I am in the middle of changing my engine in my 1971 runabout. I had a 2000cc in it and I am putting in a 1978 2.3L back in, but the old frame mounts are not even close. Has someone tried this before? And was there a lot of problems? I hope that someone has a kit for this. Please advise.
A '71 pinto never came with a 2.3 from the factory. They either had a 1.6 or a 2.0.
I put a 2.3 in my 71. The mounts are totally different though. To get the 2.3 to go in, you need the entire motor mount. (part that is attached to the frame and part that bolts to the block) the 1.6/2.0 Mount is spot welded in place. Break the spot welds. Drop the engine in and get it where you want it to be (load leveler helps) and then tack the mounts to the frame. Pull engine, weld in mounts. Drop in engine. Bolt the mounts and you are good to go. If you have access to a welder, the job isn’t really tough and it's well worth the effort in my estimation. Any other questions, feel free to ask. I don’t guarantee answers, but i guarantee I’ll try to help.
I am at the same crossroads. I pulled the head this afternoon and found a crack between the valves in Cylinder #1 and one that runs acrossed the intake valve in Cylinder #4.
Now here what I saw. the motor mounts in the engine bay on my 73 are bolted in place. the original engine is a 2.0 liter.
Thinking that changing the mounts should be pretty easy...
A couple of questions about remounting the original frame mounts. 1- will I have to change the head on the frame mount? 2- Which head will I use if I do change it? , the old head is round and the engine mount is rectangal.
Hey pnto71,
Looks like you and I are going to be doing the same thing... and roughly at the same time. Maybe we can bounce ideas off each other and come up with a pssible solution to our problems as we go. I think my first step is to locate a set of frame mounts for a 2.3 from a later model car and see where I need to go with them. i am hoping that they will go right in without too much if any headaches
P.S. does anyone know if the tranny will bolt to the 2.3 without any problems? I am thinking that it should, but recently I have been wrong about several things.
Quote from: gawdzuki on January 17, 2005, 10:16:48 PM
 Hey pnto71,
  Looks like you and I are going to be doing the same thing... and roughly at the same time. Maybe we can bounce ideas off each other and come up with a pssible solution to our problems as we go. I think my first step is to locate a set of frame mounts for a 2.3 from a later model car and see where I need to go with them. i am hoping that they will go right in without too much if any headaches
 P.S. does anyone know if the tranny will bolt to the 2.3 without any problems? I am thinking that it should, but recently I have been wrong about several things.Â
When I was taking some measurements for the plates I WAS going to use to make my farme mounts, I have the tranny, driveshaft and motor(hung on a cherrypicker)in the car. I used the tranny mounts from the old trans.(2000cc motor)and turned them backwards(I had to make the two adjustment slots a little longer)but it works.
You will need step-ed dowel pins. The 2.0 and the 2.3 have different sized holes, but same location.
Bill
I to had to make some mounts and found that hanging the load from the cherry picker was not nearly so stable so I cut a 2 by 4 to fit across my engine compartment just inside the hood groove and ran a 1/4 inch steel cable from one side down under the pan and up the other side. This gave me a steady sling to work from. I did this with a 302.
I have a set of those 2.3 frame mounts, off of a 76 pinto. U2U me if you want them. 40$ plus s/h. They are in great shape.