I need to know what Ford cars and years  that will work in my  automatic 1978 Pinto. I want to stay with the 2.3 Ford engine. I also do not want to use a fuel injection system  thanks for your response   Don

A Ford 2.3 Lima Engine is the same except for some heads have different bolt hole configuration for intake manifolds , and of course if it has a distributor or not....So in other words any 2.3 lima engine would bolt right in , it just on how YOU WANT the fuel and spark to be run....You can remove the EFI and with an adapter run a carb. Check with Esslinger for more information you are not limited to just post 1986 engines....

After a bit of digging....... ........74-88 interchange... ...........'89 went to DIS and no distributor, the crank sensor does it (requires a PCM, TFI ignition).............. .....'95 for sure has no distributor hole at all, cam sensor is on aux shaft and oil pump too........... .............s ome early '90s had a completely different bolt pattern on intake that then only accepts EFI intakes, and some Ranger engines had 8 plugs (DIS) or straight round intake runners that the angled early 2.3 intakes will not work on. One carb in there is a one barrel. There is a dead straight non-angled D port Ranger head too. So, they clearly do not all interchange if one wants carb only and as would probably follow, distributor too.

Depending on what state you're in again, you may well be required to hit the emission specs of the engine not the car at inspection time, the later you go the harder that will be to do with a carb.