1988 2.3 litre performance parts?

I have a 88, 2.3 liter I'm restoring for my son. I do not want to go V-8 (yet) but would like to add a little "pep". Anyone know where to look for parts? Everything I see is 5.0 or 4.6. Also, I hear there is a salvage yard in Georgia that is "full of Mustangs" but can't find it. Thanks all for any advice you can give.

Rick

Reply to
Tull
Loading thread data ...

Hi Scott,

Thanks for your quick reply. No, not turbo. I'm just looking for some bolt on stuff, headers, cold air intake, etc. Found a couple of SVO engines, the job of swapping engines (and not trusting used salvage engines) is too big for me. This is my first attempt at fixing up an old car.

Rick

Reply to
Tull

A custom dual exhaust will add some pep and sound alot better. Check out Mustangsunlimited.com (84-86 SVO exhaust) or a local shop could make the system for you.

Reply to
MPBSR25

formatting link
has tons of 2.3L performance parts

Reply to
John Wiebalk

Ford Racing sells a 2.3 stroker kit. It takes it out to a 2.5. IIRC its only around $400. Granted they are just production parts, but if it needs to be freshened up why not? Slip in a little bit bigger cam when you get the head freshened up and you could get a decent little package as long as its a 5 speed.

MadDAWG

Reply to
MadDAWG

Where in Georgia are you located?

Reply to
Mustang_66

I'm in Chattanooga, right on the North Georgia border, Atlanta is only an hour and a half.

Reply to
Tull

Ironically the 2.3 EFI stock intake is one of the best flowing intakes for that car and takes just a little bit of work to drop a 4 barrel carb on it.

I'm sure you don't want to go nuts like that but as John pointed out Racer Walsh makes some neat stuff. Apparently 2.3 Rangers had factory tubular headers on them too. One of the best things to do for those cars is get some stock GT sway bars and put them on even just a rear bar is a great help Also a quick steering GT rack is a good mod. If you can't make it go too much faster at least you don't have to slow down for corners! StuK

Reply to
Stuart&Janet

'88? Restoring? 2.3 liter? ROTFLMAO

Reply to
Cory Dunkle

Reply to
Tull

Is the car a 5 speed or Auto? They are real dogs with autos. At least with stick you can wind it up the tach a bit and it is more fun to drive that way.StuK

Reply to
Stuart&Janet

To turbocharge a NA 2.3 would require pretty much a complete teardown and rebuild to prep the engine for the increased pressure. It is a way to make a 2.3 run like a V8 though. ;-)

JS

Reply to
JS

What's funny? The fact that he is trying to restore a 16 year old car? Think about it, it is an old car. Or is it because it is a 4 cylinder? The guy is introducing his son to the world of Mustangs buy *restoring* and "old" one for him. Sounds like a great way for father and son to connect and learn things together. Not only is he bringing him over to the good side of the force, but it soudns like he wants to properly educate the kid and give him a chance to break in a low-powered Mustang before putting him behind the wheel of a bigger engine.

Yeah, you are right it is funny as hell. So funny I think most people in here forgot to laugh.

Don Manning

Reply to
2.3Sleeper

A 16 year old car is not old by any means, at least as far as being a classic or restoring it. Sure it could make for a neat beater car, but honestly, it's no classic and it's not worth anything. I'm sure it'll make a neat first car though.

Oh I think it's a great way to get someone into the hobby and spend some quality time together, I was just laughing at the fact that the guy is 'restoring' an '88 model year car, much less a 4 banger. One other thing... A 302/5.0 is _not_ by any means a big engine. It's a tiny little thing. My first car was a '67 Galaxie 500 fastback with a 289. It was a tiny little engine, and the engine bay of that full-size Ford certainly put it into perspective. The 2.80:1 gear help. Once that barge got moving though the 289 would rev out the wazoo... That's what small engines do, they rev to make power... Big engines don't need to hit 6-7 grand to make good power. In any case, I think the idea of a father-son project is great, but there are certainly much less laughable cars out there to 'restore', like just about anything else. I just find it funny that the type of econo-box I was considering buying to save on gas for my 500+mile/week commute (vs. 14-15 MPG with eitehr of my Galaxies) is the same car this guy is 'restoring'.

Reply to
Cory Dunkle

Don hit it right on the nose. Maybe "restoring" was too strong a word, "fixing up" may be a more accurate term. This 88, 2.3 liter is paid for, in good shape, and looks nice with some American Racing rims. Perfect for a 16 year old. At 90 hp from the factory, plus having 100k + miles, it's just a little tired. A little pep, like another 30 or 40 HP would probably be just about right. My first car was a 67 Firebird with a 400, 3 speed. Went through more tires, rear ends, etc doing burnouts than you would believe. I was a typical 16 year old with too much horse power. Cory, When he gets a little older, we'll sell the 2.3 and build out a 5.0 for the strip. Until then, he need experience behind the wheel and a car that won't get laughed at as he pull up to his friends in their Honda. Don, thanks for your support.

Rick Tull

Reply to
Tull

Cool. Enjoy working on the car with your son. I'm sure the two of you will have a good time with it, and it will serve him well. You're right, it's a neat car that despite not being terribly quick beats the snot out of a sub-subcompact like that POS Prelude I made the mistake of buying not too long ago. I figured it would save me money on my 500+ mile/week commute vs my '67 Galaxie (first car), which the outrageous insurance on it totally negated... To top it off the thing was so small it hurt to sit in it for long, and was totally not practical due to its size and the fact that it was incapable of so much as driving up the tinyest of incline in .5" of snow and got stuck in only 1"-2" of snow on level ground. My '67 didn't even give me any trouble in nearly a foot of snow when I was driving through Philly in the blizzard a year or two ago. I was like a vagabond driving along with tons of accidents on either side of me.

So due to that and the rotted out frame rails I sold my '67 and downsized. Now I've got a POS Prelude I gotta sell, whihc I probably ought to fix some stuff on it first (started falling apart on me real fast, lousy foreign crap) so someone may wanna buy it. Oh well, I only spent $300 on it. When I fix my '68 I should have no trouble making a tidy profit off this Olds I got for dirt cheap. That should help pay for the new short block.

In any case that 4 banger Mustang is a neat first car which can be some fun. I suppose it's the equivalent of the old I6 Mustangs. They are great first cars. Easy on gas and cool in general. Good luck to you with the '88... Have fun with it.

Cory

Reply to
Cory Dunkle

Turbo?

Reply to
Scott Williams

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.