my truck small.
The engine bay could stand to be a little less cluttered with hoses and wires and I wish the heater/AC box was not in the engine bay but you can't have everything.

 

[PetesPonies]

Well putting the 250 in is about the same deal as installing the 200. So you are wanting the same thing. A later model 200 can use the V8 bellhousing as the 250 does, so that part is the same also.

 

[dangerranger83]

I think that the later model 200 would be the best option and the perfect engine for a Ranger IMO if you want to avoid going the 4.0 way and not having to mess with a ton wiring and what not.

 

[PetesPonies]

I was just hoping to find someone who has done the swap. I hear that a couple have been done, just can't locate the persons.

 

[tx curbster]

I am torn between the 200 I6 and the 292 y-block i have for the lil chero project. the y-block looks like a good fit with it's rear sump but with the 200 six, i have the bell and the c4 already sooooo. I will test fit the 200 with its 1968 oil pan to see if it will work like it is. dry sump is exspensive but it would be pretty cool too. i also have a 289 and it's c4 bell. would rather go 200 or 292 just because it is different.

Anyway. I wont be ready for the engine fitiing until this summer.

 

[PetesPonies]

Get an oil pan from a Fox body car ( Fairmont or Mustang ) with the 200 ci and it will have the right oil pan.

 

[tx curbster]

thats right. Thanks.

 

[Charlesd2]

Ford ranger

Hi forum, my name is chuck, i'm 20 and i thought i would show you my project. A few years back, my father and i wanted to do a small build, mainly because i needed a vehicle for school. I have a 1985 Ford Ranger regular cab 2x4, the truck originally had a 2.3l 4 banger with a manual 5 speed. Now it is powered by a 1981 Ford Fairmont 3.3 L inline 6 bored .030 over. This engine, also rebuilt shortly before install, has a freshly rebuilt C4 3 speed transmission behind it (Big Bell) with 7.5" 3.08 gears in the rear. I've been meaning to buy and swap in some 3.50 gears but haven't had time nor money since im a college student. We knew there were going to be some headache's with this swap before we even began, but thankfully, we figured a lot of the issues out before we even started i.e. engine mounts, dimensions, transmission mount location and also where to put the remote oil filter since there wasn't enough room. Everything has gone great since we've installed, the only problem we have had was a freeze plug leak. The radiator is a triple core we had built for this application. There was no room under the hood for the belt fan so we were forced to use two electric fans to blow air in. other installs include a 250 CFM 2 barrel carb that we swapped from an old 289, runs way better at top end than it used to with the old 1 barrel. A new CD Player and speakers because it came with a tape deck. Tachometer gauge, Oil pressure and Water temp gauge's, slap shifter and also Bucket seats from a 1995 Ford Mustang. This truck has been a Daily Driver for the last 12,000 miles and has a long life ahead of it because these damn engines are strong. i get anywhere from 16-20 MPG in slight town / mainly highway use.
.

 

[dangerranger83]

I will say looks very nice. My only thing if I did this would be to keep my truck 4wd. Got any pics of the fan setup that you used?

 

[PetesPonies]

I have an '84 4X4 Bronco II that I was considering this swap. My 3.3 had a C4 and my '84 has a C5, so the swap would have been easy to keep the 4X4. However, I ended up putting a '68 289 in it I used my same C5 with a different bellhousing. I tucked a newer Ranger radiator from a 4.0 under the core support. If you had done that I believe you could have used a mechanical fan as well. However, good job on the swap. I'm glad to see someone has done it!!

 

[Charlesd2]

I will say looks very nice. My only thing if I did this would be to keep my truck 4wd. Got any pics of the fan setup that you used?

we had to build a bracket on the back side of the radiator so we could mount the fans. works very well for what it is. i would love to have 4x4 but it was unpractical for my uses and to go from 2x4 to 4x4... to much work.

 

[cody93]

me likey, im considering this swap too when the 2.3 dies, ever consider swapping out the exhuast/intake manifolds for better ones? the stock ones are known for poor preformance and fuel starvation on cyl 1 an 6. did you have to do any body modyfacations? ie firewall cutting, etc...

 

[PetesPonies]

The only reason we mention s 4X4 is because its more to consider, easier to do the swap when only 2wd. However, if you use the stock c5 ( assuming it was automatic and an early year ) you have the transfer case already bolted up. I was able to leave the trans and transfer case in the stock location. When I was considering the 200 CI, I wasn't sure if that could still happen.