ok so i need to find like a ford ranger 5 speed than i mean the motor im picking up has a auto matic but id rather a 5 speed
lotsa good t5 info here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169265 you may have to scour the internet beyond the hamb to find other 5 speed options.
got my 2.3 today ....lil fucker is cool looking its a 87 with distributor ...looks simple to make a 2 or 4 barrel carb fit ....all i gotta do is make motor and trans mounts and cut drive shaft in the a chassis shouldnt take long to hook this thing up ...any info on a carb adapter or any other vintage looking parts..i know they make newer speed stuff but i want to keep it vintage looking ....
I just did a slice and weld on Ranger mounts so they were horizontal and added Speedway biscuit mounts.
We unbolt the air horn portion off of the efi intake and weld on an aluminum 2" four barrel spacer. You also have to weld up all of the holes for sensors ect. We do quite a bit more than just weld it up to make it really breathe, but we're not on the street. One note, don't assume everything is welded up right. One small air leak will burn a piston and quickly. On the carb, I've never messed with a 390 four barrel, but for the street two barrel wise, I'd go with a 350 cfm holley. Willy's carbs had to work their magic on the 500 to keep it from dumping all over it's self when coming off the bottom.
I ran a 2.3 in my old 74 Mustang in the late 80s, early 90s. I highly suggest rethinking the stick shift. I was brutal with mine, so YMMV, but I would lose the first gear synchros after about the second or third time I would side step the clutch at 8 grand. I could still drive it, but it wouldn't stay in first after that. I got to the point where I could swap out a tranny in 2 hours but a better option wasn't available for me at the time. Maybe they made the trans beefier, I dunno. FYI, I was running a Crane Fireball 3/4 race cam, headers, .030 overbore and I pulled the 2 barrel carb off of an old FE 390 pickup and screwed it onto the intake where the adapter plate went. Open plenum airflow. I was too lazy to change the jets so it would foul up in traffic but it ran like a meth addict when I could open it up.
lorodz, it is possible you have the 2.0 engine, in 87 the 2.3's were mostly fuel injected, does it have a round or D-port head . You can get a bolt on adapter kit from Racer Walsh, or Esslinger Engineering. I put one on my O/T 88 Ford ranger, it ran like crap until 3000 rpm because of the long runners, and was very cold natured. For a street drivin vehicle do yourself a favor and find a 1981 or later 2.3powered mustang, the intake looks just like the old oval port intake except it has the D-port runners to match the D-port head, and you can still bolt a holley or motorcraft 2 barrel carburator on top of it.
Yeah I got one in My VW Roadster Pickup. Its mostly stock with a single barrel off a '70 300 six and a header off a '96 Ranger...
nah its a 2.3 froma 87 fuel injected 4 cyl with distributor..not coil pak...so i can use it i will strip it down and make a manifold adapter for a carb and ill weld up a header should be cool
I need a little help from the 2.3 experts. I've read through quite a few posts about these little motors here, and I couldn't find an answer for what I need. My friend's Dad is in the process of restoring a '78 Ford Courier (yeah, I know, not HAMB friendly, but please bear with me). It has the Pinto 2.3 in it. To make a long story short, when he got the truck, the wiring and electrical system in it was junk. He asked me if I would help him re-wire the truck since I have done a few cars in the past. He had me look around the HAMB and we ended up getting a wiring kit from Glenn33 at Rebel Wire. I think it will be pretty straight forward, except for the ignition system. I'm not real familiar with Ford engines of any size, but I've been around cars all my life and with the help of others we have always managed to figure things out. But, the ignition system on this truck is strange. The distributor looks like your typical 4 banger unit, 5 holes in the cap, going to each cylinder and one to the coil. After that is where I get lost. The coil is mounted on the driver's side fenderwell, then under that is a small metal box. There is a red and green wire coming out of the distributor that plugs into a little two wire harness coming out of the metal box. On the other side of the metal box is a harness with a bunch of wires that plug into another harness. Some wires run down the fenderwell and under the truck, and a few go into the main wiring harness into the cab behind the dash. When we re-wire the truck, we want to simplify all this and eliminate this box and go with a typical ignition system. Can this box be eliminated and wired with a ballast resistor or something similar to make it work or will the distributor have to be changed out? If it does need to be changed out, what distributor from what year/model Ford do we need to be on the lookout for? Sorry for the slightly off topic post, but I figured this thread would be the place to ask this question. Thanks in advance for any help! E
Has anyone swapped one of these into a falcon? Seems like a 2.3 turbo would be great in, say, an early 2-door falcon wagon!
I have ('60 Falcon, '61 Comet) and it's not easy as one might think because the intake and the turbo try to occupy the same space as the shock towers. Actually, the intake clears but I made an exhaust manifold from weld ell and pipe to relocate the turbo. Another, easier issue is a Pinto front sump oil pan.
I have a question related to this thread but I'm sort of hi-jacking here, so I apologize in advance. A few days ago I started a thread to see what guys opinions were on LS and Modular engines dressed in traditional fashion in old iron. The thread was closed after 8 hours and I don't know why. I don't know who closed it and I assume that it was considered too o/t but I have seen numerous threads about modern engine dressed to look old. Does anyone know why this happened? Its something I think about a lot because of the availability of modern engines, inexpensive costs (compared to some vintage pieces) and I think being different is cool. I'm not aggravated at all about it, I'm just wondering why it was closed so rapidly while others almost exactly like it remain? Thanks, and sorry for the hi-jack.
So, are there any pics of Model A's with the 2.3 liter turbocharged engines installed? I'd like to see how these look in the cars.
I have only been able to find one decent picture of a very clean install from a web site www.turbojoe.com It is in a 29 A. I talked to him a couple of times about the A and is a very nice guy with a ton of info.
FYI, Ford Areo Stars have a nice header on them. Had a Ranger 2.3 bored .030 over, Ross pistons, balanced, turbo cam, Offy intake, w/Holley 390 carb, 2.5 exaust w/glass pack. Boy that sucker would bark when you nailed it. Had a little traction problem thou.
can anyone give me a quick or as quick as you can about electrical on this engine ..87 2.3 4 cylinder with a distributor not coil packs 1st on the distributor what color wires need power so i can get spark...i know i need a coil so that i understand.. also on the alt what wire needs to see power so it will keep the battery charged ...just basic electrical..maybe someone has a wire diagram i can look at or has used this set up before ..thanks
lorodz, take the tfi distributor out of it and put a duraspark distributor in it, get the duraspark blue ignition module and wire it up like this. Which alternator are you using?
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