Motor Mounts:
Motor mounts can be obtained thru Advance Adapters, James Duff Enterprises and Jegs. Advance Adapters offers Parts NO.713018 for 4WD and NO.713015 for 2WD. The 2WD mounts work with the factory Ford rubber V8 mounts Part NO. E4TZ-6038G or Advance Adapters Part NO. 713017. James Duff only offers 1 mount Part NO. 3641. Jegs offers part# 969-9716 (mounting brackets) and part # 969-9717 (mounting pads). You will have to drill two new holes in your cross member for the new motor mounts. Motor mounts from a 1985 Mustang GT swapped from side to side are said to be the same mounts offered by James Duff. Summit Racing carries motor mounts for Ranger V8 swaps Part# ADD-713018 for 4wd's and Part# ADD-713015A for 2wd's. Ask if you need the V8 rubber mounts Part# ADD-713017.
Motor mounts are simple to build for this swap. Ranger motor mounts consist of a rubber pad with a stud sticking out of each side. One stud goes through the frame and has a nut which screws on the back to attach it to the frame. The other stud sticks straight up and attaches to a motor bracket. Four cylinder motor mounts are usually hydraulically filled and are weaker than the V6 mounts, which are a solid rubber mount. Whenever possible, use the V6 mounts. These are used on 3.0L and 4.0L Rangers. Fabricate two new brackets from 1/4-inch plate steel to bolt onto the side of the V8 motor at the motor mount bosses. This isn't as difficult as it might sound. These brackets are just pieces of 1/4 inch steel with two holes drilled through them so that they can bolt to the block, and then two more holes, one for the motor mount stud, the other for the alignment pin which also sticks up from the motor mount. Trial fit everything once and when the motor is in the position you want, take a few measurements and make the motor mount plates. They're flat pieces of steel with no bends or curves. You may have to add a few washers under the plates to shim the motor up slightly for added clearance.
Now it's time to situate the motor into the chassis. Were assuming your transmission is already installed. There are several points during engine installation where clearance will be rather tight and modifications will be necessary. If the engine isn't bolted to the transmission, bolt it up now. Assuming the transmission is located properly, let it locate the motor, forward to rearward, in the chassis. Now locate the engine properly, left and right. At this point no accessories should be on the front of the motor, and installation will be easier without the water pump attached. Leaving the water pump off while installing the engine will allow it to go in more smoothly and may save several dents in the radiator support. Don't install the radiator yet or you'll be sending it out to have several holes repaired.
The motor should be close to centered, left to right, between the frame rails. It may be necessary to locate the motor slightly to the passenger side for oil filter adapter to steering sector clearance, and steering to exhaust manifold clearance.
Ignition:
I recommend using an early to mid 1970's Duraspark II ignition if using a carburetor. Try to find a V-8 from this era with the distributor and ignition still intact. It has a wiring harness that goes from the module on the wheel well to the distributor, and the original power harness from the Ranger should plug right into it. I use an MSD ignition with my DurasparkII distributor. It hooks up easily following the directions that come with the new ignition module. I keep the original DurasparkII ignition module installed on the fender liner so that I can hook it up if the MSD should fail. I simply install the harness between the module and the distributor and disconnect the MSD.
MSD makes one that is simply "plug-n-play". These are ready to run complete w/cap, rotor, control module and vacuum advance all self contained in the distibutor. JEG'S offers these at this time for $285.99. JEG'S part #121-8352 for 302's, and part #121-8354for 351W's.
Fuel Injection Computer, Harness, And Swaps:
If you choose to use a fuel injected 5.0 you'll need the computer and harness for the engine. You'll need a computer and harness for the engine/transmission combination that your going to use. If you use a manual transmission then you'll need to use a computer and harness from a manual transmission set up. The best thing you could do is go to a salvage yard and get an engine transmission combination and buy the whole setup computer, harness and all. Mark the connections with masking tape with either letters or numbers so that you can match up the connections later. It also helps to go to a parts store and get the Haynes manual for the vehicle the engine came out of. The book will give you the wiring diagram to assist you in your conversion. Ford Motorsports offers wiring harnesses for fuel injected engine swaps. Contact them at 1-810-468-1356 for more information.
For more help on swapping fuel injection I highly recommend Windsor-Fox at
www.windsor-fox.com. They can help you swap a whole fuel injected Ford engine or convert a carbureted Ford V-8 to fuel injection.