Forum > It's all about the Turbo...
A 1972 turbo swap adventure
65ShelbyClone:
The car:
'86 Turbo Coupe donor on the way home:
This is the kind of 28 year-old desert dirt and grime I had to contend with. It was still encrusted after three motor bath + pressure washing sessions. I finally said "Enough!" and pulled the driveline.
After many hours of grueling scraping, degreasing, sand blasting, and painting, this is how the engine is shaping up:
I left the longblock alone and just tidied everything up. I wanted to port the head, intake, and exhaust manifold. This engine has 214k on it already, so I figure it's probably going to come out for a rebuild in the next 50k anyway. I also elected to not invest a bunch of work in the head if it's cracked all to heck...and 80-90% of 2.3T heads are.
I probably shouldn't have pulled the turbo and manifold off without replacing all the nuts and bolts. Time will tell if they relax and cause leaks.
I am going to be using a MegaSquirt-II v3.0 standalone EFI controller, which needs to have an intake air temp (IAT) sensor. My '86 engine had an IAT in the air meter, which I am not using. This meant poking a hole in the lower intake and mounting a sensor like an '87+ engine. Left hole is for the knock sensor, right one that's fuzzy is for the IAT.
'85.5-86 "square" EFI intakes like mine have the tall upper part. In '87 they were shortened to fit the TurboCoupe. At this point I am not willing to blow a big ugly hole in my stock hood or cut up the intake, so I have to make a low-profile upper intake plenum that faces forward. This is the start:
I have made some progress since taking these photos, but nothing very noteworthy. I'l probably relocate the alternator to where the 2.3t's A/C compressor was in front of the turbo so I have lots of room to deal with throttle body positioning. That is also where the 2.0's alternator is, so maybe a little wiring to do too.
don33:
NICE.... I really like that oil pan, did you mod a stock one or buy it ?
Wittsend:
Been there, done that. The 87-88 electrical is a real joy (see pics). Your work is exceptionally nice. I also noticed your motor mounts and large (wide) sump oil pan. All the best in your venture.
dga57:
Looks like it's coming along nicely! Keep up the good work!
Dwayne :)
65ShelbyClone:
--- Quote from: 65ShelbyClone on July 20, 2014, 12:39:02 PM ---That is also where the 2.0's alternator is, so maybe a little less wiring to do too.
--- End quote ---
Oops, fixed.
I did manage to relocate the alternator today and all it took was modifying a 460 alternator bracket and making some spacers. Now I can strip off all those huge brackets on the other side.
Now I have to fit the dipstick, plug the old hole, put some of the EFI harness back, and it will be ready to come off the stand, which means bolting on the T5 and pulling the 2.0/four-speed out.
--- Quote from: don33 on July 20, 2014, 04:15:13 PM ---NICE.... I really like that oil pan, did you mod a stock one or buy it ?
--- End quote ---
Thanks. :) I bought it because there weren't any other Pinto pans and pickups for sale at the time. Supposedly it came from a 2.3 engine builder/race shop. It's actually built from what was originally a rear-sump pan.
It was also cracked next to the welds in the rear end seal corners and I didn't notice until I had wet sealer and new gaskets laying on the block. >:( It's fixed now; I just hope it stays fixed. If nothing else, it's a good shelf for storing loose bolts.
No photos, but I had to swap two of the main bolts to get a studded one in the right place for that pickup. The bearings looked really good on #4, so hopefully the rest are. I was going to pull all the rod caps and have a look, but decided I didn't want to know. I made the 'Bird run before I pulled the engine and it sounded/acted normal for burning seven year-old gas, so that's enough for now.
--- Quote from: Wittsend on July 20, 2014, 05:49:12 PM ---Been there, done that. The 87-88 electrical is a real joy (see pics). Your work is exceptionally nice. I also noticed your motor mounts and large (wide) sump oil pan. All the best in your venture.
--- End quote ---
Look at all that spare wire though! And you got the dash out of there too. I started breaking things just to get the engine harness out...
For engine mounts I'm planning to use the stock 2.3T engine brackets, Speedway Motors universal isolators, and make my own frame brackets.
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