This is never going to happen, just don't waist your time and money

FANTASTIC site. Thanks a bunch. They even have discussions about specific details related to fitment of all the different choices of parts! Epic.
If you mean break even with savings over a gas engine...thats not really what I'm goin for.

It will be a good while before I have a working vehicle, but it is intended to be a learning experience.
Fixing stuff that goes wrong is pretty much all I've done with vehicles of my own. (I have "helped" a few times with engine swaps and rebuilds, but most of that was something like putting a new motor of the same kind into a truck that had a blown engine)
I have been learning to weld better with the help of my Co-op buds. I cut the pipes and welded a new muffler on for the first time this week. Only got burnt once!
I am currently "shopping" for a platform to build off of. By the time summer rolls around I should at least have that much taken care of.
I was thinking of picking up an old ranger I saw last week. Its got REALLY high miles, but I could drive it while I gather parts and information.

Never say never, bro.

Burning yourself is apart of welding. Its going to happen, its when you learn to grow a pair and you dont shift when your getting burnt and hold that rod steady keeping that bead straight

Ive got lots of hours torching/welding lol

But dont do this if the ranger isnt 4x4... That, is a waste of money . You can invest 10k and its only worth 2k if that if its just rwd..

Yea, I expected it, but I still flinched like a bitch. Kinda surprised me how fast it hopped off there...musta been a bit of oil or water or something on there.
Only way I'd get to 10k for the total build is if I spend more on the platform, and get a crate style engine. I've been reading through all the builds on the site Jimmy listed, most are around 6k w/o the cost of the truck included. If I can get the engine and transmission for 2500, put another 500-700 into it to...maybe even paint it up nice.
I'm thinking that'll give me quite a bit of breathing room for details and whatnot. I'm a great scavenger, and have access to a few choice yards. I should be able to keep peripherals under my belt, with the major fab work being the only thing I'll have to either pay for, or trial and error the hell out of it.
The more I dig up, the better this all looks. By next winter(hopefully) I should be puffin along ^^
I will post pics of the build once it is underway.

Fab work is expensive, the guys that come to me know my quality of work, and I only do it on the side or for fun.


But I charge 120$ an hour not including materials


Keep that in mind, that shit adds up fast

Indeed. One thing that seems promising though, since its a pretty common engine, and swaps are plentiful... People have started to make things like this:
http://www.jonesysoffroad.com/shop/80-series-diesel-conversion/cummins-4bt-and-6bt-accessory-mount/
Which solves a few problems right out of the box. 550$, and you get to use the existing radiator assembly, and it gives you a place for the A/C compressor.
/edit
I was wondering if you had any experience with the M5OD R2 tranny.

This post was edited by MyGodIsTheSun on Dec 16 2013 09:15am

that 6k might be the big parts. it's the 15-30 dollar trips to the store for hose connectors, wire accessories, fluids etc that eat builds like these alive.

there is a guy on there who 4bt swapped an h3. actually a pretty decent swap as far as fab work and parts are considered. that build ended up being around 15k. and he used the stock transmission with a standlone unit and stock suspension and axles.

granted these motors are only a 4 cylinder but they still will eat apart a stock 44rfe, 6l80e,m5od etc.. 4bt swaps are not cheap to do right. you've basically got two choices with the same outcome. either spend the big money now or spend half of the money now and watch the thing sit broke down 50% of the time in the driveway and spend money on repairs.

Like i've mentioned before, these are a very simple motor, however this is not an LS swap.

i know a guy that put a 4bt into a early bronco, and he does fab work, and it cost him 12 grand all said and dont, not including what his time cost

The m5od is the beefy version of the regular M5r2 iddnit?
I mean...I don't plan to tow much at all. We're talking...maybe taking a 2 person boat to the river twice a year, or helping someone move. Worst I'd do to it would be driving a trail to a fishing spot.
I get that this thing is a torque monster, but I thought these parts were made to handle more... otherwise you'd just go with the regular M5.
What kind of upgrades would you recommend to the M5OD R2?

M5od is a junk Mazda tranny that ford used in broncos and f150s idk what else they were in....



Zf5. Learn it, love it