here is my 1987 Ford Ranger xlt ext cab 2wd 302 H.O.
as u can see it needs cleaned and let out of the garage. im workin on that, just got it back to life. its been a long time comn. when i turned the key it fired right up. it set for 5-6years. only has a couple thousand miles on the engine n tranny.

 

Awesome looks clean! I need better pictures of that swap!

 

I want.

 

that looks really good! i would be very careful on firing an engine that has been sitting for 5 years

 

Nice, just needs a little TLC.

 

got a kit from total performance out of MI. headers, motor mounts, oil filter relocater, n double hump oil pan. its a 79 302 out of a merc capri. put in a decent cam, got it rebuilt n balanced, 289 heads with new parts, 3 core radiator, accel ign, c4 with shiftkit, driveshaft from a ford van that had to be modified, org 7.5 rear end...it has factory 3.73 gears. just put in factory headlight harness (a bit of miswiring on my part,burnt up the org one) from a 87 bronco II, new fan...17" dia 2400 cfm and only 2 5/8" deep!
a good friend did the majority of it and supervised me :)
the brakes were good when i parked it but now pedal goes to floor...seems like air in them...gona try to bleed them?

edit: very little mods needed...notch small v in passenger side frame rail for header to fit, drill one hole on drivers side for motor mount, make plate to extend tranimision mount, find a driveshaft to cut down, get a radiator made to fit, relocate oil filter, thats the major things that has to be done.

 

yeh, havent ran it long enough to really check for it burning oil...shouldv at least primed the oil system b4 starting.



lol it needs a lot of tlc

 

adding comments from other post to keep this all together. thread will hopefully be getting moved to v-8 project section

"I'm happy to announce that my 87 ranger is alive and well. I bought this in 1995 it had 4cy 5 speed, a minivan pulled out in front of me 2 weeks after I got it and the front end got smashed. Not to worry it was fixable. Then the engine blew up a year later...I responded with a 1979 302 H.O. from a Mercury Capri. About 6 years ago more problems occured, due to my own negligence. I parked it in the garage and left it there until a week ago. Long story short I had to replace the headlight wiring harness and electric cooling fan. Last week I found a guy who has 4 bronco II"s and he sold me a harness, ordered a fan from Jegs on Friday evening and recieved it Saturday morning. All parts installed and just need to fix brake problem"

update:
the new electric fan from jegs really moves some air...2400cfm and only 2 5/8" deep..fits perfect!

well i think the master cylinder is bad...no brake pedal with truck running and with truck off. i have removed the wheels and both front and rear brakes need replaced. i hope to get this done next week and i guess i will put on a new mstr cyl. prolly gona have well over $200 in mst cyl, shoes, pads, rear brake parts, drums, n rotors. this truck was a lot cheaper when i was unmotivated and it just sat in the garage with no immediate plans. lol

it also looks like steering box is leaking, tranny pan, and im sure there are more leaks than that. i remember when i parked it that it had some leaks but kinda put it outa my mind. well im gona get this truck leak free and fix and clean up everything that it needs. its gona take more time than money, i guess i know what im going to be doing for the rest of the summer.

i just started it up yesterday to here it rumble...that gives me the motivation to continue on with it instead seeing set there doing nothing.

 

new master cylinder installed, new front rotors, pads and calipers installed, new rear shoes and drums 95% done...the passenger side rear brakes gave me a scrape on my nose and a black eye... the drivers side rear brake piece that rides on the self adjuster broke...waiting on autozone to get it in and the rear brakes will be done. man, i gotta this truck back on the road! I still need to degrease the underside of the truck and tighen up oil and tranny pan. the steering box needs cleaned and need to find out where its leaking. I wish I had a vehicle lift so I could clean the underside easily, maybe the garage around the corner will let me rent a bay for a weekend. The passenger rear tire is almost a slick and the drivers side isnt much better...lol... guess Im gonna have to get 2 new rear tires too

 

got the truck to the carwash and it runs great...but it runs hot, changed thermostat and let air burp out of system, but still runs hotter than the hinges of hell (guage goes to H) (stock guage). i dont know what to do at this point?

 

Check your water pump, I have seen water pumps rot on the inside from sitting a long time pump vanes rust away and it won't pump any water.

 

thanks, never thought of that, hope its not the water pump

 

well...removed water pump and the water inlets on the block were PLUGGED with rusty muck. used a small screwdriver to open them up and green clean coolant flowed out. the pump might b ok but gonna replace it anyway, so i dont have to tear it apart again. gonna flush block n radiator and install new pump this weekend. dam i just wanna b done workin on this thing so i can enjoy it.

 

new water pump didnt have acc holes for tensioner, flushed block and radiator, put old pump back on and...it runs in the normal temp range, just below the (N) on norm. now i hav a fuel pressure prob, either plugged filter or bad pump...thats gona b next weekends project

 

Should obviously replace all filter in the truck after 5 years. Should drain and clean the fuel tank too and get rid o any varnished fuel in there... That will plug up a fuel filter in a hurry

 

yep, bad thing is that it has about 5 gallons of fresh fuel and the rest is old. might have to use the in line pump to drain it...

 

brken wire on holley fuel pump, reconnected and now have the proper fuel pressure..whew. but now the dang thing is starting to run a little hot, think im gonna put a heater core in it to allow for more coolant and help dissipate heat, if that doesnt work then im gonna remove the thermostat and not replace it.

 

Bad idea. The theromstat is a restriction in the system and slows down the coolent flow keeping it in the radiator longer to help it cool. If you take it out it will alow the coolent to flow faster and not cool as good. If you are still set on taking it out then just gut the center of it out and put the outer part back in as a little bit of a restrictor to help.

 

that makes sense. i talked to a mechanic and he said b4 i do anything else hook up a mechanical temp guage to verify that it runnin hot...might be ok, the factory guage could be wrong

 

Ah! Nice Ranger. And thanks for telling me about this site.

 

got new rear tires last week....255/60/15....there a bit taller and i think i lost a little bit of 60'-100' launch times (didnt time it just feels slower) but it looks good with the the big meats on back

was having overheating probs and i cant believe what worked but it did....water wetter, yep thought it was a gimmick but i cant get this truck to overheat now. it hasnt been very hot outside yet so i could be jumpin the gun on this positive review, but i took the ranger out the other day and beat the hell out of it...3 (1/4) passes and plenty of city driving with idleing....it wont overheat! wow! will re-post when it warms up outside

need to get new pics of it too

 

you may need a larger radiator. did you remove the heater core or just the lines going to it? it does help but only if you keep it on. maybe just lower the theromstat. i bet you're running a 190 . i keep 160 in my trucks

 

nice truck and good luck wish i had one to play with!!

 

i have a high flow 160 thermostat in it, the radiator is a custom 3 core that barley fits, i hav the heater core bypassed cause it started leaking. the real test for the water wetter will be when the temps get hot this summer, been cold n rainy forever so far

 

that truck looks clean. nice score. need more pics.