Forward : Grab a fresh cup of ' Joe ' folks. This is going to be a long one.

bwester.. Umm.. Kind of.

I have an 02 xlt ( Presently has 28,000miles , 3.0 Awefulmatic ) thats getting the Modified SOHC , T5 , fuel system.. basically everything off the blue truck thats in the engine bay and will become the ' daily driver ' once the blue truck is done. Odds are, I'll have the black truck done before the blue one as I believe it will take Myself and 2 others less then a day to do the swap. Mind you, the ' 2 others ' own a dyno and have a custom shop and presently owe me some cash . Ah.. favors :)

I've done another 3.0 to 4.0 conversion. The best method is an insurance wreck, Something thats had the **** end of it unwantingly modified. This will give you everything you need as far as drivetrain, pats, gauges.

Its not that hard so long as nothing is rushed and your not pulling a highly modified wiring department out ( Something Like Griggs'es that has more taps then a Mosques phone lines by the FBI )

Pros and cons to a 4.0 sohc swap and a comparritive 302 swap.

- Rangers came with the 4.0, parts are common and diagnosing issues are common. The forums here could answer a lot of your questions from many sources, not just a ' limited few '.

- A 15$ Haynes manual from a parts store is teh only real ' instructions ' you would need.

- A boneyard Ranger with an SOHC could be EASILY had for under a grand in my area. 2000$ MAX for a diecent one just about anywhere.

- The weight difference on your vehical.. its already compensated for. OEM springs/bars will balance it all out.

Cons of an SOHC...

- Outside of grenading a few from my OWN doings ( IE: Too much laughing gas ), I've had none. Sure they dont like swimming ( l2en, I had to say it :) ) but have you heard of any others burning rings? Oil? Tossing a rod? Spinning a berring? Honestly.. there a pretty reliable motor. Almost 10 years on the market and Ford even put it in the Mustang. Kinda says something about the ' cons ' of it ( honestly, theres none ) .

No need to go into the testosterone ' Pros ' of a V8 so...

Cons against a 302..

- Limited exhaust manifold choices. You can have custom hedders made OR you can make your own with a mandrel bender and a mig welder. Blank flanges can be bought from Summit racing for under 100$ and collectors aren't hard to find depending on your primary size tubes. If your not a proficient welder, your going to shell out some bucks to have someone who KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING putting all your parts together. An exhaust leak is a very bad thing in such a tight compartment. Ka-Ching! $

- Emissions. Some states mandate emissions checks. Others require a visual ' yep it has a cat on it ' types of inspections. The laws are changing and those dredded ' Cali Car Crushers ' are making their ways to the East coast in a hurry! OBD2 doesn't lie when they strap that connector to your socket under the steering wheel. Correcting Emissions problems ( Trust me.. ) they are the sux0rz more so then myspace ) Ka-ching! $

- A Rebuilt 302, one not from a friends car that has been launched 50,000 times and a diecent tranny to back it will cost a good nickle. Then you need motor mounts ( preferabbly new as the polymer/rubber ) on olderones tends to ' give '. Small block ford motor mounts.. about 100$ over the counter ( 52$ each here ). Making a block adaptor for them will require a friends help with the welder again ( did I mention my garage had a fridge filled with beer.. its all gone and needs to be restocked before he will come over again.. )

- Whole new fuel system. Most of the late Model 302's ran on a return type of fuel system. A good V8 can suck fuel through those lines better then Jenna Jamison can suck a.. ( Umm.. sorry ).. Your going to WANT a pump that can push 155lph or better, a fuel regulator.. lines.. Ka-Ching ! $ again.

- Cooling . custom radiator or you can shell out $300 to ford for an exploder radiator for the 302 equipped trucks. I had a 4 core/4row one made for 455 CID moving 2800 CFM's through it.

- Transmission cross member.. Can't just toss a piece of barstock in there..

- Making room for the bigger transmission.. Well in my case I need to. Its going to require a bit of floorboard modification, cutting/welding..

- Drive shaft to connect it all anyone?

- One thing a LOT of people don't consider.. This came to me in my ' planning ' and why its taken so long to even get things going.. Think of where the exhaust on a 302 goes? You could run a single exhaust and totally defy all that lovely torque you were trying for in the first place, or you can get one of those cheep x-pipe setups.. wait.. Don't we have a gastank under the drivers seat that would block that side of the exhaust? So.. you can now get a fuel cell or an older B2 Gas tank that mounts where your spare is.. then have to move the spare tire to.. just leave it in the bed, unsecured?

- How about that shifter linkage for the tranny? Not the one that used to be a guy, but the one that changes gears -vs- gender.. A Tranny needs to know which way its going in either case..

Theres a LOT that needs to be considered. Its WAY more then just plucking a motor. Its a year ( or 3 ) of planning.

Not to be a **** and use anyone specific as an example, but does anyone see Rwenzingers truck ' done overnight '? We all know hes been a godsend to a LOT of us and is a VERY wise individual. Hes talking his time and working things through and he has a complete donar vehical to just ' swap ' from..

I believe, for the ' average person ', a SOHC swap is a piece of cake. If you have some RELIABLE friends ( I had to capitolise that as we ALL have THOSE kind of friends.. ) it should take a weekend from extraction to turning the key. Many of your present items can be re-used and maybe even having a friend with a SOHC in their ranger over so you can get a visual on where things go.. that alone is a BIG advantage ( How many 5liter Ranger owners live near any of us and how modified is their wiring harness? ).

Theres HEADACHES involved with doing a v8 swap. I put a 302, a 351W and a 289 in my old 84 ranger and it was EASY ( Carb -vs- EFI ) compared to what I'm up against right now.

Welcome to the Information age/EFI. Swap in a SOHC. I'm confident you can do it Werty.

 

Depends on what YOUR definition of ' fast ' is. To me, its ' slow ' for the most part. 9.1/9.2 in an 1/8th isn't really ' fast ' by many standards. Then again, some trucks couldnt run a 15second 8th mile, could they.

 

I was originally just going to build a ' non-street ' strip queen myself. But we start stewing and thinking and make changes to our original intentions.. then go over our budgets and forget the smallest of details.. Pass me a beer.. I'm right there with ya.

A v8 is aproject.. a SOHC is a swap. Huge difference.

I'm TRYING to obtain all new parts.. somethings are just ' hard to find '.

McYups.