i have a 94 gt right now but im looking to get into something different, i was thinkin about an svo. an 85 or 86. is there any aftermarket for them? i always see things for 5.0s but never for the 2.3 turbo motors. are they hard to tune once you start modding them? does anyone use an SAFC to tune their cars either? thanks
It will deffinatly be a change of pace, ill garranty that one The later model svo's are abit quicker, the early ones (thinking 84) came with smaller injectors and such. Yes there is an aftermarket, but alot of stuff your used to "bolt ons" require more ingenuity on your part. Head on over to Turboford.org (site focused on the 2.3turbo motor, svo, merkur,t/c,couger,gt350) Awesome cars, even more awesome motor(when its running right !! )
What is there to think about buy it! As long as you dont go and drop a different motor in it (you do that and we dont want to see you). Great cars. Lots of fun. After market for the 2.3 has in the past couple years gone up. only thing is you have to know where to look, they dont advertise in MM&FF (crappy magazine). go thru here and Turboford.org and check out people's websites and read alot. We are a tight family andinvite newcommers but shun those that think they are better just cause they got 4 more cylinders. the biggest thing is to read, read read. If you ask generall questions that are asked all the time, we have a habbit of getting sour. TF
The first thing(s) you should keep in mind is these cars are a "DO IT YOUR SELFER CAR". These are not cars you send to the Ford dealer to get fixed when their broke down or some shade tree machanic for that. The main thing you have to keep an eye on is Ford stop making 98% of the parts for these cars 10 years ago. A good exsample to look forward to is replacing the lower ball joints since almost 99% of them needs replaced anyways. The Ball joints on ALL SVOs are non replaceible. They where basicaly built into the lower A-arm, which ment you have to replace the lower A-arm with a good one. Now there is a few people who has started making these A-arms with replaceible ball joints if you got 750.00 for a set minus shipping lying around. Now some people find SN95 stangs (94-04) and swap the front end stuff to their SVO. It takes me about a week to do a tune up on my SVO since I have to have my parts dealer order everything to do it with Now if you still think you want one of these Legendary cars, look for the later models 85.5 and 86. These cars are easy to spot since their head lights are flush with the rest of the lights. The older 84-85(older 85) has counter sunk head lights. The older SVOs has in my opinion only more restricter intakes and then they have 30lb injectors. While the newer SVOs has the better EEC w/35lb injectors along with in my opinion only better designed intakes. If all you can find is a older SVO than don't sweet it because you can swap intakes like me and there are decent stock EEC W/35LB injectors out there you can swap in pretty cheaply. PS If you still want a SVO....I'll sell you mine. Click on my link to see about a 100 pictures of things I've done to it. I still need to finnish installing the 3" exhaust and buying some new treads. It runs really good even with the small exhaust on it but its got a intake gasket leaking water. I'm just to busy to go put a new on on it right now.
do the turbo svos have a mass air meter? i searched for info on this board but i couldnt find anything on it. thanks
No, they use a VAM (Vane Air Meter). It's a heavy, crappy device. If you get an SVO, be sure to swap in the larger VAM if it doesn't already have it.
www.svoca.com and www.turboford.org are your 2 best bets for info. As a daily driver I would have to recommend no for an SVO as I would for any 20 year old car. Also as with any 20 year old car you can't get most parts from the dealer no matter what model it is. They are tempermental as far as the electronics. However they are fun to drive and they get alot of looks and questions. There are alot of SVO's on the market right now for some good prices.
i just want an svo with about 300hp to the wheels, even a little less is fine. is this possible on these motors if i have a few grand to spend on it? like if i got a bigger turbo, intercooler, fuel system and all that stuff.
SVOs come stock with the 3" (larger) VAM. This device is very old but can handle up to I think 300 hp at the crank. Anything after 300BHP you will need to get something like a SDS or convert it to a MAF etc. The long block should handle 300 + RWHP easily but I don't know what the cap is. The only high HP one I know of (735 rwhp) but its using a tall deck 2.3 block. These tall decks are very hard to come by but I'm sure the stock block can handle what you want to do.
Eville140 has made over 420rwhp/440rwtq with a totally stock block, crank, rods, pistons, etc. with tons of mileage on it...
Well I know I am looking at maybe getting one as a daily driver. I am tired of my non A/C, blown notch with horrible gas mileage and crappy brakes. I could really go for 4 wheel disc brakes, a nice suspension, with decent gas mileage. PLUS, it sure would be nice to see a boost gauge move. I haven't seen the one in my notch move in a long time!
I love mine. http://140cilx.stangnet.com/photo2.html BUT... if it's gonna be a daily driver - just keep another vehicle on standby - it is 20 years old ya know. The cars are excellent, great gas mileage for commuting, great power - wiring harnesses suck. You are bestowed an honorary Ford Master Tech cert if you keep it over a year while running/modding it simultaneously. Pro-Hawk - can't believe you said it's for sale. Shame dude, shame.
does anyone ever use external waste gates with the bigger turbos they put on? is boost creep a problem with bigger turbos, 3 inch exhausts and higher boost? i never hear anything about blow off valves either. does anyone use them on their 2.3?
My mom needs major help and selling this car is a great way to get started. Besides I owe her for all thoughs comics she bought me as a kid
