[00quicksilver]

I was looking at an article over on one of the ranger forums that you can swap just the turbo, manifold, and I/C from the 87/88 thunderbird turbo coupe and run low boost on the MAF n/a setup. The reason I ask is because I want a little more power but am not looking for anything above 200 hp right now. I think this would be cheaper and since my compression is good and mileage is low on my engine I could go this route. Has anyone done this and run 7 or 8 lbs of boost. This should put me around 150 hp which would be good for now.

Before I get flamed, I know that a swap would not cost that much more. I am weary about buying used engines though so the cost of the 2.3t engine plus tear down and rebuild is not really cost effective for me. Any input would help me. If this is dumb I'll just wait until I can purchase the 2.3t and rebuild it.

[OHC230]

Yes you can do this. I have done this myself. I would keep boost below 6 PSI with an intercooler. The higher compression in your engine, will make it more likely to detonate, so you need to be very careful.

Good junk yard 2.3 turbos are virtually impossible to find. It is extremely likely, that any turbo you find in the wrecking yard, will have cracked exhaust housings, worn bearings or leading edge blades on the inlet impeller, that are dinged, dented or scratched. Parts are still available for them, but they are very pricey. You will most likely snap off bolts when removing the turbo, you will need to learn the technique for repairing these. It is highly likely that the exhaust manifolds you find in the wrecking yard will be cracked as well, be picky about the parts you choose. They don't call them junk yards for nothing.

The stock waste gate springs are not going to yield until boost reaches 7-9 PSI, so you may need to find an alternative for this as well.

What slows down or stops most people from completing this swap is the oil drain for the turbo. If you to drill and tap the hole that goes into the engine block, you can buy a drain line and a bulkhead fitting to put into the oil pan. If you decide that this is the best way for you, then the line needs to be as close to the top of the pan rail as possible and the oil drain line needs to be as straight as possible, otherwise you will have oil backing up into the turbo.

So that's the down side of this. If it were my money, I would spend it on a new turbo and exhaust header. You could eliminate so many hassles and head aches. or just do the N/A thing and get a stage 1 cam, mill the head and do the exhaust system with a header, which you need to do for the turbo anyway.

My .02 C worth.

[00quicksilver]

This may be a stupid question but what can I do N/A while I prep for this swap (find good junkyard parts in other words).

-Can I do a milder N/A cam and use it on the turbo later? I'm guessing turbo cams have a significantly different profile than N/A (less overlap probably)
-Don't you need a 3" exhaust for turbo setup? I've seen that this is needed for most turbo builds.

I would like a little more out of the car for now and then plan on going turbo next summer on low boost....after I figure out the wastegate spring problem.

[OHC230]

For the turbo engine or the N/A motor, I would suggest at least a 2.5” exhaust, from the manifold all the way back, just to get things started. Later on, you can add a 3" down pipe off the turbo and merge that into the 2.5".

The Racer Walsh stage 1 cam has the same lift profile as the now discontinued, Ford Motorsport A-237. These cams work well with the stock computer, have decent idle vacuum and have a wide power band. They work well in either N/A or turbo motors. Boport racing also has some nice cams. They are a little pricier, but they offer a few more grinds to select from.

You should be able to source some roller followers from a dual plug 2.3 to go with the cam, unless you all ready have them. Plan on purchasing an adjustable cam sprocket -see link (2.3 Ford Timing Components ) to add to your cam swap.

If you want to pull the head and do some work there, I can outline some basic steps for you, which will do wonders for the head,

[00quicksilver]

Thanks for the advice OHC230. Looks like I will do the cam and exhaust first and then get the turbo swap ready. I already have the 8 plug head so I'm good to go there. You've given me a good place to start, thanks.

[Cgross609]

OHC, Could you please describe how to do the oil drain for the turbo? This sounds like a cool mod.

[OHC230]

I need to take pictures, I'll post them later.

[Cgross609]

Sounds rad. How much Hp can you expect to gain from running only 6lbs of boost? is it fairly significant? I'm still looking into shops that will actually port my 93's heads for a decent price. If all else fails, i can steal a head off a 91 tempo or the 89 stang we got laying around and practice on them in shop and do it myself. BTW if you havent noticed, i hate when other people touch my car. I have yet to take it in to be serviced or even looked at by a proffessional. I have a good friend that is a licensed mechanic, and he's my go to guy... Lol

[blaten22]

I seem to remember some where reading its 7 hp for every 1 psi. That of course would be the perfect settings though, and I may be wrong so don't hold me to it. For no more than 6-8 psi I'd rather keep in N/a and have it with Np's of cracking a piston. 200 or so at the fly with around a 50 or 75 would be a fun car providing after upping the compression like OHC has you can still run N20 On it.

[00quicksilver]

To be honest if you are not planning on going above 7psi (built block) then you should just stay N/A. OHC has 200hp from an N/A setup which could probably be done with a heavily ported iron head. Depends on long term goals.

If you want 200 or more at the wheels....go turbo, if not stay N/A.

The whole reason I ask is I wish to keep my dual plug head and a MAF setup. I plan on putting in 7psi for now (get to around 150hp at crank) and in the mean time build up the bottom end/fuel/etc. Then I can up the boost to 25 psi and run around 250-300 to the ground. With the weight of this car that would make it quite fun.

Does anyone know if the maf's in these cars can be used as blow through or do they need to be placed before turbo??

[OHC230]

Does anyone know if the maf's in these cars can be used as blow through or do they need to be placed before turbo??
Metering accuracy seems to be better with the sensor in front of the turbocharger in most cases.

These discussions keep getting better and better.

From my experience, I can tell you that there are no set formulas which can be applied to "every engine" when predicting power VS boost. The compression ratio is one of the more significant variables in this equation as is the turbo sizing. 200 HP is well within reach for an otherwise stock motor with cast pistons, running 8 PSI. AT this point the pistons are reaching their max, in terms of thermal loads. If the engine temp is kept low and detonation is carefully controlled, the engine might last for a while.

The piston ring lands seem to be the weak link here, they have a tendency to warp. It's a such a small expenditure for a set of forged pistons, it hardly seems worth the effort to turbocharge an engine without them.