how hard is it to swap a fuel injected 2.3 from a ranger to a 79 runabout? do i need to change moter mounts,Will the ranger auto tranny fit with no clearanse issuses or will my stock ford auto trans bolt to the fuel injected engine,also is there anyone that has done this what should i look out for ??? thx
The 2.3 motor mounts from the Pinto should work on that block. As for the tranny, in my opinion from what I've heard, the shifter sits back about 3 to 4 inches, if its the same as a Mustang. This may mean a little cutting. I would use the automatic - it should bolt right up. As for the EFI system, you're going to have to fabricate or figure out an electric fuel pump with the right PSI and an
inertia switch - or car go BOOM.
Hope this helps.
eatmydust
p.s. I hope you know how to read a wire diagram.
I posted a thread in the FAQ section about this.
I did the EFI swap, but with a turbo. As mentioned in FAQ thread "EFI swap" they are about the same ammount of work.
You can use the pinto tranny.
As far as the fuel safety shut off, yes, it can go from bang then a boom without one.
Bill
how hard was the turbo swap did you have to relocate the battery also with a standard efi swap what will i be gaining? what will i lose? I just wounding if it wold be worth it for a daily driver or should i just fix up the old carbed one. If anyone has a mild performace cam that will still keep a good idle or maby a cheap pair of headers for the stock 2.3
thx guys
Check out the FAQ section.
You can get power from a N/A Carbed 2.3.
We did a "mild" cam, header, and custom exhaust in my wife pinto, and I am not happy with the performance gains. It is better for sure, but there is more that can be had. I have learned (from others) that pulling the head and working on it is where the N/A power is. For all that effort, I am just going to swap in a turbo.
Bill
what kind of head work? i have full actess to my high schools shop for a few more months for 2 hours a day i can port and polish the if it does better. i dont need a wild car at first just some thing i can drive every day and get a little more power than stock
thx
Port/polish/deck from what I can tell (plus an adjustible cam gear, and small crank pulley). Keep in mind that I have not done any of this, so I can not tell you what gains you will or won't get. I can't even tell you the gains with what we did because we did not dyno the car. It FEELS better, but not enough for me. I might try a carb swap too, but I doubt it will wind up where I want it to be without a turbo or v8.
Unless you are willing to drop some BIG bucks on the N/A engine, you will never be happy with it (and maybe never will), and the hondas will still be quicker. You will notice a difference if you do the things I did, but you are still looking at like 300. to 400. in parts, depending on where you get your parts, and what parts you have kicking around your house (I have plenty from 8 years of pintos). I have known some racers that drop more than $10,000 to get (durable) power out of a N/A 2.3.
:idea: Save your money for college, and drive the car the way it is.
Bill
thank you for you advise and as for college i will even though the Ford motor co might pay for my college to become a service tech i already change oil at the local dealer ship i figure thats not to bad for a 18 year old in high school
i guess i just need her to run like you say thank you
If you really want some power out of the motor deck the head 60 thousandths for a little more compression. Then port and polish the head. If you have the money install 194/152 Valves. After you give it a valve job if you still have the money put solid lifters on the head and roller rockers. You might want to upgrade the cam a little to say a mild street cam 489 lift 241 duration from esslinger this should give you a nice streetable motor with say 150-170 horsepower. This is a couple steps down from the motor we run in the race car. This motor should be much more street friendly with not near as much compression as a race engine.
There might be more to it to get 150-170 HP from a N/A 2.3 (and $).
Keep the car as nice as you can, and put some money away for it, but school first. When you are ready, do-it to-it.
Bill