Thinking about putting a fiesta st motor in my ranger im no mechanic but was wondering if i would be able to do that and also if it would be rear wheel drive still

 

The motor is peppy, but since the Fiesta is a Front Wheel Drive Vehicle and the Transmission from your truck would not bolt up directly, this would be a custom and complete drive train swap to retain rear wheel drive. (I recall reading that the 2016+ Miata transmissions will bolt up to the 1.6L turbo Ford Engine, then you would need a custom driveshaft and the Fiesta ECU)From your profile you have a '95 with the 3.0L V6, transmission unknown.

• I've herd of people swapping in the 4.6L V8 from a 90's Explorer into these trucks
• I've also seen people swap in the 2.5L engine from the '98-'00 Rangers as well as the 2.3L from the '01-'11 Rangers.

For practicality what about swapping in a 2.3L from a '01-'11 Ranger? (The only thing that sucks is changing Spark Plugs. Its a is a pain, you have to remove the intake to get to the ones on the driver's side rear)
That said...

• Parts are more accessible and the motor itself could be built up with forged internals and a small turbo for a mild HP boost.
• The M5OD Transmission would bolt up nicely, its my understanding the Manual Transmission was virtually unchanged since the late 1980's.
  • However the Automatic transmissions changed. In the 1990's Ford used the 4R44E (4WD? IDK)/4R55E (2WD). In the 2000's they switched to the 5R55E.

Just a thought. Hope this helps.