mustang musings

Wanted to get opinions... Cheap mustang2.3lx, meet volvo BF23T and megasquirt That is all...

DUAL ENGINE?!

What? No... Remove boat anchor 2.3, replace with turbocharged boat anchor 2.3

Some of the turbo Ford guys have actually bolted the Volvo head to the 2.3.

In theory it sounds good but there's the transmission to deal with. And mounts. Etc. maybe easier to get a Turbocoupe or similar parts car and swap, checking & rebuilding along the way.

I was joking. You mentioned 2 cars and 2 engines. I'm into swapping Mustang guts into Volvos. Others go the other direction. I was just looking for clarification.

Why do you chose the Volvo 2.3 engine when there is a 2.3 Mustang engine available that in some models comes with a turbo? Hell, you could toss the Volvo turbo onto the Ford.

Based solely on experience, I've got to say the Volvo 2.3 is the better way to go.

You're looking at a $150 bellhousing-to-trans adapter to bolt a Volvo bell to a T5, and it can even be clocked in two positions [either straight as the Ford 2.3, or angled as the Volvo B23]. Past that, you'd only need engine mounts, and if you're wiring it for MSx, then you've already got the harnesses under control.

Simply put, the work involved in modifying the Volvo 16v head to fit a Ford 2.3 block makes it a terrible choice. I have personally seen several non-turbo B230F 8v engines, with just a turbo cam, 70lb injectors, '90+ turbo manifold, and a Holset make well over 350whp reliably on Megasquirt. They were all built by a good friend of mine, Jim Schardt from Clockwork Calibrations in Albuquerque, NM.

I'm not denouncing the fact that the Ford 2.3 has a lot of headroom for power, even stock, but I also feel, based on my experience - having had an '83 TurboCoupe with water/meth, an H1C, and 75lb injectors on MS2 for a daily, and a '79 242DL with an '88 B230F and an HX35 on MS2 for a track toy - that the Volvo can be had in many instances for cheaper, stock parts are more stout in my eyes, and aftermarket goodies are cheap [especially compared to Esslinger's Ford 2.3 catalog prices].

My thought: Find a decent B230F [stay away from the later K-blocks, they have thinner rods], drill and tap the block for BMW oil squirters [optional, I've seen high power engines with and without, I just prefer them], and get a '90+ turbo manifold with your choice of T3-flanged turbo, MS it and hold on.

For reference, my 242 ran on 14 wires via MS, and used the OEM ignition supplemented with an MSD 6AL box. It was strictly speed-density, I didn't even have a TPS wired in and it drove fine.

N Sperlo wrote: Why do you chose the Volvo 2.3 engine when there is a 2.3 Mustang engine available that in some models comes with a turbo?

Because someone else is putting a Volvo 2.3 and T5 into a Miata.

Me, I want to know where there are 2.3 Mustangs that haven't been converted to V8s, or Pony Stock roundy-rounders. Or soup cans.

Javelin wrote: Some of the turbo Ford guys have actually bolted the Volvo head to the 2.3.

Local guy has done it. I believe you have to custom fab your intake and exhaust manifolds, as the Volvo intake and exhaust sides are opposite the Ford.

Not sure why you'd go through the effort with the 4-cylinder, though; around here a 5.0 convertible is cheaper than a 2.3L hardtop and If you did want the 4-cylinder, people make big power with the single-cam. Esslinger has hit 900hp in a sandrail with a combination of boost and nitrous, and Jon Huber has put 2.3T cars into the 9s in the 1/4 (I believe he's also getting them to push around 900hp).

The big problem with the Ford 2.3 and Big Power is getting a clutch in the teeny tiny bellhousing. The best "solution" I've seen involved a 2.3 to Windsor bellhousing adaptor plate, so you can use a man-sized clutch instead of little girly-man clutch.

That's assuming you can't scare up a '74 Pinto C4 bellhousing so you can run a modern transmission instead of one of those funny row-your-boat things.

Reason? None... Just popped into my noggin one day...

Thought that turdo coupes were harder to come by and single cam volvos are literally everywhere. And i knew that people swap t5s into bricks all the time sooo. And iirc, rustangs are much lighter than turbo bricks...

My 280zx might be going, so this might be its replacement. Just as a fun slammed drift sled... Wonder how complicated the suspension will be?

Knurled wrote: Me, I want to know where there are 2.3 Mustangs that haven't been converted to V8s, or Pony Stock roundy-rounders. Or soup cans.

Thats a very good question. I have to assume they are all in either Atlanta or California. I dont think Ive seen one in Ohio/Michigan for quite awhile.

The stoutest set up seems to be the tall deck SVO 2.3 block, Volvo 16V head and hell-for-stout internals.