RayJ Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Has anyone put a 2.3l ford engine from the mustang/pinto/ranger into a z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGug1 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Don't know why one would use that exact engine but the 2.3 Turbo out of '88 T-Bird might be an interesting choice. I have given it passing thought as I have two of those engines, one going into an MGB. From what I have read, it is fairly easy to get 300 hp out of that engine without much effort. A larger intercooler, larger exhaust valves, stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 2.3 is pretty heavy for a 4 cylinder. There are varying weights listed online, but it looks like it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 lbs lighter than a 5.0. They can make a lot of power, but there are better/lighter choices these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helghast7 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've done some reading on them when my boss had his notch back mustang. We wanted to bring another car for our drag day and contemplated making a turbo kit for it since he was building a 5.0 for it anyways. Everyone on their forums seems to think that its not worth turboing since they can't handle much more then around 8psi before something melts so we gave up and brought one of our grand nationals, my z and a vette. Personally If I had to pick an I4 I'd choose an s2000 motor, they make good power NA and do very very well with forced induction. My good friend was running about 440whp on all stock internals for a few years before parking that one and getting an s30 lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
03COBRA@78z Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I have been looking into this swap myself due to the availability of parts, and a strong aftermarket. 200+ hp NA isn't unheard of in dirt race cars. 275-300 hp turbo with the stock ecu and 12-16 Lb of boost is the norm. I was looking into the STD motor from Datsun Spirit but that motor costs $11,000. That is a whole heap of cash for 330-345 Hp. I can pick up a running a turbo T-bird for the price of some floor mats. If anyone has done this swap or is planning to please post it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkspeed Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I had a 2.3 cobra stern drive in a boat I used to have. Always wanted to drop an Esslinger mini-stock motor in there. They even cast their own blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
03COBRA@78z Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I looked into them they are extremely well built! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDoogN Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) Has anyone put a 2.3l ford engine from the mustang/pinto/ranger into a z?i just got into this Z, with the 2.3l that you speak of. Don't ask the difficulty of the swap, but according to the previous owner it wasn't too difficult. But then again he's been building custom cars for 20+ years. Although i can vouch for these engines beings beasts, a lot of interchangable parts and easy and cheap to upgrade. Edited March 16, 2015 by JoeDoogN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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