It's time to play...Will This Fit In That?

Including the bonus round, "Will This Hook Up To That? - the transmission adaptability game for the whole family!"™

I'll get things started: is it feasible to shoehorn a P71 V8 into a ranger?

Bonus round: is there a manual that will hook up for a Challenge budget?

(In case you're curious, I got a wild hare for a low-buck prerunner today, and that combination - aside from a 4.3 in a Sonoma, which may be easier/cheaper - struck me as something that could be slapped together on a shoestring. Other input welcome.)

what v8 is in the P71 package? I guess if it is a 5.0 or a 5.7.. it would fit easily. They have a v8 explorer

A mod motor in 92(?) and up would be a much tighter fit. Not sure.

p71 has the 4.6l modular

5.0 vs modular

5.0 in 80's type ranter

i'm sure the modular could be done... but not without some creative steering linkage and other fun

The 4.0 SOHC is a tight squeeze, and the 4.6 is a bit bigger than that. The Explorer didn't get the 4.6 until after it stopped being built on the Ranger platform.

If you're talking prerunner, what's wrong with playing with the existing four-cylinder? There's lots of options both naturally aspirated and turbo.

Knurled wrote: If you're talking prerunner, what's wrong with playing with the existing four-cylinder? There's lots of options both naturally aspirated and turbo.

Because V8/stick/2WD/big tires/short wheelbase. Duh.

But no, I'm open to other options.

Speaking of other options, are the Exploder V8s different and/or more likely to fit? How about manual options for those?

The only manual trans Explorers that I'm aware of were sixes. Not the inline six or the 3.8/4.2 six that shared a bellhousing pattern with the pushrod and Mod V8s, no. The sixes used in the Explorers had the weird-o European bolt pattern, since the 2.9 and 4.0 engines are descendants from the 2600 in the 70's Capri, which is a descendant of the V4 that was used in various weird Ford things and SAABs (which implies weird).

yeah, a Mod motor will fit in a Ranger- you just gotta put it in the back.

stay with me here- put a Thunderhicken rear suepension in it, with a T56 out of a Cobra bewteen that and the engine.. should put the front of the engine right behind the cab...

My wife and I play that game sometimes.

I was hoping somebody would take a swing at that softball I lobbed up there.

I typically get slapped for trying to play this game.

alex wrote: I was hoping somebody would take a swing at that softball I lobbed up there.

Oh, we're all thinking it. We're just trying to be adults. After all, this is an adult forum. Bwow-chicka-bwow-wow.

The show Trucks swapped a marauder engine into a Mazda badged ranger.

Ford did it...

Lessor magazine than GRM said: In place of the stock 2.5-liter I-4 engine rests a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 transplanted from a 2002 SVT F-150 Lightning. This two-valve SOHC pumps out 380 horsepower at 4750 rpm and is backed by a 4R100 four-speed automatic transmission. Obviously, the engine is much larger than the I-4, but, surprisingly, the V-8 fits in the Ranger nicely. The swap included the fabrication of new engine mounts, a new air intake, two-inch exhaust headers, and a three-inch stainless-steel dual exhaust system. The battery was relocated from under the hood to the bed, and the large HVAC plenum was replaced with a smaller unit from an E-Series Ford van. SVT engineers boxed both framerails and added cross-braces. This meant replacing the production plastic fuel tank with a fuel cell mounted in the bed. The Bolt uses a production Lightning rearend that's been narrowed almost 11 inches

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/trucks/163_0406_ford_svt_lightning_bolt_ranger/

Being that a 5.0 can fit into a Ranger, i would assume a 4.6 would as well. A 5.0 would be easier because a mixture of explorer and mustang parts will fit right in. Ranger taught me that.

novaderrik wrote: yeah, a Mod motor will fit in a Ranger- you just gotta put it in the back.

BullE36 M3.

I've seen three different Rangers, one I-beam and two double A-arm, have 4v's and 2v's in them. It really isn't any harder then a 302 swap, but the perception kills the idea.

Mounts, you MAY have to make, but they are NOT that difficult once you figure out where to place the motor.

Headers, you have to make your own, period.

Besides wiring up the swap, the water/oil plate has to be swapped out for the Moroso piece, and you have to fab a new steering shaft from the firewall to the box/rack, but you can do that with factory parts.

In reply to Apexcarver:

And what they don't say is the firewall is recessed like 10" too.

alex wrote: Bonus round: is there a manual that will hook up for a Challenge budget?

Does the rules have the "Fair" rule in place? If it does, T5. Or you are stuck with the glorious POFS T45/T3650.

I would do the T5, since it's a truck, 4.6's don't make any torque, and it will never hookup.

I have a 97 V8 Explorer. They are about as cheap as a vehicle gets on the used market, and they have the "good" Pcode heads. And 4 wheel discs. But, they never came with manuals.

One other note - I've seen the factory exhaust nmanifolds, they are a basket of snakes that I would in no way want to try and emulate on a wider mod motor. The first time I ever opened the hood on the used car lot, I saw the pipes and thought "berkeley...."

Given how cheap the parts truck would be, I'd stick to the 302. The mod motor has some wow factor, but I can't think it's more than an equal choice performance wise, and it sounds slightly harder to make happen.

The only reason the mod motor came to mind is that I thought it would be cheaper. Just thinking of all those cheap P71s out there that escaped C4C, which I think got a large percentage of Explorers. I could be wrong about that, though.

In reply to alex:

I think a 5.0 would be cheaper and/because its easier. I've always wanted to build one, so I'd be happy to lend a hand in exchange for Schlafly.

I've been seeing plenty of Rangers on Craigslist. In fact, I may be buying one.

Plenty of 302 explorers too, at least on the local CL. Most at or under $2500

Dooo eeeet!

example one, 4.6

http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/gvrgqs/powerblock-trucks-rolling-thunder-part-5-stage-1-payoff-season-2-ep-210

example two, 5.0 Coyote

http://www.modularfords.com/f259/5-0l-coyote-powered-ford-ranger-174322/

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/pics-videos-buffet-149/792567-do-want-ford-ranger-coyote-swap.html

Keith Tanner wrote: Bwow-chicka-bwow-wow.

I always wondered how that was spelled.

N Sperlo wrote: Being that a 5.0 can fit into a Ranger, i would assume a 4.6 would as well.

A 5.0 is a very narrow little engine.

A 4.6 isn't much smaller than a 460.