Howdy! So I'm trying to decide if I want to swap my 4.0 for a 5.0 or keep it. I dont need a ton of power, I'm just looking for the ballpark of 250 to 300hp. I've got a list of things I want to do to my little pickup, some of these I already have and others I will need to buy. Based on some of y'alls expertise I was hoping someone could estimate what this list'd get me power wise

BBK 66mm throttle body
24lb fuel injectors
Comp Cams 410
headers (he said they're long tube headers that're on it right now)
ported and polished 98tm aftermarket casting heads with stainless steel valves and dual valve springs, 1.7:1 or 1.8:1 roller rockers from Morana V6 Racing, maybe I'd buy the heads from them directly and pony up the 3k to ship it to me already set up
Daves screamin demon coil pack and wire set w/NGK Iridium IX plugs gapped to .065"
K&N cone filter as stock replacement
MAF from a SOHC Ranger
Not a power booster by any means, but the Hurst short throw shifter kit for the manual 5 speeds. Im not a fan of how long the throw is now

Depending on what you guys say the above setup alone would net me I may throw on either a turbo or a supercharger. I'm leaning turbo but that means I have to nix the headers and fabricobble my own setup, but the turbo adds fuel mileage and power vs the supercharger where I've heard as bad as 12mpg. Yall can tell me better. I'd honestly like to have a supercharger just for ease of simplicity and less fabircobbling a lot of pipes n stuff, that and I can keep my headers, but fuel economy is a requirement for me at the moment

 

Helps to know starting line, lol
1994 4.0l OHV engine

V8 swap, "there is no replacement for displacement"

250-300HP from a 5.0l(302) with 215HP requires very little in upgrades and will run better long term, than a 4.0l OHV, 160HP with a BUNCH of stuff added, and you wouldn't get past 200HP without a supercharger, which pretty much guaranties you will blow the engine at some point, lol, "just one more PSI boost won't hurt"

Only if you were racing in a 4.0l Limited division should you try to make the fastest 4.0l on the block, in my opinion, it makes any engine unreliable when you increase power output more than 25-30%

You can run a 302 with carb and distributor to start, then upgrade to EFI and distributorless with computer
Or start with Explorer 5.0l, and do the wiring needed

The 1997-2003 M5OD-R2(M5R2) transmission from an F-150 with 4.2l V6 will bolt to the 5.0l(302) block, and has shifter in the same place as the M5R1 in your Ranger now
Earlier 302 manual transmissions had the shifter farther forward and WILL WORK, you just need to bend the shifter arm down a little to clear the Ranger dash in 1, 3, and 5