Four Cylinder Transmission

[Brandon_Charley]

We have been looking for a truck to build for a few weeks and we may have found the one today, we're hoping to have it by the end of the day tommorrow. Its already got some suspension mods, bed cage and bent beams, not going to beat anybody but a good start. It got me thinking that maybe we could have a raceable truck by the end of Summer. I think I could build a decent/mild four cylinder on a budget, some Esslinger parts are ridiculously priced, others seem pretty reasonable. If I do build a four and get 200-300hp what transmission do I put behind it? Its a Ranger.





P.S. As I wrote this I called to finalize the buying of the truck, and it fell through. The question still stands though.

[SPONSOR]

Membership in the largest desert racing community has its advantages - Participate in Forum Discussions - Send and Receive Private Messages - Maintain Public Photo Albums - Access to Groups - User Profile in our Social Network - Increased Access to more Sub Forums - Reduced Online Advertisements Join our community today

[dislocated1]

If you get 300 hp for a reasonable price give me a call, I would like to know the secret. As far as ranger trannies go, c-4 if it is an auto or a T-5 if you wanna mess witha clutch

[WannaB-class5]

If you want the numbers I will look up the file but my roomate did the cost analysis for HP in a ford 2.3 vs a 4.0 swap and a 5.0 swap. First off by Esslinger's numbers on their website we never got above 250hp in the 2.3 and to generalize our results we could drop in a beat 302 (5.0L) for about the same price. The 302 was cheaper and the swap parts time and fab made up the difference. But with the 302 he had the options to get very high HP later. The 2.3 was maxed. As for the tranny dislocated1 said it right.

You used the term mild four cylender and 200-300HP in the same sentance. I don't think those go together. Good luck and PM me if you want that file, otherwise happy hunting for a truck! (sorry this post was so negative about the 2.3)

Oh and the 4.0 would have been a waste of time $$ wise. Just go to the V8 and don't worry about the weight.

[sierra]

if you're building a ford you may want to look in to the sohc 4.0 and a c-4 transs semi auto, i run that on my 7s and it's strong, also i just overheated my engine in the tt250 and I just bougth another engine today for $800, that's the beauty of the stock motor

it's pretty decent horse power and cheap to fix,

[sickrick]

With out a doubt go c-4 if you want it cheap and reliable. You should reinforce the bellhousing (they like to break) also make sure to add a support for the end of the starter, if you dont the the constant pounding will break the starter and a chunk of the bellhousing off. Get a good torque converter if you want to be fast off the line, the stock ones wont let the motor rev much and the engine will stumble out of the hole. By the time you get a 2.3 over 200 hp they do not make any power until over 3000 rpm. If you want to get 200 hp on a budget I suggest that you look for an older stlye aluminum head (they are reasonable because everyone with money has switched to the new design) get a roller cam. put in good flat tops with the newer 2.5 crank spend some money and get a dual weber setup or four mikunis. and be prepared to rev it. If you plan to get 300 hp be prepared to spend at least 12,000 or more like 16,000. I can tell you that once a 2.3 is making this much power it will only last about 6 short course races (20 minutes each) before it needs to be freshened up (rings, bearings). I hope this helps. I have been reading some of your posts and I think that you are going to like the ranger as great starting point for a racer on a budget. They are unbelievable tough with just some simple suspension work. Also because they are smaller your tow rig and trailer will not have to be as heavy duty (I've read your other posts). By the way our old short course rangers (soda, corr) weighed 2600 lbs. and had around 200 hp, they were a ridiculious amount of fun even though we never one a race. I would guess that a 2.3 desert stlye short bed standard cab would weigh about 3300-3700 lbs.

[sickrick]

If the class you want to race in allows it I strongly agree with wannebe class 5 that the 302 is the way to go. You could get a new 302 crate motor with aluminum heads (far more reliable) for far less than you could build a 250 hp 2.3 for. And you would still have money left over for a rebuilt c4 and a narrowed 9 inch with 40 spline axles.

[Brandon_Charley]

The truck we were looking at was a swb and I had heard that the weight distribution would be just too off to have real fun with a 302. The 4.0l doesn't seem to have many aftermarket parts (am I wrong). I guess I messed up on 4cyl. hp numbers, I meant that it seemed like I could build a 4 with enough hp to have fun on a budget, I know I could get 200 on a budget. Since 1450 allows it I'm also thinking turbo, but it will cost a little more and i won't be able to race SCORE.

[Josh_K]

Hay man... What happened to the aluminum big block on a tight budget? I am still waiting to learn where I am doing it wrong becouse I cant figure that one out.

Josh

[Brandon_Charley]

That truck will get built, and it will stomp everything that tries to beat it, but it wont be built for a really long time.

Also, in case you guys haven't figured out my mind is running open loop, until I get my truck I am going to change my design everytime I hear a cool idea I think I can work with. It's not ideal but eventually it will lead to the ultimate truck. I'll probably get another idea and ruin it though.

[14802]

THE GEARS ARE TURNING ...add some more oil. good luck with your project.