I'm thinking about swapping to a V8 in my ranger and from what I've heard the 302 is the biggest you can put in without any major changes to the engine bay. I'm not sure however as to what all will need changed for the 302 to work?

 

Welcome to the forum

Good article to read thru here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...-ford-rangers/

Yes, the 302/5.0l OHV is a good reliable V8 with loads of upgrades as needed, been around a lot of years, parts are easy to come by

You first decide on what YOU want, carb or fuel injection, manual or automatic, 2WD or 4x4
These all matter on "whats needed"
You for sure need engine and trans, Ranger trans can't work with a V8

 

The plan was for it to be a fuel injected, automatic 2WD

 

Best option would be to find a 1996/97 Explorer V8 in 2WD, you get most of the parts needed for the swap, 1998-2001 Explorer V8 2WD will also work just need to deal with PATS and different fuel system, not a deal breaker, just 1996/97 is easier

Explorer V8s used the 4R70W automatics
You can not convert 4WD transmissions to 2WD, or visa versa, so if you get a 4WD Explorer you will need to trade for or get a 4R70W 2WD

The V8 Explorers have the Short nose 5.0l OHV setup which is needed to fit in Ranger engine bay
They also have the low profile intake manifold which is also needed
Other Ford cars and trucks using the 302/5.0l OHV often had Long nose setup and tall intakes because engine bay was much bigger
But you can mix and match engine, trans and computer to get what you want

 

I'm having trouble even finding a 2wd v8 explorer. Would it be possible to get an engine from a explorer and a transmission from an F150?

 

The Explorer 5.0l Computer will want a 4R70W transmission

Go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_AOD_transmission
Scroll down to see what vehicles that trans was in, BUT.....................it also must be from a vehicle that had a 5.0l OHV engine so bell housing matches up