My brother is turning 16 in January and we are looking for a Mustang for him. He wants a fox but we are having trouble finding a 5.0 that he can afford. There is a guy in town selling a 1988 2.3l for $900. I know very little about the 2.3 b/c I have always delt with the 5.0. I do know however that some people make good HP out of a 2.3 with a turbo. I was thinking he could either turbo this engine or keep it stock until he can afford a 5.0 engine swap. The car has only 86k original miles on it. What do you all think?
It's not as simple as slapping a turbo on the current engine, unfortunately!!! The internals in it will not hold up to the boost pressure and you'll fry the engine, fast. A 5.0 swap is a nice idea, but not nearly as simple as swapping in a 2.3 turbo motor from a Thunderbird. These engines were made to handle the boost pressure and they essentially drop right in, with only a few wires needing to be repinned. Buy the 2.3, with 86K, it has a lot of life left, so you don't need to do this immediately. Do some research on here and www.turboford.org and you'll probably end up wanting to do this. Many on here will echo my suggestion. Buy the 2.3 and gather parts, or simply buy a parts car, to get a 2.3 turbo motor. Once you get all you need, swap.
Thanks for the advise. I didn't realize how large an undertaking it was to add the turbo or do the 5.0 swap. He really wants a 5.0 so we are gunna keep looking.
