The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop ranger swap

Ive been doing some research about frame swaps and i noticed that the ford rangers wheel base is 125 inches and my 3600 is 125.25 which is as close as it gets. my question is,is thier a reason no ones done this swap before or just because it hasnt come up, what other things has to go into consideration when swapping the body, i know thiers no conversion kit for it so ill be doing my own fabrication, but i just wasnt shure if thier was any other major reasons in doin a s10 compared to other frames?

the ranger swap i never heard of. will it beable to handle the engine you are putting in i mean the rearend? i know my 91 ranger rear end is pretty puny. and how hard will it be for all the body mounts?

I've never seen a Ranger frame without a Ranger body on it. I'd suggest you at least crawl under a Ranger with a tape measure and get an idea what you would be dealing with.

Assuming its a ladder type frame with parallel rails similar to an S-10 the project would be similar.

You'll find less help and aftermarket support for things like the steering box and engine mounts. If I were considering such a thing I'd snoop around on the Ford sites and see if you can read up on F-1 guys putting their trucks on Ranger frames.

If you find much information about that it would give you some idea what you are facing. If they are all using S-10 frames too you need to find out why.

yah i wasnt shure just doin some research dont really have a grand to spend on a adengineering kit so i was just going to take my time building it myself,and since i saw the ranger was the right length id thought id study up on it. ill probly see what the ford guys are doin,

What year Ranger are you thinking? There could be some issues, as the Ranger frames do tend to have more kickups fore and aft of the cab than the S10 does. Also, front suspension components can be rather expensive for them, due to the Ranger not sharing any components with other vehicles in fords fleet. Case in point, upper balljoints (a commo problem area with Rangers), you have to replace the entire control arm at about $190 a pop, not counting labor. Earlier Rangers have handling issues due to the TIB front end, which is also expensive to lower if that is the direction you would want to go. As the others said, do plenty of research before you dive into it.

a 1996 ford super cab,i woulndt lower it i was kinda thinkin of lifting it to make it a 4x4

If I were frame swapping and wanted four-wheel-drive I'd swap to a four-wheel-drive frame. Adding the front axle and transfer case mean you are fabricating both suspension mounts and body mounts along with adapting all the controls.

In my mind the only reason to do a frame swap is to get suspension you can't get with the stock frame. If you want IFS a frame swap is one way to get there. If you want IFS four-wheel-drive its probably the only practical way to get there.

But if you want a lifted 4x4 you probably want a solid front axle and in that case I'd suggest keeping the original frame and adding the pieces to it. Converting your original frame will be no more work than converting the Ranger frame, and it saves you the body mount issues you'll have with any frame swap.

The 98 and newer Rangers went to a conventional A-frame set up instead the really bad twin I-beam. Many had the 8.8 rear end which the Mustang guys swear will take as severe a beating as the 9 inch. Don't be leery of trying something different. I have a 63 short wide on an 83 Caprice frame and the wheelbase and tread width are perfect plus it rides great and was a much easier swap than a 52 onto an S10 that I did.

you dont need AD Engineering's kit to put an S-10 frame under an AD. you simply need a torch, welder, and some fabricating skills, and a little research.

The 98 and later rangers have a 58" track width, however I believe the earlier rangers have a much narrower track width.

However like Steve said, if you plan on making it a lifted 4x4, simply roll a straight axle front end under the truck you have just like the Neapco conversions.

Scott

from what i have read those "chassis eng. kits are not really all they are said to be for $1000+. seen plenty of swaps that were deemed sucessful not using one. the pirate 4x4 forum might be the place for your project info. stop by your local 4x4 shop and ask them what they think