PINTO CAR CLUB of AMERICA
Welcome to FordPinto.com, The home of the PCCA => General Help- Ask the Experts... => Topic started by: Fast72Sedan on May 17, 2020, 06:37:01 PM
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Hello everyone,
Has anyone ever put a 2.3 in a 72 with the smaller engine compartment? Here is my issue, I would like to run an electric fan instead of the mechanical but without modifying the engine compartment I’m having a hard time finding parts to make it happen. With the standard 2.3 water pump it puts the nose of the pump with in a half an inch of the radiator. I was thinking maybe I could find some type of electrical pump that would give me enough room to have an electrical fan, or I could find a smaller mechanic pump. Has anyone ran into this issue? Does anyone know of a conversation?
Thank You
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Some of the late '73's came with a 2.3, the engine mounts and maybe even the frame mounts were different. I might.....have them...not sure it's been quite a while
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In fact l know the frame mounts had to be different. So do you have the 2.3 installed now? Because the 2.0 mount had a stud in the middle and the 2.3 was a saddle style
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The car came with a 1.6, I removed all of that and fabricated new mounts for the 2.3. When I had it running everything was a tight fit, I have the valve cover almost touching the firewall to get enough room to have a flex mechanical fan.
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My 73, has a 2.3T in it and the person I got it from put the electric fan in front of the radiator. Probably not as efficient but it works.
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I put a 2.3 (turbo) in a '73 wagon so the situation is the same. You are correct that the clearance is tight. Maybe even closer to 3/8". I did a write up on the process (link below) but you will have to read through to find the spot. The '72 has the 17" radiator. The 2.3 cars have 20" radiators.
I shifted over the cradle opening 3" to install the 20" radiator. Basically I cut the cradle and then overlapped the metal to add strength I also used a common aftermarket fan with my own mount and used the original '88 donor car fan controller. It is front mount and I never have had a cooling issue. Bigger radiator..., FAR bigger fan. The only caveat is the blades are exposed. Here is the link and I'll include a few pictures.
https://www.fordpinto.com/general-pinto-talk/so-you-want-to-build-a-turbo-pinto-part-1/msg76893/#msg76893 (https://www.fordpinto.com/general-pinto-talk/so-you-want-to-build-a-turbo-pinto-part-1/msg76893/#msg76893)