Lightning Power in a Ford Ranger Body - Trucks! S12, E2

Take a look back at when the Trucks! shop wedged a Ford dual overhead cam 4.6 liter V-8 into a 2001 'Ranger' based truck to build a smaller version of Ford's Lightning. Since "Mini Lightning" doesn't sound that tough, we're calling this Project - Rolling Thunder!
PARTS USED IN THIS EPISODE:
Royal Purple: Royal Purple Break-In Oil.

[@Ottienger]

I remember watching these episodes when it was still on spike TV. Still good to watch.

[@nathanmabry7068]

Takes u back dont it

[@Ottienger]

@@nathanmabry7068 oh yea it does lol. good way to spend a sat morning watching the powerblock

[@BlueFalc0n]

I remember when it was TNN before Spike and it was Stacey David..

[@AtomicReverend]

I remember cable... Then TV got all woke so I turned it off. I didn't know spike is gone. Probably one of the only things worth watching was power block. And the History channels,modern marvels which I heard is also gone.

[@donsoprano5464]

Ottienger hell yeah sat morning were the shit!

[@sikniz213]

We are all sheltering at home so we’d appreciate just uploading the entire series pls lol

[@jeremybeegle9767]

You could just pay for it too

[@MetalJoe0609]

Ah, everyone's go-to donor vehicle, the Panoz Esparante.

[@jamesford2942]

LOL

[@bmstylee]

Panoz Esperante. Like those are just hanging around.

[@swyzzlestyx]

I had an '87 Ford Ranger with the 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine. I purchased it new for $7K, and it came with no extras, no radio, or even a cigarette lighter. I loved that truck. Driving on the highway, it got a fantastic fuel economy, but around town, it was a thirsty little beast.

[@Joe_kickass25]

Omg I remember watching this episode way back haha

[@ruggedoutdoors8524]

I was literally about to head to the junkyard to start doing this to my ranger when this popped into my feed. Obviously I subscribed

[@RyanMcIntyre]

Check out Copart. I'm dying to pick up a wrecked Mustang or Camaro and graft it into my Tacoma

[@PureCountryof91]

The coyote is pretty available now too. And has a way better crankshaft as well as already having 360hp in the 1st Gen version. Sadly they have issues in 2011-2012 with cylinder warping.

[@AtomicReverend]

99-02 navigator has a 5.4 quad cam that made 300+ HP and it was before that garbage 3 valve thing with variable valve timing that dies when it is looked at funny. And they are dirt cheap on offer up if the interior is spanked along with the paint... Like in the $500- buck range for a driver. Do not look at expeditions as they only have 2 valve engines. It is to bad I live in Commiefornia where we still dyno smog 1976 cars so this swap would never fly here... And it sucks as I got a Mazda Clone Ranger that really could use some extra power. Personally I would find a 2000ish Explorer as the 302 would be a straight bolt in if tou had the explorer for all the bits. There are numerous KZbin videos with guys doing it,

[@blantonator]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3fZYmWbjqqhnbc

[@GUE5TPA55]

@@RyanMcIntyre the old school ford 302 and Chevy 350 fit perfect (with a Ford/Chevy truck pan) but the new coyote and the LS have a load of fitment issues to resolve mostly the front cross member and rack location

[@chaleowin7732]

I've got a 5.0 V8 swapped Ranger, but I went another route. Lift, 33" tires, 4.56 gears. Fun little flareside.

[@IISR9II]

That's a monster battery for such a little truck...

[@mcguire4162]

I have a 2000 Ford Ranger. The interior is pristine, no joke. The paint is original, in perfect condition. Like your truck, it has light underside rust and it is a manual shift. I am eagerly waiting for the next video of this series. I wonder; would a Ford Police Interceptor Crown Victoria engine work?

[@dirtcop11]

I have a 2000 Ford Ranger extended cab. I replaced the original 3.0L with a remanufactured 3.0L 6 a few years ago. The remanufactured engine is doing fine. It took me some time to get it done because I don't have a garage. I am a 'shade tree' mechanic without the shade tree. And I have picked up my mechanical skills the Nike way (just do it). All I know is what I picked up from manuals and some videos. I never had any real training.

[@edwardmyers1746]

Holy shit it's a 4V! I live and breath those engines what's a gift. Both my cars have it, mercury marauder and lincoln aviator

[@Zach_A]

8:24 They say Panoz Esperante like you're ever going see one of those in a junkyard.

[@chaoszombie9995]

I was gonna say lol, I have seen a few but they are in INSANEly (good) condition

[@seanjeffery9171]

I've dismantled a few 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@robsorgdrager8477]

Cab off is the only way to go. Back when I started at Ford there was only one guy that took the cabs off for major engine work. Less than a year later it was common practice. It's so nice. If you don't want tooth paste you can use 1 part backing soda and 1 part corn flour mix to paste .

[@emiliocarranza6674]

Hahahaha!!!! They call that rust lol😅🤣🤣 Here in Illinois that's considered rust free 😅

[@devinpowers4368]

Lmao I don't have the tools to do the headlights cleaning, starts cleaning with the tools.

[@speedskid4838]

Ah yes, two of my favorite car things combined. Early 2000 Ranger/Mazda B series trucks, and Mod motors.

[@AtomicReverend]

Really? I have a 98 b2500 and I like it a lot better then the Nissan Hardbody I worked to death but it definitely has so faults of its own...

[@memphisreigns1498]

I really wish that they would markdown what year this was filmed is that plays a big part financially because those B 2500 now if you can find them are worth their weight in scrap so this has to be at least 10 years old they write down the time that it was published which is today but there's nothing telling me the year they filmed it even at the end that used to say what year was filmed they cut that part out I don't know why

[@sow9880]

It said 2010 at end of video . Pretty small and easy to miss .

[@ItsDaJax]

They have been uploading stuff from years ago. The intro is a dead give away. I just saw two days ago, the first episode of Sargent Rock uploaded. I think the awd k1500 is the newest thing uploaded... however old that is.

[@luciankristov6436]

Its about time someone covered a build lioe this

[@MrAcuta73]

Think I'll have to binge this one. Want to see what was done with the axle. That bastardized Ranger axle is a pain in my ass for my Overlanding-rigged Danger Ranger. Gonna replace it, but not 100% on it yet.

[@lilsammywasapunkrock]

Last year ranger already had the 4.6 from the factory. The ideal swap engine wise would be an explorer since they are based on the same platform. Then all you need is the 4v heads and stuff and you are pretty much done.

[@edwardmyers1746]

Cant swap the heads around mucacho. Blocks are different

[@SophiaAphrodite]

Nice trick I saw on another channel. Want a narrowed rear end on the cheap? Buy 2 front 8.8" axles and swap out the shorter end with the longer end and boom, narrowed rear end.

[@hughmc5419]

Nice, thats a 2.5 with the two plugs per cylinder towed a trailer of furniture & belongings back to Chicago from KC ,it bogged a little on step hills but a good little motor. A bitch to change plugs on that motor. I Now have a Mazda b3000 with the 3.0 v6 flex engine,came from Texas very clean body. I paid $4300 from a dealer. This will be a good video to watch. Kevin that Harley truck is worth money, I worked @ Ford were they make the F150 & the Transit van the big one not the connect. I was electrician in the body shop.

[@paulnoland8701]

This is cool. I want to stuff a coyote in a 2004 ranger. I know they are using a 4.6, But it’s close and a good way to see how it could be accomplished with a modular engine.

[@SuperGokuSon]

instead of toothpaste use Mothers Mag and aluminum rim polish it will absolutely give your a body shop finish... and its only 2 - 3 bux per jar.

[@Alex-di8ti]

This is not a bad engine swap, great idea. I wonder how many beers it took come up with the idea :P

[@armandoboensel593]

I have a 73 Chevy luv me and my 3 boys are working on and were stumped....... but I think that's about to change. Thanks guys.

[@ItsDaJax]

I don't know how old this is, but the Continentals 4.6 is a fwd and practically useless to use or part.

[@bradyelich2745]

No, it is not. There was a guy using those with an adapter plate he designed. Another source for Tesksid blocks.

[@pbodymathis]

How hard would it be to swap the ford 3.2 diesel into an older ranger? I have the new Ranger Wildtrak here in Thailand with the 3.2 and it runs great and it is a bigger, heavier pickup.

[@BorderJunkie56]

Wooo!!! This is sweet!!

[@nuttwg6521]

I've been waiting for something like this

[@AtomicReverend]

Download the powernation AP you can watch the whole build

[@sbjennings99]

Awesome informational educational video experience Y'alls

[@minimanadam]

I always thought about this exact build....I put a mark8 engine in a tbird once

[@Rampant_Colt]

1999-2004 Lincoln Navigators had the 5.4L 300hp engine that would substitute

[@brandonthomas2249]

Too tall of an engine to fit under the hood

[@vendediesel]

@@brandonthomas2249 thank you, someone who finally gets the concept and watched the video before commenting

[@Bun_Can_Do_It]

Anything can fit, if you have the money and know how to do it.

[@Bun_Can_Do_It]

In case anyone is curious... A 4.6L DOHC is about 28" tall and a 5.4L DOHC Navi is 35 1/2" tall.

[@edwardmyers1746]

@@Bun_Can_Do_It that's correct

[@monzon529]

Put that on a ford falcon would be bad ass

[@belo-zerolt-180]

Round up weed killer works great on headlights. Think monsanto makes it. Spray it on heavy!

[@TheSneakss]

When can we get that small block Mopar that you guys teased a while back?

[@Browean]

God I remembering watching this episode after musclecar on spike back in the day.

[@omunoz966]

Did anybody else hear Marauder? 👍👍

[@edwardmyers1746]

Yes considering I own one 🤣

[@AwesomeProjects20]

I want to build a 2010 Ranger to have a tow capacity of and F-150. Is it possible? What would the ranger need to increase the tow capacity?

[@EatPezzzz]

I've done a few F150 Lightning swaps and I just can't figure out how they get so little power out of that monstrosity of an engine. It's effin huge! Best stock one I had dynoed was 375hp. I didn't have the heart to tell my customer that my stock LS2 put down more power without a blower and 10" shorter.

[@tooljst8]

Our 1998 SVT Cobra has the modular 4.6l V8 as well.

[@edwardmyers1746]

That's the first generation teskid block. This is second gen. You could use that but it's more wiring and crap because of the ignition not being coil on plug

[@gearhead682010]

351 Windsor stroked to a 408 would be a smaller engine package with a lot more horsepower and torque

[@deborahchesser7375]

I had a 93’ Mazda B2600, for what it was, it ran like a top. A 4 liter Lexus V8 would have been perfect

[@SprouseyTheHandyMan]

Ford already did this with the 5.4 supercharged triton

[@robertluna1804]

I have dreams of doing this to my 79 courier

[@PureCountryof91]

Do a Barra in it. Narrower and beefy.. and torque for days

[@veenoable]

Wait, is Chris fix watching this?

[@brettmccafferty7510]

Can you mount the engine a couple inches back and move the rear axle forward a few inches? Or would that be a major undertaking?

[@springwoodslasher79]

It's a shitty Ford ranger body this is all 100 percent pointless. It's a turd. How many ford ranger do you look at and say wow that thing looks amazing? 0. Complete waist of time and money. Might be fast but you would have to put large slicks on it to use it.

[@jaflolara]

sure any SVT or Mach 1 make the list for donors... sure

[@thegooch27]

very cool but would have loved to see you put a 2.3l ecoboost in there.

[@CheezyDee]

Conti 4V won't work unless you're able to drill the block for the missing motor mount holes.

[@BigUnitBeef]

What a teaser

[@yehia2025]

Why you don't complete the episode to the end and show finil finished of the car

[@bobbybowers4065]

The lincoln Continental motor will not work with a rear wheel drive trans its a different bolt pattern since the lincoln is front wheel drive and there some more subtle differences next time do your research power nation!!!!!!!!!

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

1:16 the dude sounds like chrisfix

[@alternatemusicaddict5226]

yes make a go kart YES SHAKE MY HAND ARE YOU READY

[@corneliusjanzen1666]

What is the intro song called

[@joshskalicky779]

ive got a mark 8 engine and a black ranger in mygarage right now, brb

[@anthonyrussell2241]

Why didn’t you didn’t say crown Vic or grand Marquis the most common carriers of the 4.6L ?

[@gerardomendoza9688]

4:05 I think it could handle the power, it's kind of the same as the crown Victoria's axel

[@lilsammywasapunkrock]

Crown vics all had 8.8" axles. The 7.5 is totally different. That being said, they did use them in mustang it's until 85.

[@volvowagon70]

50/50 split, engine in cab, seats in bed.

[@rustyshacklfort9508]

The 4v 4.6 is not really that easy to find trust me I’ve looked

[@bri-manhunter2654]

Rusty Shacklfort. Agreed!

[@edwardmyers1746]

It really isnt theres only like around 200,000 compare that to the 2V where theres millions

[@rustyshacklfort9508]

That’s why I’ve decided I’m gonna do a mild build on my 2v

[@victorholloway9298]

So baby thunder truck

[@goodgollyjosh]

Just be careful if you throw a blower on that engine. My buddy had that motor in a Mach 1 and put the '03 Cobra blower on it, those cast parts inside came out in a hurry...on the dyno...on the first pull. Yikes!

[@edwardmyers1746]

Well isnt that mach 1 an aluminum block? The cobra was cast iron what did he expect? Cant just throw a blower on non cast low end. But the cobra blower increased power to 390 the 4V stock aluminum can take about 400ish so something must have been messed up with his

[@Jakexgt1979]

Think I would have put a Mustang EcoBoost engine in it.

[@blanchae]

2011 Ford Mustang V6 3.72L was 305 hp and would probably bolt-in easier since the Ranger came with the 4.0L V6

[@bmstylee]

Guessing that you have more speed parts for the v8 if you want to get a bit more aggressive.

[@GWAR1982]

Do a first first gen ranger engine swap to 347

[@Lukaslevanen1435]

Eh my Tacoma makes 435whp so a full size truck with 400whp isn’t much. The ranger though definitely sick.

[@volvowagon70]

If you are 5’7” that ford ranger will be fine, any taller get used to staring at the roof over the windshield.

[@jonmurraymurray5512]

6 foot 1 and my 03 rabger fit perfectly

[@Ausblack]

13:58 throwing gang signs

[@xtremegamer5688]

So 250k miles later and about 650$ I just rebuilt the top end on my 04 Ford ranger 3.0L, and a little tlc. I should have just put in a 5.0 or a 4.6.. :(:(:(:(:(

[@jeremy7991]

Ford in no way says that what happened here was " Standard procedure"

[@Aint1S]

Toothpaste on your grill... Not a new concert, I do it every day.

[@bmstylee]

Booooo!!!!!!

[@joshcassidy2092]

Ford already built this truck guys... google: Ford Adrenaline. Love the show, yall should've known this............

[@briteidea08]

The Adrenaline was a V6 not V8 sport track.

[@turboflush]

If I remember right.. the cobra uses a steel block. But yes .. similar

[@vendediesel]

No, cobra uses a steel 8 bolt crank and aluminum block. Terminator only had cast block and 4 bolt instead of 6 bolt mains of that's what you were referring to.

[@mikeford963]

Cobra used an aluminum block, cast iron maim caps, 6 bolt mains(4 verticle into the block, 2 jack screws in from the sides). What they did have over a normal aluminum engine was a forged steel crank and rods.

[@vendediesel]

@@mikeford963 Terminator only had forged manley pistons and rods. All the rest had hypereutectic, but yes all cobras had 8 bolt forged crank. I believe the Terminator only had an iron block.

[@mikeford963]

@@vendediesel romeo engines also had 8 bolt cranks. Windsors had 6. I still don't think two extra fasteners to the fly wheel make that much difference. But obviously some engineer does.

[@vendediesel]

@@mikeford963 you have that backwards. Windsors were the (Triton) truck engines with the 8 bolt crank and the 14 bolt valve covers. The extra two bolts were because of that. The romeo (car) engines had 6 bolt crank and 11 bolt vakve covers.

[@brandonthornborough4433]

Lightnings never had 4.6 v8s. 1st gens have 351s and second gens have blown 5.4s

[@vendediesel]

They never said they did, this is a proportional swap.

[@dannyhanley4192]

I miss Kevin tetz!

[@Coalblack79k10]

These guys was great the new age guys I don’t feel like are real camera men and it’s so dark to many black gray and blue colors on set

[@andrewrichards5523]

Isn’t the lightning a 5.4 ? Lol

[@S.T.A.N.G]

Whoever told you guys that is a lightning motor needs to never touch a vehicle again unless you meant to put it's a navigator motor they never made a Gen 2 lighting non supercharged and you guys should know this from working on vehicles 🤣🤦

[@edwardmyers1746]

That title of the video is misleading lol. Navigator got the 5.4 4V 2V and 3V not this 4.6 4V thou.

[@joshc606]

Pretty sure the “Intec” name was for the Lincoln’s only. So that engine is a Lincoln engine not the Mercury engine. No biggie, just a few HP different. Still love the show.

[@brandonthomas2249]

They said intech on the crown Vic as well

[@vendediesel]

@@brandonthomas2249 no they didn't. The DOHC 4.6 was exclusive only to the Mark VIII until 1996 when they put it in the Cobra. They needed a marketing name to compete with Cadillac Northstar 4.6 so they came up with "intech" when the OBDII version came out in 1996. NO FORD VEHICLE other than the mustang cobra and Mach 1 had the DOHC 4.6. The marauder is the only mercury to ever have it other than Lincolns.

[@Bun_Can_Do_It]

The Intech moniker was in fact only used by Lincoln and the 32v engines had more power than just a "few HP", compared to the 16v Triton's.

[@ItsDaJax]

@@Bun_Can_Do_It The Mark 8 and Continental had 260hp at the crank.

[@vendediesel]

@@ItsDaJax Mark VIII 280 standard, 290 LSC (true duals) continental was limited to 260 to preserve the FWD transmission.

[@Project-gr6zy]

I can barely afford what I do RN with the virus I wish I could build my ranger faster

[@chaoszombie9995]

Yea, you’ll make it thru the virus my friend

[@EastDallasKicks]

Ouh a 4.6 swap

[@EastDallasKicks]

It’s not a triton nvm

[@jeremy7991]

Comp-i zitt. hmmm

[@kingd1405]

He said 2.5 they had 2.3

[@bap7929]

KING D# for three years (98,99,00) they were 2.5 litres.

[@jamesford2942]

The dual plug heads are all 2.5 and they modified the block so there is no place for a distributor.

[@donaldmills4201]

Had a '00 Ranger with a 5 speed and a 2.5l 4 banger. Trash gas mileage and trash performance, it was dangerously slow lol.

[@bmstylee]

I had an 01 with a 3.0L. Pretty slow as well. But gas mileage was pretty good. My dad drove it till 2016 when he gave it to his brother. It ended up with a cousin after my uncle died. Still going strong.

[@beausmith3900]

I think this is a cool project, but I honestly am sick of these budget builds... some of us have to build on a budget, but u dont, ho nuts on these, show us how good they can be, than we will substitute and cheapen if we have to...

[@PureCountryof91]

If you are building a ranger, find a trashed 5.0 explorer. The 4r70, AWD, and v8 drop in and the ecu pops into place since it's the same vehicle from the cab forward

[@lifewithanxietyeveryday5897]

Please paint the frame.

[@quick455]

Jesus, all these guys on these PowerNation shows are such cornballs....

[@jaywattman199]

To bad its not an extended cab

[@shaungoldsmith8055]

Guys i like your show but you talk way to much and you never finish half your projects.

[@hoodman420]

4.6 is trash motor. Should have done a new 5.0 or even a 3.7v6 has better stock performance then the 4.6. 8psi from a procharger on the 3.7 would put 400whp

[@AndyFromm]

No and this video is about 10-15 years old.

[@norsevikingsir4932]

That's a Mazda, which was the cheaply built version of a ranger, with cheaper components throughout. You are an automobile channel you should at least know that.

[@vendediesel]

Eesh, did anyone actually watch before they commented? They explained all of that. They chose the Mazda because it had the 5 speed and was in better condition than the rangers they looked at

[@norsevikingsir4932]

@@vendediesel No they did not explain how it is built with sub par materials compared to the ranger. The frame, suspension and electronics are all cheap knock offs of the ford. Which again they did not say, as I did watch the full episode.

[@vendediesel]

Haha, the electronics have ford part numbers. How is ford manufacturing cheap versions of their own stuff? Ridiculous. A FORD part number is a Ford part number.

[@norsevikingsir4932]

@@vendediesel No the computer does not along with most switches and relays. Nice try tho.

[@vendediesel]

@@norsevikingsir4932 wrong. Only difference between Mazda EEC and Ford is that all Ford versions are programmed for PATS system. Since the Mazda is an international product its EEC can be had without it. Other than that the part numbers are identical as are all of the electronics that connect to it.

[@angelluna4003]

This little truck is Mazda no ranger

[@ItsDaJax]

Same thing.

[@blackericdenice]

7:53 he said high flow exhaust manifold. Next week when he is pushing headers. He will say the stock manifolds extremely restrictive.

[@ReallyRyan.]

Well, yeah, Ford (like most other car companies) really liked to skimp on the exhaust manifolds and make them as cheap and compact as humanly possible, in spite of them flowing like you shoved a brick in the exhaust pipe and the garbage design sapping a bunch of potential power/efficiency.

[@edwardmyers1746]

He should get some stainless works headers them stock manifolds are kinda junky

[@EastDallasKicks]

RyanBringsReason nah

[@Rick-last1]

Almost my dream build,, how bout doing it in a extended cab 4wd?? That is my dream!

[@jamesford2942]

I have a 99 Ranger and doing a 5.0 swap on it but have started to look into the mod motor in a later Ranger 2002 and up. Electrical and fuel system compatibility is what I want so it looks like a factory job.

[@JustAnotherHouseCat]

I just realized the younger guy sounds like Chris Fix

[@JM-tj2kl]

Ha! He sure does!

[@jasonkocinski2387]

Ford did this exact swap when they were building the second generation lighting. The truck was the dark blue that the Lightning came in. They shrunk alot of F150 stuff to get it to work. It was a test mule that never made it into production.

[@NVzla]

Was this in a hot rod magazine picture somewhere with a small caption?? Sounds like i read this 20 years ago.

[@briteidea08]

It passed through the dealer I worked for at the time. Think Motorweek was testing it at the time. Pretty neat truck.

[@curacaoz2875]

The video is on youtube motorweek

[@coltermoore1991]

FINALLY A MOD MOTOR

[@ItsDaJax]

It's not the first time. One of the shows put a cobra drivetrain in one.

[@Prestiged_peck]

IKR

[@NewtonWashinton]

Just for your info motors are electric, engines are internal combustion.

[@Swervin309]

@@NewtonWashinton Beat it, nerd!

[@AtomicReverend]

@@NewtonWashinton Webster says your wrong as do I www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motor Its like saying you drive a car (or truck) instead of an automobile. Its the same thing and we all know what he meant.

[@chaoszombie9995]

I swear all the keyboard warriors are gonna go mental before they even watch the video 😂