I got a 4cyl. Mustang HELP!!!

[StangNut86]

there is no replacement for displacement. a turbo is a substitution. so is any power adder.

[SIKCRX]

like i said before, there is no replacement for displacement, except for boost.

[351wStang]

302's are a dime a dozen. Put $800 into a rebuild and drop it in the 4cyl car with a t5 and some 3.73's in a stock 8.8". Run Edelbrock's TorkerII powre package, that comes with cam, springs, intake, and a 650cfm carb for about $500. Take the rest of the money and replace rings, bearings, ect and buy some valve covers with the change. You will have plenty of power. About 360 on the ground with even more torque. Be a sweet street machine.

[SIKCRX]

302's are a dime a dozen

exactly, be different, get the sound of a turbocharged engine with the same power output and less weight than a v8

[thunderbird muscle]

Either use a V8 or a v6 s.c. I have a 4.6 and love it. It also has a great exhaust sound. I have no mufflers at all and love the way it sounds.

[jlewis]

SIKCRX is right, and Zwrangler, I won't insult you or anything, but you don't know anything about the 2.3T, it was a factory motor that at one point came in the Mustang SVO with 200 HP and 240+ ft/lbs FROM THE FACTORY. 200-500 dollars into it and you can easily hit 300+ HP and dust most 5.0s. And believe me, I love the 5.0, but it just doesn't do it for me compared to 18+ psi of boost.

No, the 2.3 in NA form can't handle a turbo, or at least there is no room for error, if you run lean once your engine is gone. The turbo motor has a few main differences: Forged Dished pistons and open chambers for turbo-friendly 8:1 comp ratio(allows well over 20 psi with the right turbo and IC,etc.) and Inconel exhaust valves for high exhaust temps.

See my reply to the 4cyl post above for more info and check out WWW.TURBOFORD.ORG for tons of info. Yes I'm shamelessly plugging, but I'm not getting paid or anything, I just love turboford.

If you can get an entire turbo motor (around 300 bucks from junkyard) then you don't need much else to make the swap. ALL 2.3 bottom ends are the same and can handle 300+ HP. but you need the turbo parts for boosted applications. See GT350R.STANGNET.COM for swap info. You don't even need to change harnesses. Add a few wires, get the turbo computer and air meter, repin the computer(very simple I promise), and you're done(drop the motor in of course ). Do some research first at turboford and they will be happy to guide you through the whole process if you have problems. I'll eventually get a site completed with my mods to my 88 Tbird Turbocoupe so you can see the proof. It flies, that's all I can say.

5.0's beware.

[dampachi]

sikcrx you said 'exactly, be different' because 302s are a dime a dozen. well uh..i don't know about this guy but i certainly wouldn't want to be the guy with the 4cyl mustang. the 'be different' thing works with hondas..like 'yeah i'ma get this B16A2 because all my friends have B16As!' or whatever..but i personally would junk that little four and get a V8..either the 5.0 or something carbed. the mustang is supposed to be a muscle car, it deserves it's V8.

[rerun]

what i find funny is how all the 4 banger guys think their car is fast becuase it runs boost... ever seen a v-8 with boost? just a wee bit faster than a 4 banger, and don't give me this stock for stock shit because cars now are shit all around.

[SIKCRX]

not to mention a turbo 2.3 mustang would handle alot better than a beefy 5.0 and get better gas mileage. dont get me wrong, if someone gave me the choice to have a 5.0 or a 2.3T, without me having to pay for it. id of course pick a 5.0. but since i have to buy my motor id take the cheaper, more cost efficient 2.3. plus the reason i bought the stang was to put a v8 in it, i just researced around and found out its cheaper to put a 4 in it.

[45thAnniversaryGT]

First it must be a turbo. Secondly, heres a list...

Intake - K&N air filter

Vane Air Meter - Stock SVO 3"

Throttle Body - Stock

Intake Manifold - 86 style, ported lower half, gutted upper half

Head (Cast Iron) Port matched to intake, big valves, good valve job
Camshaft - Engle 55, Installed with stock pulley

Exhaust Manifold - Ported stock

Exhaust Pipe - 3" to rear of car + Borla muffler

Block - Cast Iron, Head and Main bearing studs, O-ringed

Pistons - Stock Ford, Modified for floating pins, 0.0045" skirt clearance, Back-cut upper ringland

Rings - Stock Ford, Total Seal second ring

Bearings - Ford (0.002" rod/main)

Rods - Crower Sportsman, Stock length

Misc. - Nitrous, 90hp dry-manifold type for 5.0, Adds fuel by closing stock return line to increase pressure

Fuel System - Stock 86 SVO computer ("PE") chip to raise rev limiter to 7K, Stock 35lb/hr injectors, Two full-size Ford truck pumps (E7TF-AA) in series, with 3/8" factory plastic lines and an F1SZ-9155-A filter. Stock pulse damper retained. Ported Ranger fuel rail.

Turbo - "S" trim T04 compresser with a dynamic seal, and an 0.82 A/R
bolt on Turbonetics exhaust housing. Intake side is a T4, exhaust side is a T3 with stock turbine wheel.

Intercooler - Aftermarket Garret designed for a Toyota truck, with modified tanks and 2" inlet and outlet.

Boost Control - Simple "fish-tank" style bleeder valve, courtesy of Superchips. Set to 16-17 psi.

Ignition - Stock TFI with an MSD 6. Motorcraft wires and stock 10 degree timing. AWSF32C spark plugs gapped at 0.030"

Head Gasket - Felpro

It may seem like alot to do, but if your serious take it step by step save the money and before you know it, you'll achieve what your looking for. Regardless weither it was 4 cylinder with Turbo or an 8 cylinder with Turbo, we all love cars and thats all that matters. When your all done you'll most likely be in the high 11's (guessing) The car is light and if you want to get it even lighter add an aftermarket hood (fiberglass). If you wanted to go faster in the 1/4, you'd have to get rid of the Mustang and get a Pinto. As stupid as that may sound its true. With a pinto and all the mods I listed you'd probably break 10's (if done right at the track). Also with the mods I listed you'll most likely be around 400 horsepower. Any V-8 with 400 horsepower would cost more than just adding all the stuff I listed for a 4. When a vehicle is a 4 cylinder, you have to change the engine mounting locations, transmission mounting locations and it just becomes a big mess. If you want to try to run 10's or get as close as you can this is what you may want to do. Get a C4 automatic transmission, stock ("F29") torque convertor (if possible). 4.62:1 gears and a locking differential in a stock 8" rear end (if possible). Use the N2O system right off the line to eliminate lag. Use very sticky tires for consistent low 1.5xx 60' times and finally SPA-1 Koni shocks. K-members if possible would shave off about 40 lbs in the front end as well. Just want to add one more thing.... a T5OD is what was in the 86 so you may want to see what transmission is in the mustang. I have a feeling its a A4LD. Im not quite sure if they are the same transmission, but if they are not, try to get a T5OD with the motor and get rid of the A4LD ASAP. That transmission needs all the help it can get (even stock)

[jlewis]

Originally Posted by rerun

what i find funny is how all the 4 banger guys think their car is fast becuase it runs boost... ever seen a v-8 with boost? just a wee bit faster than a 4 banger, and don't give me this stock for stock shit because cars now are shit all around.

I'd like to see how long you get a 5.0 or similar V8 to click along at 24+ psi of boost and not self-destruct. Even more than 9 psi and you'll have trouble keeping it together without serious bottom end work. A 2.3 turbo was built to handle it. Yes, I know how serious a turbo V8 can be, I've seen lots of 'em and they are asskickers. BUT, there's a lot of crap to fab or buy if you want a turbo V8. You've got to get the turbos hooked up to the exhaust somehow, you need forged pistons, and the list goes on. On a 2.3T these problems are already solved by Ford, and they spared no expense. Basically, I know some of you will never be addicted to the 2.3T like me, but believe me when I say a 2.3T powered car is a ton of fun, it's a hell of a cool engine and it's got some balls, whether you think so or not. It's a hell of a step up from a N/A 2.3 and it's cheap to do. Let's also not forget that the person originally posting here does not want a street monster(at least from what I can tell), but simply an upgrade from the N/A 2.3. A 2.3T is guaranteed to have great driveablility and you can triple your power easily. And if it ever needs to be rebuilt, it can be done for 500 dollars or less, I have 1100 bucks in my car including it's original cost, a rebuild and some goodies. Like I said, a T3 and a bigger intercooler and I'll be at the 300 HP mark.

[dampachi]

'a t3 and a bigger intercooler and i'll be at the 300hp mark'. i've seen stock 5.0s with superchargers hit 300hp....and um...jlewis up there you said $200-500 into an SVO with 200hp stock can make 300+hp...care to back this up with anything? because you'll be hard pressed to make 20hp out of that money..and you're saying you can make 100+hp. oh yeah and really...who turbos a V8? i've heard of them but I've never met ANYONE who had a turbo'd V8..you really don't need to turbo V8s...they already have so much to work with you never really think about turbocharging them.

[SIKCRX]

who turbos a V8? i've heard of them but I've never met ANYONE who had a turbo'd V8..you really don't need to turbo V8s...they already have so much to work with you never really think about turbocharging them

do you live under a rock?

[jlewis]

Yeah, do you live under a rock? The worst thing you can say about a particular engine is that it's good enough. "'Ain't no such thing as having too much fun."

And yes you can make that much power out of a 2.3T with that small amount of money. That doesn't mean you can have it through bolt-ons, because frankly the 2.3T aftermarket sucks compared to the 5.0. There are very few mass-producers of performance parts for the 2.3 so you have to be creative. I did the port and polish on my 2.3T myself, put 500 in engine rebuild(machine work and a rebuild kit, balanced also). I put the motor together and dropped it in myself with an aftermarket cam, mostly new top end(springs, followers, HLAs), (250 bucks there). The car only cost me $150 to begin with and it wasn't a shitpile like you expect. It only needs minor body work. Anyway, the cam is not even required. Lots of people at the 300 hp mark have the stock cam or even the smaller ranger roller cam. I also have a K&N filter directly on the air meter, I ported everything I could through the motor(not just the head), and I have full 3" exhaust with a hi-flow cat exiting in front of the right wheel. I have (conservatively) estimated my hp at around 250, mind that stock was 190. I also replaced all tuneup parts and the engine runs sweet so I know it's currently at full potential. If anything is holding me back it's the stock turbo which is the tiny IHI. Remember, you can't make any more airflow than the most restrictive part allows.

BTW, i really can't continue this argument because I realize I have severly hijacked this post. Sorry to the original poster.

[dampachi]

maybe i do live under a rock. well actually i live in baltimore, MD. and the only V8s I see turbo'd are those 80s GNs. I have never met anyone who turbo'd their own V8. supercharged, yes. turbo no...not even at the millions of car shows i've been to have i ever seen a turbo'd V8..maybe because they were all mostly muscle car shows and such but still. and yeah sorry for hijacking this thread. i still say go V8 in your 4cyl stang.