this is my black widow, 1984 ford ranger. i bought it 5 years ago from the original owner with 67,000 original miles. it currently has 78,000. when i bought it. it had a good running 2.3 4 cylinder, and a 4-speed. the truck was pretty peppy. so over the course of 3 years, i ended up giving it to my brother in law, he used it, then gave it to a friend of his. well, during that period, the truck really became a beater and when i got it back, the motor knocked. the body was all beat up. it really wasnt a nice truck. but i knoew all along what it could be. so i started with the basic tune-ups. fixed about 15 vacuum leaks. then it was time to deal with the knock. well i changed the oil, and put 20w50 in it, and whalla, see purred like a kitten. friend before me tried putting marvel mystery oil in it. must have been too thin. so then i fixed up the body, put it in a flat black base with a piss coat of transtar clear. fixed up the interior. got new rims and tires. and drove it for 2 years.

well, after retiming the engine, tuning the carb. and replacing the distributor. i descided to open her up on the freeway one day. well lets lust say a rev to 5k in second gear put an end to the 2.3. so i pulled the head, and found the number 2 piston was blown straight through. so now what. rebuild kit is 500 bucks. dont have a 302, and the kit is expensive. so what to do. i love the truck. and the thought of a v8 swap was always there. well this is where things take a little turn

i just happen to have a low mileage 1972 chevelle 350, with a rebuilt th700r4 trans left over from another project a couple years back. AHH HAA ive found my solution. so with a little google searching. and a lot of thanks to my guys at www.therangerstation.com we made my dream a reality.

so out came the 4 banger. then i powerwashed the gook from the engine bay. then i began to mock up the engine and trans. engine fits like a glove. trans sit on original mount, no mods needed. so with all this in mind, out came the engine, so the detail work can begin.

so i sandblaster the firewall, crossmember, frame rails, inner fenders, and core support. then took a propane torch, and melted off the original ford under coating from the inner fenders. then i shot the bay with duplicolors paint shop laquer black. then things like the master cylinder, brake booster, wiper motor, steering box, and such i hit with rustoleum hammertone.

so far, the only mods ive had to do were to notch the heater box so i can put my engine as far back as possible. thats it. mounts are gonna be universal mounts. manifolds are ram horn style manifolds. mods to the engine are edelbrock performer eps endurashine manifold. edelbrock performer 600cfm carb. pro comp electronic distributor with seperate coil. lunati bracket master 2 camshaft. and double roller timing chain. my ram manifolds are being ported and polished, which will breath through dual 2 1/2 inch pipes through either moroso spiral flow mufflers, or flowmaster.

btw, did i mention im doing all this at 17. stay tuned, more project black widow ahead