Kicking around a model a project. My pops said he knows of a turbo coupe that was wrecked and might be a cheap car, the owner is mid 70s and is liquidating a bunch of stuff. Want to run a full hood so a guy wouldn’t see the motor but don’t know if it would fit. Also don’t know what computer crap it would need.
I don't know, but it sounds interesting. I seem to recall that the Turbo four in some early 80s Mouse-Tangs had more hp than the 302.
My Model A had 2 litre Pinto power at one time. No turbos of course. There was plenty of room under the full hood.
The model A guys had a bellhousing made to bolt i a pinto to an A transmission. which is the same as a V8 trans. I had a thought to put one on my 40. Also you could use a 4 cyl Chevrolet motor usinb the v8 adaptors .
1985 and newer I think are the good ones. The SVO Mustangs had more hp than the 302s of their time, but the SVO engine was a little ‘hotter’ than a t bird Pimp-x would have a harness that could run it
I've always been curious about those turbo coupes, never have seen one up close. About 4 or 5 years ago we bought a modern little Japanese car with a turbo. Turbo meant nothing to me on that deal, but we wanted the car. Little bitty engine with the turbo........I think it's the fastest car I've ever owned.
There is an A Sedan running one in NKy , I have see it and looked under hood a few times . Plenty of room . I know nothing if computer is needed . Look up Dryridge Auto Parts , call ask the owner it’s his car .
if that were mine, I’d run an air/water intercooler. VW and newer GM cars use a small electric circulator pump for auxiliary heating that would work great. It only needs a small reservoir and a heater core somewhere to cool it off
I had a 88 Turbo Coupe for a family car for several years. Only trouble I ever had with it was a persistent valve cover leak that took 3 attempts to cure. Loved that car until some asshole ran into it in my driveway and totaled it. Plenty of power, decent fuel mileage, and other than the valve cover leak, trouble free. But it took premium fuel. I tried lower octane regular, but the motor didn’t like it. That motor would make a model A git right along.
How fast do you want to go, this little Pinto can run eights now here he’s trying to slow down to ten flat. The turbo four is a good place to start and depending on your budget you can build as much power as you can afford. There’s even aftermarket blocks and heads available for them for some form of sprint car class.
I used to go to the street races in the mid to late '90s in Ontario and South LA here in Southern California there used to be a guy that had a turbo 2.3 pinto the motor came out of an XR4TI and it was crazy fast for that time frame It was probably the first four cylinder I saw in the tens. Ever since then I've wanted to mess with one I've just never manned up and did it. I would love to put a more tame version (more streetable) in a 35 to 41 Ford pickup, just keep the hood closed and turn it into my daily, I have had that idea for 20 years if not longer now I really should do it.
If you are putting this motor in an entirely different car, I would be inclined to look into aftermarket computers to run it. Deciphering original Ford 1980s wiring schematics would probably take longer than using a basic aftermarket computer that comes with tutorials and instructions. The new computer will not need to run anything else in your vintage car, unless you choose for it to do that. The factory computer was saddled with a lot of other functions and frankly, I don't trust factory stuff made before 1996 or so when OBDII became a standard. You are starting with a clean slate. Aftermarket feels easier from that perspective. You can set the parameters on it instead of starting with something already programmed to run a much different car.
The aftermarket efi can run an electronic boost controller and timing to make your life so much easier getting the most out of whatever package you put together.
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