Hey there people.
Ive had a Ranger for the last four years, and Im looking to upgrade it a bit. I joined to gain some experience and get some info on what the best bet would be for me.
First off, my dad is a hardcore Chevrolet fan, so I grew up with Chevy and havent had much personal experience with ford outside of my truck, but for the most part an engine is an engine. I love my truck though, no worries there. Im going to drive this thing until it dies. We've made a few trips to the junkyard already haha.
I've always wanted to have a hobby car, but I only have the one vehicle. Just recently I had to buy some new tires and I went and splurged on some rims too. I had previously been restoring the truck, as most of the stuff was old and broken. After finally purchasing the new tires and rims, I decided that I would upgrade this one since I probably wont have another car for a long while. Ive been wanting to do an engine swap, and I was looking for some input on what the best option would be. Ive heard about the new mustang with the ecoboost 2.3 liter engine with 305hp! That would be perfect for my truck since its still a 2.3, I wouldnt have to do much with the suspension or transmission yet. But, I dont have the funds to pay for that engine, as Im sure it will be over 10k once its released for sale; However, I asked a friend and he told me about an old svo engine that the 84-86 mustangs had in them. They were turbo as well, and still a 2.3 so I was thinking about taht too. I've also thought about a 5.0 engine, but that would cost a lot, and take a lot of extra work as I would have to replace suspension, transmission, drivetrain, driveshaft, and possibly my rear differential. SO on top of the 6k-14k engine, I would have to pay for a transmission as well. Thats a bit out of my price range. My friend also mentioned a couple of upgrades I could do to my current 2.3. He mentioned turbo'ing it out, but Im sure I would have to change my crankshaft, camshaft, piston head, arms, push rods, and a lot of other little stuff as well. Another few upgrades Ive heard about were a throttle body spacer?? I had never heard of one before he mentioned it, but its supposed to add around 10% hp and its relatively cheap. I already have a cold air intake.
My questions are, what are the easiest quick upgrades I can to, what would be my best option for the engine (swap for 2.3 turbo, 5.0, or upgrade current) and what are the estimated cost and times for any of these options. Thank you for your time,and I look forward to your input and hope I can help some of you at some point.

 

Well, since I do not see any answers yet, maybe I will try. The most common I have seen is the 5.0L/AOD swap. Lots of documentation on the web about how to do it and what parts you need etc. Since you have a 2.3L, you might want to just buy a wrecked Ranger with a 4.0L and swap the engine/trans/rear/wiring to your truck.