I'm a few weeks away from picking up a '98 disco 1 from a friend. It's coming sans motor and transmission as he wants to keep those for another project, but that gives me the perfect opportunity to make this into a manual truck. I know everyone does an LS swap, but I wanted a lighter weight engine, with some easier access so I'm thinking about putting a Ford 302 in. Then mate that to a Ax15, then into the stock LT230.

I'm thinking of pulling the 302 from an 90's V8 Ford explorer - this should be a good match in sizing and accessories to get into the Disco 1.

Any thoughts right off the bat? Anyone else done a Ford small block?

At any rate I'll chronicle my journey here.

I'm stoked to dig into this!