[fordftw]

Hey,

I'm building a 2.3L N/A motor for an 89 Ranger.

I would just like to know if yall think my parts combo will work out alright;

Speed Pro Pistons for the turbo version, to lower the CR a little.
stock rods + crank
ARP rod bolts
exhaust manifold for a turbo Merkur
the turbo is in my next post
Custom intake + good flowing exhaust
Racer Walsh adjustable cam sprockets
stock roller cam, followers, and intake valves.
exhaust valves for the turbo version of the 2.3 (inconel)
port and polish
accel stage 2 injectors (17 or 19 lbs/hr, cant remember)
3.73 rear gears

MAYBE a t-5

of course a boost and wide band AF gauge will be installed to keep things in check.

heres my two questions- some people say not to run a BOV. why?
and what do i need to do with the computer and all the crap i wish wasnt controlling my motor?

thanks

[fordftw]

the forum didnt let me post links in my first post, so here's the turbo:

T04E 0.63 A/R TURBOCHARGER T3/T4 D15 D16 B16 B18 B20 SR:eBay Motors (item 170348001891 end time Jul-22-09 20:16:22 PDT)

oh and those pistons are forged btw.

do you think i would be safe with a 25 or 50 shot of nitrous, for the future?

and, im shooting for ~300rwhp. do i sound like i have "special needs" by saying this? lol

[akatagyourit]

Well first off you'd be better off spending a few hundred bucks and picking up a 2.3T block than forging an n/a block. Second if your wanting 300hp your gonna need at least 35.5 lbs/hr injectors, the 88 2.3T blocks come stock with them, their brown tops. Lastly if your gonna buy a turbo spend the money and buy one from a reputable company. Many people have had issues with the e-bay t3/t4 turbos as their not genuine. Their basically a designed to look like genuine turbos but the internals are cheaply produced. BOV's are fine to run, i'm using a forge motorsports bov on my 2.3T. As for the computer, if your gonna use the stock wiring harness for the car, your gonna need to either a) get a turbo computer most everyone wants la3's as the tables are much more able to handle up to around 300hp or buy a new harness and stand alone ecu.

[fordftw]

hey thanks for the response.

would it be possible to get a computer from a turbocoupe or something? i'd imagine theyre quite cheap...

oh and i know the best route for me would be to get a turbo motor... but i cant find any within 300 miles of me. so i guess im just going to turbo the n/a motor. are there any MAJOR differences that are gonna get me into trouble between the two?

[akatagyourit]

You can find the computers pretty cheap, theres a few specific svo, turbo coupe, turbo ford sites out there and their usually up for sale quite frequently. I picked up my la3 for about 75$ shipped. As for the block, you may want to look into a re-manufactured motor company near you, they may have the assembly there. As for the na block vs turbo block, biggest difference are the water and oil ports that are tapped into the block, the lower compression difference, and the heads are different. If you use an na head and crank the boost up your screwed nuff said. The valves and springs in the na head aren't built to withstand the pressure from a turbo. If you can find a turbo block and head run those over n/a. Otherwise your gonna have to do a ton of custom work to make it happen.

[Matt Cramer]

Originally Posted by fordftw the forum didnt let me post links in my first post, so here's the turbo: T04E 0.63 A/R TURBOCHARGER T3/T4 D15 D16 B16 B18 B20 SR:eBay Motors (item 170348001891 end time Jul-22-09 20:16:22 PDT) oh and those pistons are forged btw. do you think i would be safe with a 25 or 50 shot of nitrous, for the future? and, im shooting for ~300rwhp. do i sound like i have "special needs" by saying this? lol

That looks like a no-name Chinese turbo, and it's hard to assess the quality and harder still to find compressor maps for these kinds of turbos. I would rather run a used Holset.

Shameless plug: We can build an adapter to plug a MegaSquirt standalone into a stock 2.3 harness, BTW. This gives you the ability to tune your ECU without having to rewire the car.

[03 R Code]

Matt Cramer... could you PM me some more info on the adapter to plug in a MegaSquirt standalone? What all are you guys able to build for the 2.3T cars? I'm starting to learn about my SVO and really have no idea about the tuning, fuel/air management and measuring and the support that is needed with it!


for the OP good luck with your build! Like akatagyourit said the n/a motor being turbo'd will eventually fail if you ever try to make any decent power with it. It's just not designed to be used with FI.