Thread: I need to know some things about a 302

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the 77 and up 302 were recasted and are not as strong as the older engines. i like the crowler baja torq.cams the 302 one is 264 dur.and 467 lift.lots of low end and will rev to the 6500 rpm range. big cam in a small engine makes for a very unhappy owner.

polish the combustion chambers and that will help with any hotspots in the head

if you want a mud truck, you do not want a choppy idle. truck needs torque.. 302 4x4 isn't hard in a Ranger.. the M5-OD R2 5spd and transfer case from a 300/6 or 302 F-150 4x4 is a bolt in.

however, 4.10 gears are not going to cut it with 36" tires and you will need a 4.56 at least, and you will need about 8" of lift to run those tires and a good lift kit is about $800-1000, unless you go cheapo with a body lift and just cut the fenders, but that looks hideous... axles will also need upgraded. if it's a 4cyl truck, it's got a Dana 28 front, and 7.5" rear. if you put that thru the mud, you will end up with broken hubs and chewed up axles.. if it's a V6 it's a Dana 35 and 7.5", and will chew up just the same... your going to want a Ranger 8.8" axle, and a Dana 44 from a Cherokee to do a solid axle swap... if you don't, anyone who knows anything about 4x4's/ mud trucks will know yours is a pavement princess just by looking at it... really tho, 33's are more than enough tire for a Ranger, and you could get by with a Dana 35 front with them, but you would want it built a bit and run Warn lockers

The ranger is a v6 ranger. I have an 8.8 front and rear out of an explorer and I was going to run 3.73 gear with 31's or 33's with a 4 speed transmission. I wasn't wanting that choppy of an idle just a noticeable cam. I think I am going to go with a 280H comp cam. I think im just going to put the motor together now and then later on when I have more $$$ I will put more money into it.

unless you weld on new spring pads, an explorer 8.8" will lower the rear about 2.5".. Explorers and Rangers both used Dana 35's in the front. but even the D35 won't like 36" tires

Originally Posted by Matt167

unless you weld on new spring pads, an explorer 8.8" will lower the rear about 2.5".. Explorers and Rangers both used Dana 35's in the front. but even the D35 won't like 36" tires

what about those peices that were on the explorer that the rear leaf springs were mounted to? if anything i can add another leaf or two right? oh, and the ranger was a 4x4 with the factory 2" lift blocks in the rear so maybe thats how you figure the 2.5" difference. my dads used little 7.5's in mustangs and thunderbirds with bigger motors and more power and never tore a rear end out but he did bend the little pin that holds the spiders in place. i figured to weld the spiders in the rear or buy a minispool. my dads friend did tear a front end out of a ranger it was a 7.5 by driving in 4x4 with 2 different size tires on the front. my dad said whatever front end i put in it a 7.5 or 8.8 to replace the universals on them with some good new heavy-duty USA made ones. he said thats the main flaw in 7.5 and 8.8 front ends is the u-joints. i would like to put a jeep straight axle in it but i figure thats too much work.

what about the compression ratio questions?

if you plan on any street driving, do not run a spool or lincoln locker ( welded differential ).. run a detroit locker or a powertraxx if you want a full on locker... as far as an expo axle, they have the leaf springs underneath the axle, where as the Ranger has them ontop of the axle. most all 4x4 Rangers came with 2" lift blocks in the rear but you have to weld new spring pads on the top of the expo axle otherwise, you will lower the truck 4.5" with the lift blocks acting as lowering blocks.. 7.5 will not like 36" tires, that's not a hp issue, 36" are pretty heavy and the 7.5 is just too weak

Jeep SAS conversion is a common upgrade for Rangers.. just need to weld a few mounts to the frame..
and as far as compression, it all depends on what kind of gas you want to run.. if your ok with 90+ octane at $3.50+ per gallon, then run around a 9.5:1 compression with alloy heads...

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Jerry, you're talking about boltin' muscle on a midget. Forget about that weak-suck 302 and step up to a man's playtoy. Buy a good-runnin' 460 4X4, yank the body off it, shorten the wheelbase to whatever a Ranger is and bolt the Ranger body on top of the bad boy frame. Cheap and bulletproof. No muss, no fuss, no broken parts. Blow all the other musclebound midgets into the ditch.

GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!

I would do a 393 stroker. it'll still fit in the Ranger bay, and sit on the stock frame using Ford Mustang engine mounts ( same thing as the advance adapters mounts for ~$250 less ).. I'v also seen full 70's F-150 4x4 drive train swapped in.. solid axle D44 front, 9" rear

Originally Posted by techinspector1

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Jerry, you're talking about boltin' muscle on a midget. Forget about that weak-suck 302 and step up to a man's playtoy. Buy a good-runnin' 460 4X4, yank the body off it, shorten the wheelbase to whatever a Ranger is and bolt the Ranger body on top of the bad boy frame. Cheap and bulletproof. No muss, no fuss, no broken parts. Blow all the other musclebound midgets into the ditch.

GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!

yeah i would like to do that but i really dont have the stuff to do it i have everything for the direct swap in ford the ranger.

how nuch of a difference is there in an f-series and a ranger frame? how much work would it take to put a ranger body on a full size ford frame?

Originally Posted by techinspector1

blah, blah, blah. Jerry, you're talking about boltin' muscle on a midget. Forget about that weak-suck 302 and step up to a man's playtoy. Buy a good-runnin' 460 4x4, yank the body off it, shorten the wheelbase to whatever a ranger is and bolt the ranger body on top of the bad boy frame. Cheap and bulletproof. No muss, no fuss, no broken parts. Blow all the other musclebound midgets into the ditch.

Go big or go home!!! :d:lol:

get down with your bad self!