alright well ive stated in my introduction. i want to do a 302 swap cuz i want alot larger tires and the little 2.3L in it wont work to turn them lol.

alright well i have an 83 ford ranger with the 2.3L 4 speed manual. its only 4x2 and i want 4x4, but i dont want independent front suspention, i want a solid front axle to save me alot of money with alignment. so my questions are:

what vehicle has a solid front axle that will fit the ranger? im figuring an 82 to 88 Bronco II but will the front axle fit and work and will the 4x4 from the Bronco work too. cuz if i do the front axle swap i want the 4x4 out of it to cuz im just goin to buy the whole truck to do it.
to go with the last question: will the motor size matter to look at swapping 4x4 out of the donor vehicle? since the trany will b different.

would it be easier to swap out the front and rear axle so the 4x4 swap will be easier or will i be better off keeping the rangers stock rear?

the 302 swap, i have talked to my cousin(a mechanic) he siad the 302 will fit with a 5 speed tranny but it will b tight. so my question is, is it worth it to do the 302 swap or is there a better motor to swap into its place? it has to stay standard tranny tho, no automatic crap. lol i havent owned an auto yet and dont plan to either.

what is the highest lift the sell for the rangers of my year, all i have found is 6" and i want atleast 35s but would rather have 38s to 40s without cutting apart the fenders. i know i will need flares ciz they will be atleast 12.50s i want a big toy not a kinda big toy.lol.

i know there alot of qestions and people on forums normally complain when they get bombarded with questions but u dont have to answer every one of the question, unless you want to. lol. well thanks guys. and dont be afraid to tell me im wrong im used to big truck not little rangers. lol. so i can use some help. lol.

 

you might want to try BroncoII.org its more geared towards the first gens like we have. also allot of info on engine swaps.

 

302 is probally the easiest swap. Do it and take pics!!! also whats up with all the name copying lol

 

For the Axles... A 83 - 88 BII is going to have the TTB setup which is the exact same setup as 4x4 rangers. Actually a D28 which is known for being weak (apparently, I haven't boken mine yet) But your going to want a stronger axle for the v8 as well as a stronger back axle. I would reccomend a 9" out back and an EB D44 solid front, but you can chose any combo of stronger full size axles. Even an 8.8: out of a 95 or 96+ explorer because you get the stronger 31 spline shafts and Disc brakes, not to mention the fact its only a few inches shy of your 7.5" under the truck right now.

But since you wanna run 38's or 40's? You definately got to go with bigger axles and probably beef them Up a bit. And run some Deep gears atleast 5.13's or bigger.

For a donor Truck I would look into an f150 for a 302 or an F250 for the bigger axles and possibly a 5.8L or 460, (or a 7.3 diesel if you wanna get crazy!)

That said a 302 swap is cake, make mounting brackets drop it in and bolt it up pretty much, a 351W is aslo pretty simple just some minor frame notching for the headers. and a 460 and 7.3 can fit with some mods too. All depends on what you want and how much you know or how much you have. All of these motors came with a 5 speed option too and manual t cases.

As for a lift, you can get an 8" skyjacker lift... for the stock axles which you won't be able to use with the tires you want. Your looking at a custom setup. I reccomend a 3" body lift as well to give you more room under the hood of your truck and the fenderwells. You can also get Fiberglass fender kits that give a major opening i think around 4" taller and flare out 4" as well.

Its going to be kinda expensive unless you know where to look.

 

hey thanks, id luv to drop a 7.3L powerstroke then stack the b*tch. lol and then chip it, and black everyone out hell ya, all fron a danger Ranger. lol. but ya i might do a 302 till i get another truck then do a diesel swap in it. cuz then it will b strickly and off road rig. but that will b later. but ya alot of this helps. thanks keep goin if theres more i learn quick with cars. lol.