ok so i found out about this site by searching yahoo for 2.3 turbo mavericks and the only thing that poped up was you guys talking about my own car, so that was kind of neet. i have a 73 grabber with a 88 turbo coupe 2.3 in it , it has a holset he351cw turbo , ss auto chrome header and wastegate, .400 lift circle track cam (not by choice) , stock head , ported lower intake and home built upper, 65mm 5.0 throttle body 3 " alum. intercooler piping, powerstroke ford intercooler cut down 6 inches, 4 in exh. , t5 trans with 6 puck clutch, 66 mustang alum. radiator. stock 8 inch 300 gear rearend. soon to be 3.80 geared spool rear. a nitrous kit yet to be installed. and i drive it ever day it is not raining 35 miles to work and get 25mpg while running realy rich in town. i am at 14 psi right now and i probebly makes around 300 or a little less at the wheels , i have had several fast cars and i think i am pretty close with that guess. it has only been together 2 weeks running so i will let you know when i dyno it or make a pass. here is a link to look at it http://ford23.prophpbb.com/topic173.html here is a video of it
so has anyone one else on here built one , because i have searched yahoo and you tube and the only ones i have found are in brazil
i did a search on 2.3 mavericks on this site , some info you guys might want to know is that even with a big holset like mine the engine fits without cutting anything. i made my own mounts out of 2 inch flat bar steel and the trans mount out of 2 inch square tubing no problems with it fitting just some fab work. i used the stock fuel lines , sending unit (just put and in tank pump off the end of it) , stock drive shaft including the yoke, pinto oil pan stock lower intake , ss auto chrome header. i have 3/4 inch clearance starter to stearing link, 1/4 inch oil pan to frame on driver side, 1/2 inch turbo to shock tower but i could rotate it up for lots more but then i would hit the hood with it, and it has about a 1/4 inch from turbo to valve cover. the only problem with the hood was the big intercooler in the front i had to gut the bottom of it.
Theres a fellow on here doing a 2.3 mav(not a turbo)I am sure he will be talking to you about it soon enough.you have a pretty unique(for a mav)set up there.The swap has been discussed here quite a bit but you seem to have the only one actually driveable at this point.Glad you found us!!! enjoy... mucho knowledge/experience here.
it runs strong it makes alot more power than the stock 302 did, i guess i am the only guy to pull out a 302 and put in a 140 to make it faster. i know i could have made alot more power with a turbo 302 but then i wouldn't get the mpg and what i did is more interesting to me. you can allways build a bigger faster setup like a v8 but were do you stop 800 or a 1000 hp is not that useable on the street. my 400 to 500 horse (with a small nos shot) is useable and i dont need any more power than that.
The best part is that up the street from me is a guy who builds Mustang racecars. He buys 4 cyl Stangs and scraps the 2.3s all the time. I should buy one. A carbureted one since wiring and computers make my head ache.
Along a different line, my father is in the process of building a 66 cortina with a turbo coupe 2.3 Now back to the previous thread already in progress.....
Jamie Miles here is currently building one. He sent away to South America for the correct motor mounts and just got a flexplate and C4 bellhousing for the finish.
you would be surprised how easy the wiring is it is 5 grounds and 3 power wires i think if you decide to i can give anyone the pin #'s you will have to hook up to do it simplified(i cut at least 12 to 15 wires out of the harness at the camputor plug and lots more on down the harness my harness is probebly a third the size it was , the kiss method (keep it simple stupid)
