2.3 turbo build

[BigRed1781]

This is my build. I got a 88 thunderbird turbo coupe. The body is trashed. I bought it for the motor, trans, & what not. My plan is to transplant the turbo motor into a foxbody. Yesterday I picked up a foxbody. 89 LX, 4 cyl, auto. The body is pretty much rust free (a lil surface rust but nothing major. A few dents & dings but again nothing major. The interior has seen better days, I have another whole interior so nbd. So I guess this is the start of my turbo stang build.

[BigRed1781]

Heres a couple pics of the donor

[BigRed1781]

The 2.3 turbo

[BigRed1781]

Heres the transplant recipient. Notice those fresh hub caps & racing stripes.

[BigRed1781]

I got the 2.3t & t5 out of the TC. Ready for a freshen up. New gaskets, MLS head gasket, head studs, new timing belt & tensioner.

[BigRed1781]

Centerforce dual friction clutch, completly desroyed. All the friction material was scatered through out the bell housing

[BigRed1781]

Flywheel got chewed a lil in the processes

[BigRed1781]

Front mount intercooler $50. Cant beat that with a baseball bat.

[2300turboford]

Sounds like your off to a good start port the head and get bigger valves and get a 5 angle valve job the bigger valves wake it up a whole lot

[BigRed1781]

I'm just gonna freshen it up a bit for now. New gaskets, timing belt & tensioner. Maybe get my buddy to gut & rotate the upper intake & port/knife edge the lower. Next winter I plan on doing a total rebuild. New piston & rods, boport stage 3 head, cam, bigger turbo, plus some esslinger goodies. I wanna shoot for 300-400 hp when its all said & done.

[stampde]

do yourself a favor and put a performance cam in it ,itll make a big difference
had an 88 Turbo coupe ,with a full exhaust , a little more boost and a cam she ran 13.80's ans that's a heavy car .................

[93mstnglx]

Originally Posted by BigRed1781

I'm just gonna freshen it up a bit for now. New gaskets, timing belt & tensioner. Maybe get my buddy to gut & rotate the upper intake & port/knife edge the lower. Next winter I plan on doing a total rebuild. New piston & rods, boport stage 3 head, cam, bigger turbo, plus some esslinger goodies. I wanna shoot for 300-400 hp when its all said & done.

That's the HP range I'm going for too if its not too much to ask would you let me know everything you've done to it when its all done???

[BigRed1781]

For sure, its kinda hard to find a lot of info on this kinda swap. Its been done just not a lot of info on doing it. I'm just waiting on funding to go any farther, but as I get stuff done I'll post it here. So far I only have about $700 into project mongoose.

[93mstnglx]

Originally Posted by BigRed1781

For sure, its kinda hard to find a lot of info on this kinda swap. Its been done just not a lot of info on doing it. I'm just waiting on funding to go any farther, but as I get stuff done I'll post it here. So far I only have about $700 into project mongoose.

Yeah I've been looking for a while thanks!!

[2300turboford]

You will get wayyy more than that

[2300turboford]

You will be in the 500 hp range with the head and supporting mods and get a front mounted innercooler makes a big difference

[Otlaw80]

Here are a couple sites I visited frequently when I had my thunderbird TC (I still kick myself for not keeping the drivetrain and throwing it into a fox coupe).

TurboFord.net
NATO - North American Turbocoupe Organization
http://stinger-performance.com/

[BigRed1781]

So just a small update. I paid $400 for the tbird, I sold some body parts for $200 & hauled the rest in for scrap $230. I got paid $30 to take the 2.3 turbo engine, t5 trans, & 8.8 trac-lock disc brake rear. Thats a bonus if you ask me.

[Otlaw80]

That's a hell of a deal! Congrats

[BigRed1781]

So I finally got my clutch, now I gotta get my flywheel turned. The swap will be happening real soon. Can't wait.

[BigRed1781]

So I'm kicking around an idea. I have a FMIC & I'm thinking about using pvc for the piping. I know usually you use aluminum but I'm on a tight budget. I have used pvc wrapped in header wrap before for cold air intakes & never had a problem. I would appreciate any input on this. Thanks

[BigRed1781]

Think I might try to atleast swap the trans & rear this weekend

[BigRed1781]

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread but here goes. The auto trans blew up Friday so I started the swap. I got the 4lug disc brake rear in, the hydraulic clutch setup in, the engine & T5 in just have to hook everything up. I have roughly 35-40 hours into the swap so far. Once I get it done I'll try to get some vid & pics up.

[BigRed1781]

If you look closely you can see how much wider the rear is now

[BigRed1781]

Here's a couple random pics. 4 lug disc brakes, hydraulic clutch setup, & a much more efficient intercooler

[dreamstang]

Nice man. Keep up the good work. I'm reading.

[BigRed1781]

If I can get off work early today I'm gonna try to get everything hooked up, try to get her fired up. Still gotta get a bigger fuel pump and hook up the rear breaks.

[BigRed1781]

So an update, the swap is done. 8.8 posi rear, t5 trans with hydraulic clutch, 2.3 Turbo, 255 lph 100 psi walbro fuel pump, now just trying to iron out some wiring bugs.

[93mstnglx]

Originally Posted by BigRed1781

So an update, the swap is done. 8.8 posi rear, t5 trans with hydraulic clutch, 2.3 Turbo, 255 lph 100 psi walbro fuel pump, now just trying to iron out some wiring bugs.

Nice man hope everything goes smoothly

[dreamstang]

Awsome. Try not to get on it till its tuned

[BigRed1781]

Update, I got everything in now. Just got to get my wiring problem fixed. Can't get it to start, getting there though.

---------- Post added at 04:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 AM ----------

If you want to see all the pics of the build so far check out Griffin1781 on photobucket. As soon as I figure out how to get the link I'll put it up.

---------- Post added at 04:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:49 AM ----------

http://s1156.photobucket.com/albums/...ffin1781/stang

[BigRed1781]

So I came to the conclusion that it's more than likely that the ecm is fried, now to find another one.

[dreamstang]

that sux man. double check everything first. many people think that there ecu is fried but really its not to common.

[BigRed1781]

I tried to run a self test on the ecu & got nothing. It won't throw any codes. I have checked a couple of different things to make sure it's getting power & it is. Not throwing codes is a pretty sure sign that it's fried. I'm gonna get another one & make sure. I figure it can't hurt.

[BigRed1781]

New ecu & still nothing. So I'm gonna drop the steering column & start checking wires.