What's up pinto lovers? I bought a pinto last july and the engine finally quit on me so I decided to make it a project: complete interior restore and drop in a 2.3T from an 88 turbo coupe. Should be an adventure considering it is my first major car project and first engine build. So any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!
As of last night I've stripped the interior down to the floor pans and found minimal rust, Arkansas seems to be pretty kind to cars. I only found one area that rusted through, and only after some heavy wire brushing. I have to find out how to repair this without replacing the pans as I'm sure they're very difficult to find in better condition than the ones I have. If anyone has already gone through this I'm open to ideas, or just link me to another post if it's already been discussed.
Hopefully I'll be going to pick up the engine today from a salvage yard, the owner says the car was in great condition but got totaled and cracked the turbo housing in the process. But, seeing as I'm rebuilding the entire motor anyways, this shouldn't be an issue.
I also plan on scrounging up a T5(ideally) and an 8" rear axle assembly before the build is complete. So, if anyone knows of any resources in the Little Rock area, I pay cash lol. I'm a mechanic in the Air Force and should be stationed at this base for a while, so if any members are in the area who'd like to lend a hand or some knowledge, I'd be happy to do the same for them.
I'll be posting photos on a photo bucket account as soon as I make one, if anyone wants to see particular photos, just let me know cause I love takin pictures. here's the address: http://s620.photobucket.com/albums/tt288/concertzach/project%20pinto/
Thanks in advance for any help and I should be updating regularly for anyone interested.
Zach
Welcome Zach,
This is being done so often, someone should write a manual with all relevant parts interchange. Any takers?
Seriously Zach It's all in this site in the threads , Pour a cup of coffee and start clicking...
Pintosopher
welcome to the site. like pintosopher said, most of what you need is here. if its not, its here...www.turboford.net. one thing i could tell you off the bat, find yourself a wiring harness out of a 4 banger mustang from 87-89 and re-pin it for your eec. its seperate from other harnesses and wont be baked like the xr4tis tend to be. that turbo coupe harness is a nightmare to go through...un less you have a lot of extra time to sort through wires. ask me how i know...
bob
Thanks Bob, sound advice! I'll start searching the junkyards here soon, but resources are slim pickings around here. Not a large car market here for some reason. I was also looking at the Joe Morgan custom wiring harness @ Turbojoe.com. It's kinda pricey though, but it'll be a last resort.
SO if anyone knows where I can pick up the wires Bob was talkin about, Hit me up!
thanks, Zach.
:welcome: Zach!
Best of luck with your project - you'll find pretty much any information you need right here on this site.
By the way, what part of Arkansas are you from? I have relatives in Siloam Springs (northwest corner about 1/2 mile from OK border)
Dwayne :smile:
Zach :welcome:
Aircraft Mechanic huh, Little Rock AFB? Welcome to the herd Zoomie from a retired Major Zoomie. We ar here to help!!!
Carolina Boy
Well I THOUGHT I had an engine lined up, the guy was kind of a jerk to begin with, but I called him a minute ago to let him know I'd be there this afternoon, AND HE HUNG UP ON ME!!! wow? ??? So I dunno what to do, guess I'll just go up there anyways! I want that engine! >:(
PS. Carolina boy, I'm an AGE maintainer. Don't get to play with the big toys, just the little ones next to them. lol.
So I went up there and talked to him real nice :mad: and i'm pickin the engine up tommorow for about 100 less than he originally told me! ha ha, score.
Quote from: dga57 on March 10, 2009, 08:37:03 AM
By the way, what part of Arkansas are you from? I have relatives in Siloam Springs (northwest corner about 1/2 mile from OK border)
Dwayne :smile:
Little Rock Air Force Base, It's actually in Jacksonville bout 20-30 minutes north of the capital.
Here is my attempted photo essay on my turbo swap into my '79. I love square-headlight Pintos!
http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php/topic,8061.0.html (http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php/topic,8061.0.html)
The project is sort of hung up short of victory and glory due to unbleedable brakes and a broken rear spring that turned into a posi transplant. If it wasn't snowing and blowing here on my "weekend" (I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off), I'd drive up to the farm and put the rear back together,
So is a Zoomie an USAF veteran? (Besides also meaning a type of side pipe and a radioactive mutant bug?)
Quote from: dholvrsn on March 10, 2009, 01:13:26 PM
So is a Zoomie an USAF veteran? (Besides also meaning a type of side pipe and a radioactive mutant bug?)
Well it's an old school term, lol. Used to refer to graduates of the Air Force academy in Colorado springs. Then it became a term used by other branches to denote a member of the air force, like jarhead is to marines. But that was a while ago, haven't heard anyone use it in today's air force. Learned that from an old butt retired master sergeant.
Success! I got the 2.3T, C4 tranny, and the computer for 3 hundo today. I asked the guy about finding a rear end and he says he has a 78 mustang II Cobra, I'm wondering if anyone knows whether it will fit or not. I want as close to a direct bolt in as I can get, seeing as I don't have any way to weld new brackets. I also need to know what I'll need to stick the C4 and 2.3 together.
Tomorrow I'm disassembling the engine and sending the shortblock for some work, wanna get it bored 30 over. I'm gonna use my old head as practice for when I port and polish the new one, wish me luck!
The 8" Mustang II (74-78) is the preferred swap here in Pintoland. You will probably need to modify the driveshaft, but switching to the 8" should be a piece of cake. That 8" rear was available in the Pinto if you got a v-6. The shock mounts should line up and there aren't any spring mount issues. Much easier than a Fox Body Mustang swap (those have coil springs out back instead of leafsprings). Now to hook the c4 to the 2.3, well that's a question for somebody else. :)
:welcome: to the club!
May all your Pinto dreams come true...
Quote from: discolives78 on March 12, 2009, 10:47:12 PM
The 8" Mustang II (74-78) is the preferred swap here in Pintoland.
Yesss. lol, I'll let him know I want it. And I read something about step dowels or somethin? is that the solution to the C4 swap, or would I have to find the bellhousing from a 2.8? looks like i got some more research to do!
thanks for all the help guys, Zach.
as long as you find a 2.3 to c4 bellhousing your fine. the step dowels are used to run a 2.0 bellhousing onto a 2.3. 2.8 bell wont work. they are kinda pricey...at least i think so...at around 150+ for just be bell. i think youll need a 2.3/c4 flex plate and converter also.
bob
So do the years matter? The C4 is old, a 66 I think if i decyphered the code right, lol. But will any C4 bell housing fit any 2.3?
If the C4 is a 66, the bellhousing will not be a 2.3 direct bolt on. Note the 66 C4 has 24 splines while the 70-81 have 26 splines, see http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=C-4tcMid (http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=C-4tcMid). The C4 is nice in that the bellhousings are bolted on, so the bells can be swapped (not sure how universal they are). There are numerous C4's, see http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/c4-transmissions/ (http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/c4-transmissions/). You will also need a 2.3-C4 flex plate and appropriate torque converter. A search here will show many usefull threads. Below are the options that I know of.
- The cleanest is using the 74 Pinto 2.3-C4 bell, these show up on ebay occasionally but can get pricey and all are not as advertised.
- The 71-74 Pinto was available with a 2.0-C4. This bell can be bolted to the 2.3 with the use of step dowels, see http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php/topic,8940.0.html (http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php/topic,8940.0.html).
- A V8 bellhousing can be used with an adapter, see http://cididit.com/adaptor_plate.htm (http://cididit.com/adaptor_plate.htm). I seem to remember somebody saying you need to massage the sheet metal in the Pinto tunnel to fit this. There may be other work/components needed for this route.
Thanks eldercanoist, Just the info I was lookin for.
Wonder how much a tranny rebuild will run me?
The pinto is comin along nicely, parts are proving easier to find than I initially anticipated and I bought a heater for the garage so I got no excuses to be lazy. The engine turned out to be in pretty bad shape, may end up using the shortblock from the pinto and dropping the EFI head on it. Anyone know of any issues with doin that, besides compression differences I imagine?
Also looking for the 2.0/C4 bellhousing if anyone has one lying about.
Well, turns out a guy that lives about 5 miles down the road is a transmission guru! We discussed all the options I had and decided on the setup for me, and a price- 450.00 parts included in price. pretty good right?
I think that's pretty fair. :)
Chuck
So I was doin some "research" last night and I found a pretty good link for resources for the 2.3T.
www.turbotbird.com then click on vendors at the top of the page.
quick question: I was readin about people bashin the fender well in a lil bit fo the turbo to fit right, well has anyone thought of using the Bobs log style header for the ranger? It puts the turbo higher and farther forward. But then I dunno if it would interfere with somethin at the front of the engine? Seems like it would work, but don't wanna drop 300 beans for somethin that's not gonna solve any problems!
making your own header is easy and cheap. i think i have about 45 bucks into mine. go through my photobucket thing and youll see pics of it in various states.
bob
http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn294/ford371/
www.turboford.net the best 2.3 turbo sites, at least i think so.
Well I called Bob and he doesn't make the ranger header anymore because it burns up wires, so he switched to a style that places the turbo between the 2 and 3 exhaust ports, it works for pintos, but costs 3 hundo. Don't see that happening!
So now I'm wondering if adding headers is that much more effective than porting the stock manifold? I have a dremmel and there's lots of info online about porting... and it's free!
Back in the '70s, wasn't the idea of putting headers in front of the turbo considered a bad idea, because the headers would dissipate more BTUs needed to spin the turbo. Although it wouldn't surprise me if the conventional wisdom has changed since then.