Another guy trying to do a swap and needing help

Hello, I am in Memphis and I have taken on a project that is starting to baffle me. I bought a 84 b2000 with the specific intent to convert it to a ford v8 drive train. I have been all over the net and seen a lot of sites and forums the past four weeks. What I can't find is specifics for what is involved in converting the fame to accept a 302 install. I am not an amateur by any means and have built cars for over thirty years but this one is baffling me. All the forums I have seen address the swap in everything but an 84 which has a complicated cross member and original mount posts. I need help with what to cut out and eliminate. with the motor set in the bay after a lot of cutting and elimination I can't see how the starter will ever fit and not hit the steering link. If anyone out there has any photos of an 84 setup and what they did before dropping the motor in I would love to see them. I cut the top half of the curved cross member off and the two original motor mount towers. I have the motor at what seems to be the correct position and far enough back to bolt the transmission on but I had to remove the sway bar and the frag link is right where the starter would mount. please, if you can help let me know.

The 84 has a heavy curved cross member that makes it obvious I need a front sump pan. I cut the original frame pieces that the original motor mounts attached to off. the run perpendicular to the engine. With the motor set down far enough to mount the bell housing and as far back as I can get it the starter will hit the steering linkage that runs right behind the curved cross member. did I take on something that can't be done. PLEASE let me know if this is possible or do I need to scrap the whole idea. This thing is eating me up

I'm screwed right? go ahead you can tell me.
you can't put a V8 in an 84 B2000.

Anything is possible.

Y not fab up a new front frame section?


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fabbing up mounts and such is ok if I tried toi build my own front frame this thing would look like a crab going down the road

Id get newer mazda truck everything and shift it forward? Makes sense without seeing both trucks. One guy brags about only having to slot holes in the newer trucks so I imagine it would just be really really big slot?

thanks getnpsi,
thought about that but I am a die hard do it guy. I pride myself in making a way to do anything that can't be done. They call me McGyver. I want to be the guy that did an 84 and show how it can be done. I will be posting picks on the build as I go.

cant you just move the engine around abit? what about raising it?

Check out They have the engine and transmission mounts for the 72 - 84 trucks.

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