Ok iv heard of people swapping in a volvo head to a 2.3 but I don't want to do that aside from that what can I do to my stock 4 cy to gain some extra power I can feel I'm willing to spend 2k iv so heard I can shave port etc the "head /intake.) Is it worth it and are there. Any problems? Thanx so its auto
extra HP 91 4 cyl
- Thread starter 91AODstang
- Start date
-
Sponsors (?)
What setup do you have now. If you have a N/A setup, the easiest and cheapest route is to swap a 2.3L turbo engine in. Otherwise getting 90 hp out of a N/A engine is very difficult, and would make it nearly unusable on the street.
If you have the dual plug head, you can even keep it. There are plenty of write ups and articles on how to do the swap and what you will need. If done correctly, it steps a 100 hp 2.3L to a 190 2.3L using stock Ford turbo parts. If you use better than stock parts, you can go well beyond that.
If you have the dual plug head, you can even keep it. There are plenty of write ups and articles on how to do the swap and what you will need. If done correctly, it steps a 100 hp 2.3L to a 190 2.3L using stock Ford turbo parts. If you use better than stock parts, you can go well beyond that.
i have the dual plug head__________but so uou think if i shave the head...add a CAM full 2 1/2 inch exhaust and intake i couldnt get round 70 hp? one of my friends told me this so im just asking around diffrent forums???...
Very unlikely. Maybe if you went with a very radical cam, oversized valves, stronger valve springs, fully ported head and gutted intake combined with larger injectors, custom fuel management, stronger rod bolts, stonger rods, and lighter pistons, then you could get 60-70 hp by virtue of flow combined with revving the heck out of it.
And it would have so little torque off the line with such mods and would have such high octane requirements, that it would be useless to drive on the street, it would be a track only car.
Or you can pick up a turbo motor for as little as $200, take the rods, pistons, and valves out of it, swap them into your motor, have nickel alloy valve seats installed, port the head, and using a Quarterhorse, retune for the larger turbo injectors, and bolt a turbo on along with 3" full exhaust and a few intake mods, and you have a lot more than just 70-90 hp more than stock. All that would cost less than $2000 depending on how much you can do yourself.
Believe you me, those 2.3L Ford turbo motors are mean. My '87 Thunderbird 2.3L turbo is a real rival to a 4.6L V8 Mustang. And I'm not even pushing it that hard.
And it would have so little torque off the line with such mods and would have such high octane requirements, that it would be useless to drive on the street, it would be a track only car.
Or you can pick up a turbo motor for as little as $200, take the rods, pistons, and valves out of it, swap them into your motor, have nickel alloy valve seats installed, port the head, and using a Quarterhorse, retune for the larger turbo injectors, and bolt a turbo on along with 3" full exhaust and a few intake mods, and you have a lot more than just 70-90 hp more than stock. All that would cost less than $2000 depending on how much you can do yourself.
Believe you me, those 2.3L Ford turbo motors are mean. My '87 Thunderbird 2.3L turbo is a real rival to a 4.6L V8 Mustang. And I'm not even pushing it that hard.
dagenham
Member
The 2.3 is "rated" at 88hp, so I am guessing you guys are talking RWHP??? The bottom end of a 2.3 is plenty strong right out of the box with the addition of a set of ARP rod bolts. If you want to stick with efi (I would) then find a good turbo motor and computer and youll be happy. If you switch over to a carb'd setup, I dont recommend the Holley 4BBl setup. either go with the Holley 500 2BBL or hang a pair of webers off of it.
I had the Holley 390 4bbl on a '79 with the head seriously machined including very big valves and bored .040 over. I cant remember the size of the cam though but far from stock. It was very streetable but it like gas stations! 8mpg! I did not run it on high octane either.
I had the Holley 390 4bbl on a '79 with the head seriously machined including very big valves and bored .040 over. I cant remember the size of the cam though but far from stock. It was very streetable but it like gas stations! 8mpg! I did not run it on high octane either.
You can pick up a couple extra hp with bolt-ons on naturally aspirated 2.3's, but trying to do some sort of "bolt on" car or even something with cam & heads is about out of the question.
A turbo swap really is the best way to go. My old Turbo Coupe was mostly stock aside from a cam, ported head, bigger turbo, intercooler, 3" exhaust and a couple other goodies and I'm pretty sure it was making somewhere close to 280 hp (I could hang with mid-13 second cars).
A turbo swap really is the best way to go. My old Turbo Coupe was mostly stock aside from a cam, ported head, bigger turbo, intercooler, 3" exhaust and a couple other goodies and I'm pretty sure it was making somewhere close to 280 hp (I could hang with mid-13 second cars).
HOWNDOG
Member
71fordramair
15 Year Member
91 aod stang, check out "2.3 rebuild not up to expectations". and i just installed cam and just 98 hp/107 tq rwhp! its a dog after all that work!.. turbo it or sell it
I know... it's an old thread...but I am reminiscing...
When my 88 was non-turbo, I shaved the head, put in a mild cam, and a long tube header. I put down ~110 rwhp and ran low 18s IIRC. Don't laugh, I had a lot of fun doing it. Stone stock, it went high 19s with the auto, so that was a big improvement. The 2.3 was cheap, simple and easy to work on. I highly recommend shaving the head for around 10-10.5:1 compression, it makes a nice difference. I then threw on a 75 shot and went 16's at 80mph in the quarter. This was good fun!
Then... I went turbo and had even more fun.
When my 88 was non-turbo, I shaved the head, put in a mild cam, and a long tube header. I put down ~110 rwhp and ran low 18s IIRC. Don't laugh, I had a lot of fun doing it. Stone stock, it went high 19s with the auto, so that was a big improvement. The 2.3 was cheap, simple and easy to work on. I highly recommend shaving the head for around 10-10.5:1 compression, it makes a nice difference. I then threw on a 75 shot and went 16's at 80mph in the quarter. This was good fun!
Then... I went turbo and had even more fun.
71fordramair
15 Year Member
Shawneebear93
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
If for some reason you decide to swap over to the Dohc Volvo B234f head I have one,..complete,..and unmolested. PM me if you do.
Listen , go to http://www.esslingeracing.com/ and pick up all needed to trick out the 2.3 check out the video of dyno testing ..
Last edited by a moderator:
I've fixed the link in your post and deleted the one in your other post. Please double check links that you post and follow them to ensure that you're sending folks to the pages that you intend.
The link that you posted was Esslinger.com
I don't think there are many folks that come to Stangnet in order to find watch repair parts.
Best I got out of my '88 with aluminum drive shaft, long tube header, and 4.10 gears was 18.09 in the 1/4. Dual plug head would be in the 17's and it still ain't cool.
Similar threads
