OK, I just bought this Ranger late last night. It's suppose to be a 1992 Ranger with a 5.0 motor out of a 1993 Mustang and a T-5 transmission. It's been strictly used a drag car, but I bought it and want to change it to a daily driver. The first thing I want to do is get some heat in this thing. The heater core is there with the discharge and suction lines sticking through the fire wall. Here is the problem. The heater box is cut open so the valve cover will fit. Is there a heater box from another vehicle (ex: Ford Focus) that will fit in the truck and have clearance around valve cover? Or do I need to fabricate a new custom one?

I need to do more research on the truck and figure things out still. The motor has a carburetor, but why? If it's from a 1993 mustang, then it should be fuel injected. Like I said, this is day one of ownership and need to educate myself more. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Troy

 

Every swap thread on the 5.0 I've ever seen people had to custom make a heater most people use fiberglas or similar to make a curve to clear the valve covers I've never looked closely but i would think since the explorer came with the 5.0 and they are essentially the same why wouldn't an expo heater box work?

 

Thanks for the reply Pearlkid. I hadn't thought of using fiberglass. I was thinking of welding some stainless steel, or plastic. I would assume that the engine bay of an Explorer is larger than the Ranger and doesn't have the clearance issue, but will certainly look into it and see if that's an option. Thanks.

 

Yeah usually its offset by a year or 2 i know a 00/01 explorer is the same from the front doors forward as my 03 ranger almost everything is bolt over as i found out when i swapped my 5 speed in my dash wiring was from an explorer because i didn't have the clutch switch wiring but you may be right it may be wider but worth a shot i think the fiberglass looks the best when done I've seen a couple done and you can mold it to get a more factory look out of it. just my 2 cents.

 

ok, thanks again for the info. I will take some measurements and head to the bone yard.

 

No problem let us know what you figure out Im debating a 5.0 swap myself.