Hi all, I have a 350 TBI out of a 1991 k1500 that I am in the process of rebuilding. I had always planned to put it in my 1987 ranger and am ready to start the swap as soon as the motor is finished. The biggest problem I am running into is how the heck am I gonna get all that beautiful Chevy torque to my wheels? I have the Toyo Koygo transmission in the Ranger from what I can gather, and always assumed the easiest way to do the swap was to use the original transmission; however, after some research I have not been able to figure out how to go about doing that. I want to know if it's even possible or if I should start looking for a Chevrolet transmission instead, and get a custom driveshaft made. The transmission I have has a removable bellhousing and it is a 2wd truck. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

You will NOT want to use the TK transmission, even if you could, lol

Yes, use a manual transmission that fits on the engine you want to use, should use a hydraulic clutch setup to make the install easier, internal or external slave can be used
And it should have the ability to hook up a speedometer cable, later models do not

350 was used for many many years with many manual transmissions, need hydraulic clutch and speedometer cable

The Shifter placement will be an issue with any non-Ranger manual trans, measure bell housing to shifter tower on current transmission to give you an idea of what you need
If you have bucket seats you have a little more leeway to have shifter back farther

Drive shaft is not a big deal, you can usually use stock lengths with one end matched to GM trans OR Ford axle plate, via u-joints
But you FIRST need to get the engine and trans installed, in its permanent position, THEN you can measure what length you need

 

Thanks so much for the info! I think you're right, I need to start looking for a new transmission. I can always keep the old one for a spare if I ever get another first gen Ranger because I absolutely love mine. I got it for free, got it running and have put it through about four years of hell and it has hardly skipped a beat, huge respect, just wish it was a little quicker.

P.S. I Think you have been the first to reply to every one of my Ranger posts so far on this forum! Kudos, keep being awesome! You've helped me a ton.

-Levi