Okay just a curiosity. Can you persay take the body off an Explorer and put your ranger body on the Explorer frame? Was just curious. I currently have a 96 extended cab XLT witha 2.3L. Was wondering if I could do the swap with a AWD or 2wd 5.0 Explorer? I have used the search feature but it was not my friend so thought I would ask.

 

No

 

Seriously now...I want a straight answer...no beating around the bush.

 

the frames are in no way compatable with eachother..plus the explorers are shorter than rangers

 

thats as straight as it gets....unlees your prepaired for some serious modifications

 

lol

come on now, don't butter it up for me.

 

Thanks for the responses. It was a curiosity since so much other stuff was compatable, i figured it could not hurt to ask.

 

the front are the same (depending on the years) and the rear are different

Explorers have wider rear frame rails then rangers, ranger's rear leaf attach to the side of the frame rails, while explorers leaf attach UNDER the frame rail

96+ explorers had tbar front ends, so those would match a 98+ tbar ranger setup

you would have to splice the 2 frame ends together, or find a way to make new bed mounts

 

It can be done I am actually in the middle of swap a 1995 ford ranger body on 1998 ford explorer frame with 302 and AWD

 

welder and cutoff wheels make anything possible....

 

The only two tools that were used were a tape measure and the one between your ears. Pictures are available .

 

You can unscrew bolts with your brain and a tape measure? Thats sweet! I'd like a video of that!

 

lol smarty.

This sounds interesting.

 

I don't see how too vehicles with different mounting points and wheel bases could swap frames. Unless you created all new mounts and moved stuff around.

 

The ranger cab is held on the chassis using 6 mounting locations (4 bolts and 2 studs with nuts). The studs are only about 1/2" off on either side so what you can do is extend the mounting holes a bit (we choose to replace the core support from the explorer to ranger because we like the look better). The second row of mounting locations line right up ,and as far as the third row you can do several things. You can keep the explorer monuts where they are and just drill holes where those mounts are or move the mounts and basically create a pedstal mount towards the rear of the chassis. And as for as the bed ,with a swb ranger its might be easy to put on with minimal effort,we have a long wheelbase ranger so have to cut basically 8" out of the bed to make it fit.

 

^^I'd like to see some pics!

 

Yeah that sounds like a pretty detailed explanation so I'm gonna believe it hahaha

Just need some shots to prove it.

 

OK, non-believers, here it is.

The donor: 1998 Explorer XLT AWD 5.0L



The Recipient: 1995 Ranger XLT Super Cab (Oh yeah, we already put a 302 and C-4 in it, but anybody can do that.)



Here are the rolling chassis, side by side: (Skipped over all the disassembly)
Notice on the Explorer (foreground) that there is a body mount on either side, opposite the transfer case. These mounts do not line up with the Ranger mount points (see the chassis in the background.) We cut off these mounts (Explorer) and saved them for later.



We mounted the body on the Explorer chassis using only the front four mounts for now. Once we bolted it down, we modified and placed the rear mounts where they belonged under the Ranger and bolted them in. Once we were sure they were lined up correctly, we tacked them in place, loosened all the body bolts and jacked up the body so we could complete the welding of the mounts, then retightened the body bolts. We plan to do some more gusseting of the mounts and make them look a little nicer, but they are plenty strong the way they are.







Although the Ranger core support worked by extending the mounting holes, the A/C condenser didn't fit and here in Florida, no A/C is not an option. So we decided to cut out the Ranger core support and use the Explorer support.




Here is the Explorer core support ready to be installed.


And installed.




The Explorer core support slopes down on the ends, so there is a gap of about an inch or so.




Solution? Cut wedges out of the Ranger core and weld them in.



So there you have it up until now. We will be putting the Explorer wiring harness, all the optional equipment, Explorer interior and the paint and body work.

More pictures as things progress. Stay tuned.

By the way, those who said it can't be done, this was done by a 19 year old college student and his 64 year old grandfather, neither of which are in the automotive field.

 

NICE!!

Thanks for the pics.

What made you want to do this project?

 

Thats awesome , if u put ur mind to it , u can do anything

 

I dont wanna be "that guy" but isnt a 5.0L swap into a 4x4 Ranger the same thing as a AWD 5.0L frame swap? And the 4x4 would get better mpg because you can turn off the 4 wheel drive. Right?

 

Dont get me wrong, I love the fact that you guys did it! Itll definitly be one of a kind and I love custom!

 

Have you ever driven a subaru impreza? I already had the V8 but a three speed automatic and ttb front suspension , so why not? The explorer has everything I wanted including AWD independent front supsension 8.8 rear locker and of couse a V8. And plus this project is exclusive,how many people have one? Everybody said you couldn't and I knew I could. And AWD is different then 4WD just for those who forgot.

 

The 4WD is good for off road,but this is a street truck ,a factory truck with some non-factory options.

 

You can leave your 4x4 in 4 high and have the same effect. And yes I have drove a Subaru Impreza WRX STI. It was trubo charged so there was no comparison to an SUV.
And I would swap that 3 speed for a 5. Maybe even a manual? That would be amazing! Then I would definitly be impressed!