Other ride, 87 ranger

[Khorus]

My 87 ranger, has 331 in it, c4 with full manual reverse valve body and ratchet shifter. Currently sitting torn apart again, last time had it out sheared input shaft and ruined torque converter. Fans have been moved, when first got it together was kind of a quick and dirty bc wanted to go enjoy it before winter hit full on. Oil filter has been moved also up behind radiator.

Sponsored

 

[outdoorphotog]

I bet that Ranger will be fun to drive

 

[DHMag]

Need some truck mirrors and vent windows ! I have a soft spot for 1st Gen Rangers. Still have an near immaculate grille in my garage along with the center section of an Aerostar grille to swap into it.

Did you have to modify/delete the heater box to fit the motor ?

 

[Khorus]

I bet that Ranger will be fun to drive

I drove it for a few months, its a handful. I put it back together but the separator plate got bent while apart and now hits the weight on flex plate. I got a new house and put it the truck in the garage. I pulled the fast EFI 2.0 kit sold and put a carb on it for now. The throttle body I had didn't have a spot for idle air control. I sold it all for same I had in it and planned on doing the upgrade but again it just kind of got left to the side for awhile. Plan on getting a Terminator setup for it later on. The fast kit was a retrofit and was just kind of pieced together form different stuff I had at the time.

 

[Khorus]

Need some truck mirrors and vent windows ! I have a soft spot for 1st Gen Rangers. Still have an near immaculate grille in my garage along with the center section of an Aerostar grille to swap into it.

Did you have to modify/delete the heater box to fit the motor ?

Notched it for the valve cover to clear. I used 94 mustang convertible motor mounts with the sides swapped, sits super low and back and almost clears everything without cutting anything. I used a 164 tooth bellhousing so didn't have to beat the tunnel lip or body lift it. That truck had 50k orig miles when I got it. Guy that had it didn't know what was wrong with it, just died one day on him, I tore into it and the 2.0 that was in it had jumped several teeth on the timing belt. Was a 2.0, carb, 5 speed, factory radio delete, manual steering, manual brake truck. I imagine was cheap when new. Interior and every one it was like new. Had years of sap as you can see in the photo to protect the paint lol.

 

[Khorus]

This was the original plan, I ported the head on it (was a NA 2.3 head, turbo head was cracked, so had to open the chambers and CC match them) and had an ATR header with HX35. Ran 30psi with 50 shot to spool it. Was in my T-bird but kept eating transmissions (The A4LD is garbage). The C4 behind the 331 is what I had behind this. The 2.3 c4 bellhousing is made of unobtanium though and just wasn't as streetable as the stroker would of been. Pulled this motor and its just sitting on a pallet for prob 12 years now, maybe 3k miles on it.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

This was the original plan, I ported the head on it (was a NA 2.3 head, turbo head was cracked, so had to open the chambers and CC match them) and had an ATR header with HX35. Ran 30psi with 50 shot to spool it. Was in my T-bird but kept eating transmissions (The A4LD is garbage). The C4 behind the 331 is what I had behind this. The 2.3 c4 bellhousing is made of unobtanium though and just wasn't as streetable as the stroker would of been. Pulled this motor and its just sitting on a pallet for prob 12 years now, maybe 3k miles on it.

Hi Alan

Tall deck block?

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Khorus]

Hi Alan

Tall deck block?

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

I wish, too expensive for my blood. Just 90 mustang block 30 over.

 

[Khorus]

Which late edit, but did all the work for the stroker in our shop, was super sketched out about making notches in the skirts. Made a flat metal jig that bolted to mains after cut a couple

 

[Langwilliams]

sounds like a fun project. I've had a few 5.0 fox bodies in my day an a '79 turbo. I had a 97 cobra an put a Kenny Belle blower on it. It would just blow the drag radials loose. The previous owner put 4.10's in the car an it was fun on the street but at the track I'd hit the rev limiter at the 1000 ft mark before the blower. It pretty much ran the same times bouncing off the rev limiter or shifting into 4th. That was running it N/A I never had a chance to run it at the track with the blower before I traded it for a Harley.

A guy that build a manual AOD for me had a big turbo on a 2.3 in a ranger an he said he could run 12.5's all day.

I hope you keep posting your progress, I love projects like this. Anyone can buy a fast car, I prefer to build one.

 

[DHMag]

Hi Alan

Tall deck block?

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Hey Phil,

Were you a part of the team that wedged the 3.0l S.H.O. motor in the Ranger ? If I were to ever do a motor swap in a 1st gen Ranger, it would have been the first choice, 2nd being the turbo 4 from the SVO Mustang.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hey Phil,

Were you a part of the team that wedged the 3.0l S.H.O. motor in the Ranger ? If I were to ever do a motor swap in a 1st gen Ranger, it would have been the first choice, 2nd being the turbo 4 from the SVO Mustang.

Hi Dale,

Yep...I was part of the project. Had the rev limiter taken off the calibration and could twist it up to 10,000 rpm. That truck rocked! Looked like all show and no go until the light turned green. I would play with Mr. Corvette off the line the run up to about 9500rpm and shift into 2nd. Talk about looks at the next light.... Tons of fun... I put an SCCA racetruck suspension under it using a prior generation suspension so handling was great as well. I got pulled over frequently by the police, not for violation but they just wanted to see under the hood as rumors of this truck spread.... I got involved with quite a few fun projects. Here is a pix of the SHO Ranger.

This is a younger me and my SCCA Test Mule from which the suspension for the SHO Ranger got its suspension. We had a tall deck 2.3l block bored out and stroker crank in it to give us a 2.8L 4cyl motor with a compression ratio of 10.5:1.... only twisted it to 7,500rpm.

Note the cambered rear axle....did not work in the long run.... Believe there is a thread on this truck and the axle failure...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Ranger8729]

Man that's a fun project. They never end do they? I have a fully built 5.0 with trick flow top end sitting in storage for my 87. I said I would swap it in when the 2.9L died. That was 8 years ago and I'm looking 300k dead in the eye currently. Truck looks stock, but like Phil, I've reworked everything underneath and it drives like no truck has a right to. My first vehicle too, Grampa ordered it special, built 9/86.

 

[Khorus]

Man that's a fun project. They never end do they? I have a fully built 5.0 with trick flow top end sitting in storage for my 87. I said I would swap it in when the 2.9L died. That was 8 years ago and I'm looking 300k dead in the eye currently. Truck looks stock, but like Phil, I've reworked everything underneath and it drives like no truck has a right to. My first vehicle too, Grampa ordered it special, built 9/86.

That is a clean and sharp looking truck.

Sponsored