I'm pretty much done here, I can offer NO info beyond SBF to Ranger swaps.
Although, I did remove with extreme prejudice a boat anchor 2.9 and swap in a 4.0 OHV ...............easy swap.

 

Hi Wolfie.One of the nicest SBF in a Ranger was built by a guy that I knew in Fl.Looked for a while till he found the drive train he wanted.Got the complete DT out of a wrecked Fla Hiway Patrol supervisors Mustang.Including the complete under hood and under dash wiring harness and computer.The transmission was a 5 speed stick.Plus the VIN number.As I guess you know,with a LEO car,you have to have the VIN to order the correct parts for engine and DT or computer.
Took him about a year of part time working on it to complete,but,it looked factory when done.Was a sweet ride for sure.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

The one bright side in it all is that I'm not under any pressure or aggro to get it done - so it WILL be right, however it comes out. In Memphis we have an old time speed shop called "Second Hand Power" and I think I'll be snooping around there next month.

If any place in my area has a deal on shorty or block hugger headers for a SBF it will be them...

 

I have a pair of chrome ones here I'll give you a bargin on. Never been used.....
1 1/2" outlet, mustang.
Paid $300. I'll sell them to you for $100 + shipping
they have the gaskets and mounting hardware with them.
This weekend, I'll take them off the box truck, and take a picture or 3 of them if you are interested

Was going to sell them at the flea market, but if you need them, you are welcome too them

 

1 1/2" out seems kind of small - I thought most performance headers came out around 2" to 2 1/4" ?

It's worth shooting pics of though, and I could be wrong. I sure can't do anything about it this month though, by December both my hip pockets will have holes scraped through!

Interesting news:
I found when I got the Windsor on a stand, the center lower left bank head bolt hole was totally stripped out, so I called Sandy Walkers shop to find out if the block was ruined, or if it could be made even stronger with helicoils in all the head bolt holes. That was how I found out Sandy passed away this year...

But after calling around a few more places, I was told about what are called "TIME-SERTS", which are different from a helicoil in that they are not a wound-wire thread insert - they are a threaded sleeve, and are available in all three grades of stainless steel!

This is a completely new idea, and a whole new proposition...

A time-sert is installed very much like a helicoil, but has a number of obvious advantages. The guy I talked to (a Machinist) said that he suggested them because what I was asking for was something that would be STRONGER than the original threads - and he told me a time-sert would damned sure do that.

I mentioned that back in the day - around the mid seventies - when I was working at an air-cooled VW shop, just as they were beginning to explore the 1835cc mods, it was standard procedure to helicoil the engine casings - and the guy said that for aluminum casings a helicoil might really be a good idea, but for a cast iron block - helicoils are not good enough. The one sure way to IMPROVE the threads is with a sleeve, and that is what TIME-SERTS are....

It makes them stronger than new - and that is the goal! The torque is spread out over a larger area (the outer threads of the sleeve take a bigger bite), and the material is stronger than the original

The "SLEEVE" design also means that Loctite used on the outside of it, cannot leak in through the spiral thread material as in a helicoil


Now, I realize this is an advertisement sort of a video - but you have to look at what they are talking about. I apologise in advance if I am stepping on any toes - but then again, maybe they can be talked into helping sponsor FTZ, which I think would be very cool! Because we are all about making our wheels strong, and very often bringing old engines back from the dead.

Check this out:

 

Agreed
The crank needs some work, as does the block

Here ya go wolfie #ad

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These are to make Dave drool
stock 85 mustang headers ( rare) #ad

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Last, just for Wolfie to think about, maybe for less room taken up,
replacement headers, 87-96 5.0 F 150
#ad

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#ad

 

I have to salvage out the old "OOHGAH" horn from the Ranger to use in my present car (along with a 12VDC to 6VDC down-regulator) so I should take some serious pic's of the headers that are in there so that we can compare.

OH and BTW (for your SIG)
The reason there is no such thing as a 'Fool-Proof' system - is because there is no such thing as a 'System-Proof' fool!!!
~Creativety is often MIS-USED...

 

You need the header to clear the heat box.
I think the Mustang headers will do it...

 

I guess we can bolt them to a piece of plywood, and measure how much they stick out from the plywood.... IDK

 

I think we'll do that then - and if worse comes to worse I have had some (which for me are normal) weird ideas about what to do with this mill or it's cousins in my garage if I get too frustrated with the Danger Ranger:

Since the first small ford trucks (1/4 ton) had Mazda engines inside them, why not stick an old school ford engine into a Mazda?
~ I DO have an MX-3 in my driveway, with a Plain Jane (for MX-3's) 1600 in it.

If I can't cram a 351W into a Ranger, I wonder if it could be squeazled into a Jap sports car?