Where to get 5.0 Donor & what manual trans?

[BonesDT]

After years of casual research and day-dreaming, I think I'm convinced a 351W swap will be too much trouble and too much money, so I've decided on the easy 5.0 swap from a sister Ex.

1) What's the best way to get a donor? Can I just buy a whole truck from a junkyard (Harry's U-Pull-It in PA)? Most importantly, what do I do with the carcass after my engine swap??? Can I tow it back to the junkyard?

2) An auto trans is completely out of the question, don't even bring it up. What the best (easiest) manual trans for this swap? It seems the M5OD-R2 from a F-150 is the one to use, but I was kind of looking forward to the V8 swap as an excuse to convert to a cable clutch and seperate trans bellhousing. What about the T-5? I thought that was a very durable and popular off-road trans, but now I see it's not as strong as the M5R2.

 

[BonesDT]

Oh, also, I'm aware of computer issues with putting a manual up to a Explorer 5.0. Would it be easier to get the 5.0 AND M5R2 from a F-150 donor as a package?

 

[BonesDT]

1) What's the best way to get a donor? Can I just buy a whole truck from a junkyard (Harry's U-Pull-It in PA)? Most importantly, what do I do with the carcass after my engine swap??? Can I tow it back to the junkyard?

Bump on this part of my question.

Where's the best place to find a donor (physical location or online)? I'm seeing some good deals online, but these are running trucks with 150-200K miles, where I should be looking for a totaled truck with low miles.

I still have no idea what to do with a donor carcass. I have enough junk, definately can't have it lying around for long when I'm finished.