Since the Welcome to the Small Chassis Trucks Forum post is now nearly 98% V8 1989 Ranger, I figure it's better late than never getting a thread open about that.

I guess the next indicated step is going to be re-claiming a bunch of pics from my project thread elsewhere, because I never actually kept copies anywhere handy. Serves me right for not cutting a backup C/D for my last PC

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Above was last fall, and the second image is a spare chassis from a V6 Ranger I collected from down in Mississippi. In the shop I have the makings of 3 separate engines:

2.3L, 351W, and a 351M. The 'M' is close to being alive - it just needs head gaskets and accessories.

Similar looking to a Cleveland, the timing case is a notorious one for leaks. But I'm not diving in to a second one of these until the two projects ahead of it are done.

*Don (FABMAN) also pointed out to me a long time ago that fifties F100 cabs fit on Ranger frames just about perfectly.

 

Magnaflux the 351M heads, as they were notorious for cracking!

This usually occurred after the 2 year/24,000 mile warranty had expired, p!ssing off the owners.

351C/351M/400 do not have a timing cover per se, just a flat engine cover plate.

The fuel pump bolts to the left (drivers) side of the engine block, its bolt pattern is 6 & 12 o'clock.

These were the only FoMoCo V8's to have this bolt pattern, all the other pumps have a 3 & 9 o'clock bolt pattern.

 

Wolfie.........Bout' a year ago I told you to ask me anything you need to know about SBF Rangers..........just sayin'

 

Yeah, well, you know - that was right around the time I began to go through chain saws and sanity when fifty or sixty feet of maple tree smacked down on top of my trailer project. It's been an interesting year and a half altogether.

Ya know how sometimes it seems like just when things are coming together they come unglued?

Hopefully I can stay on target from now on, even if I hafta budget every step. I declared war on the trees around my place so that I never have to do damage control again!

*Matter of fact - if you look past the chassis in the bottom picture - you can see the last fifteen or twenty feet of tree leaning at an angle. I got bombed last year, had to get a roof put on the place too.

 

I did the same thing back in 07'. One of the best decisions I've made at this place. I had 22 huge pines on 1 3/4 acres, so there wasn't many places to park or put stuff without a tree or branches falling on it.

 

I bet the sap from the damned needles didn't do you any favors for your paint finishes either. I wish I had a picture of how that miserable nightmare of a maple tree fell - mostly on my Ranger bed trailer, the rest on my extra chassis.

But they came out of it alright, or at least not so bad I can't fix it.

~ and the squirrels that hollered it out are still running all around here.


Cute little buggers, but I hear they are good to eat...

 

I saw something about that years ago on "the old site". Somebody, (can't remember who) bought a new V6 Ranger and put an Effie on it with minimal modification.

 

I was also wondering about Model 'A' and 1934 Cabs - Circle Track catalogs offer a cab that they say only fits their frames, but get enough equipment in one place and "WAAAH, HAAA, HAAAA..."

Wire feed welders and metal working stuff are wonderful toys to have

 

Hmmmm, an M block.... I could have fun with that. It would be my third 335 engine build. I could be very aggressive with it and drop it in the Nissan. Or just offer ideas to you Dutch

 

(?) 335?

It's already a 351, is there a mis-key in that?

For what I was thinking about, I could go in the direction of a near bulletproof mild build to use as a towing machine. I'll have to have something eventually that I can pull a small car hauler with, nothing to drag a full size vehicle with, but for econo-boxes, frames, and parts.

People not in the know could easily mistake it for a Cleveland, and it would be heavy in and of itself. But as a MULE or YARD ENGINE so to speak, I think a mini-tow truck like that would be perfect. I even have a very retro looking green anodized Holley double pumper I could use on it.

 

335 refers to the engine series. 351C, 351M, and 400 engines are 335 engines. I recommend the 400 crank and flat tops for it. Mine ran about 3K for everything in a mild build that Tim Meyer dyno'd at 445 foot pounds and 325 horsepower with a 650 CFM carb. Should tow just fine that way.

 

The advantage to me in keeping it mainly stock is that I'd only have to put a set of head gaskets on it at this point, and then round up all the accessories it needs. It should have less than 20K on it tops. It came out of an eighties Bronco full size that an older gent was using once a year to drive to deer camp.

If I had $3K to throw at something right now, I'd have the siding and soffit redone on my place.

priorities again...
1) Suzuki Swift
2) Get rid of dangerous trees
3) Repairs to house

Both Rangers are somewhere past all that, and without wheels I'm pretty much OOC to do much else. That's why the simplest POV is the prime objective

 

Gotcha. I was offering long term ideas.

 

In my dreams and fantasies the M series is about the toughest engine on earth for a good old fashioned blower engine - and the reasoning behind that is that the crank is a lot heavier and stronger than a normal Cleveland.

Bored and stroked, the M can be taken from a 351 right on out over the 400 CI line, but it still has much stronger main journals (I bet Bill jumps in here) because they are larger than the Cleveland. I forget the specs, but one of the things that made a Cleve faster was the spin-up time of a lighter crank. But if you blow up a Cleve these days it isn't about money - it's about finding another one.

The Cleve series was also notorious for lighter blocks being subject to cracks, if you glom onto one - you better make sure you have it magnafluxed six ways from sunday and inside out. I think they cared less about weight on the 'M's and made them stouter to last.

It is a TRUCK engine, start to finish. They were also good for battleship and barge type large cars like the Lincoln Connie and others. The price of them reflects that in the used market...

If it's rare and hard to find in good condition you can bet you have to convince it's owner to let go of it with a lot more long green paper, and if it turns out to be cracked - the deal better be reversible else you played a bad hand and got skunked. That's why Clevelands kinda scare me off.

I have a bit of confidence in this one (351M), I saw it as it was and did my own checking.

A seasoned block and crank - that may one day have a blower set up after being used well.

Hmm...

It's an idea, but not for right away.

STILL!

What would be more intimidating than a weiand blower on something that outwardly LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE a 351 Cleveland?

 

Can't help you here.........
Never even considered putting a boat anchor M in a Ranger, too many cheap parts for Windsors out there.

We did consider putting a 460 in one..............until a 355hp Summit crate 302 came up for sale for much cheaper than list.