[blaten22]

Ford Mustang II FAQ Section

Enjoy!

[OHC230]

Wow, I read that article a long, long time ago. Those guys were making some impressive HP #'s

I would be happy with 264 HP and a 100 HP shot of nitrous.

[blaten22]

Originally Posted by OHC230 Wow, I read that article a long, long time ago. Those guys were making some impressive HP #'s I would be happy with 264 HP and a 100 HP shot of nitrous.

Yea but could you imagine the gas mileage with it being carb? rofl

[OHC230]

Yeah but could you imagine the gas mileage with it being carb'd?


Yeah, you would lose some MPG with a carb, but not as much as you would running a cam with those kind of specs. Long duration and overlap make for very low cylinder pressures at low engine speeds and that is where you really see the fuel consumption go up. That's kind of why I didn't want to go with a more aggressive cam in my engine. I have hit a horsepower wall with my car right now, because I am unwilling to increase duration or lift on my cam and I know that the cylinder head is not making full use of the ports with only .450" of valve lift, but I also know that if I were to increase lift, I would start to run into emission problems and one of my goals was to see if I could be green and still make decent power, without the use of boost pressure.

I have faith that I can find 20-30 more HP from this combination though. I haven't touched the stock bottom end yet and the addition of a windage tray is supposed to be good for 10 HP and a 2.5 crank will get you another 10 HP. I am looking at the intake manifold as a possible area for improvement. On a stock or near stock engine, messing with the manifold doesn't seem to improve power, but when you start pushing up the RPM's where the torque peak occurs, the manifold starts to become more important.

I have been doing some machine work on some old manifolds to see what I can get away with, I think there might be something there. I am also running the stock throttle body, which is slightly ported, at my current power level it might be a restriction. My current MPG is still around 25 and I can live with that!

[blaten22]

I just ran across something. I may be in the next 4 months trading my Cirrus for a 90-93 hatchback 2.3. I think its 93 but i can double check that. Would I be able to drop forged pistons in that and still be able to use the stock bottom end?. Also, with that late model of the fox body, would that still have the A4LD? Its a auto so i may end up pulling the motor, doing the work and dropping it in the notch i have now as its a t5.

I would go turbo if the stock bottom end would work. This means I should only have to find a ECU/Wiring harness, turbo kit, exhaust manifold, Head, Fuel pump, injectors. I'll probally look for a Vane air flow, unless i find dumb down convert kit for mass air.

[OHC230]

Would I be able to drop forged pistons in that and still be able to use the stock bottom end?

Well yes but..... The stock 2.3 rods are very strong and with a set of ARP rod bolts and some polishing, they can take up to 7500 RPM with a high degree of reliability. The running clearance for forged pistons will be a little tight if the block was bored for cast pistons. Forged pistons generally run a little more bore clearance because they have a higher amount of thermal expansion than their cast counterparts. 2.3 cranks are very strong and should only require minor prep if any.

If you are planning a turbo in your future, the rod prep and the block machine work will be well worth it.

I have run turbos with cast pistons and so did the early factory turbo 2.3 engines. Using cast pistons, you are limited to boost levels of 4-6 PSI max and that's if you are using an intercooler. Above this level, thermal loading becomes an issue and the piston ring lands begin to warp and you don't want that.

With that late model of the fox body, would that still have the
A4LD?

Yes.

I would go turbo if the stock bottom end would work. This means I should only have to find a ECU/Wiring harness, turbo kit, exhaust manifold, Head, Fuel pump, injectors. I'll probably look for a Vane air flow, unless i find dumb down convert kit for mass air.

If you are going the turbo route, it would make sense to me, to find a whole car, so you can source all of the parts from it and you would have a running example to work from. It's all of the little things that take up your time and try your patience. You don't have to struggle as much if you have a whole car, you just swap parts and wind up with a very unique car in the end.

Just my 2 cents,

[blaten22]

Eh came back from the jy today and wasn't to good looking. Trying to find a donor car is like finding a needle in a haystack.

I'd kinda decided I'd like to hit the 13 sec mark if i could with what i have. I'm sure thats not considered quick to most, but its quick enough for me, specially coming from a 4 banger. I already know I'll have to drop some weight off, its right at 3500 now. I'll know a little more once i hear from the guy about the car trade though for sure.

[OHC230]

3,5000 lb. is quite a bit of weight for a Mustang 4 cylinder, mine weighs in around 2,800.

The following weights are from the NHTSA.

From what I have seen they are pretty accurate.

Vehicle Dimensions 90’ Ford Mustang 2.3L
Specification 2-door convertible 2-door coupe 2-door hatchback

Wheelbase, in. 100.5 100.5 100.5

Overall Length, in. 179.6 179.6 179.6

Overall Width, in. 68.3 68.3 68.3

Overall Height, in. 52.1 52.1 52.1

Curb Weight, lbs. 2996 2775 2834

Cargo Volume, cu. ft. 6.4 10.0 30.0

Standard Payload, lbs. -- -- --

Fuel Capacity, gals. 15.4 15.4 15.4

13 seconds is very feasible from a 4 cylinder, I’ll bet that I will trip the timing lights in the 13 second range, once I dump the Auto for a T-5 in my car. There are so many places that one can remove weight in a Mustang. Some are free, others aren’t.

[blaten22]

I swear the sticker in the door says either 3500 or 3700 ilbs. its a notch. Will recheck tomorrow. One I currently have is a 89 lx

[OHC230]

Yes that sounds correct, but that is the fully loaded capacity of the car not the curb weight. I guess if you are a heavy set person, who drives around with three full figured friends, who like to accompany you when you race, then that weight will be fairly accurate. But if you are like me and weigh less that 190 lbs and you take your fuel to the race track in a separate fuel can and leave your gas tank empty, you could add 100 lbs to those previously listed weights and you should be within 50 lbs of those. If that's not the case, then someone has hidden gold bars somewhere inside your car, or it really needs a wash.

[blaten22]

damn be cool to find the gold! lol