Pinto Powered...

"Harris Lue" (luecreative)
10/17/2013 at 11:56 • Filed to: mustang, 2.3, 4-banger, foxbody, fox body, calypso green

Unfortunately...

Why Ford thought that n/a 2.3L was so great is beyond me... 105hp and 26mpg in its final iteration... It really isn't much good at anything lmfaoo

DISCUSSION (24)

AbigGRNboot > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 11:57

uM, yOU're dOinG iT wRoNg.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 11:58

My pinto has a 2.3 and t5 from a 90 mustang.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:00

Lots of circle track go-fast parts for the 2.3, though.

Harris Lue > Paul, Man of Mustangs
10/17/2013 at 12:00

but it's almost as expensive as swapping a 302 which is the plan for this one when I graduate!

Harris Lue > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
10/17/2013 at 12:01

Nice man! So It's got the Dual Ignition? Giving it the whopping 105hp lmfao

Harris Lue > AbigGRNboot
10/17/2013 at 12:02

It was $700 bucks when I was 15... I just might have done it right, because a 5.0 might have killed me and it damn sure would've killed my wallet!

AbigGRNboot > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:03

Looks great though.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:07

Nope single plugs, but I ripped all the FI shit off and replaced it with a remanufactured Holley carb. I have a distributer, MSD ignition, tubular headers off a Ranger, Roller Cam and Rockers. It should do pretty well.

Cloud81918 > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:10

I looks good. Probably gets Ok milage.

Captain_Overboost > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:11

If that's yours, I don't care what engine/trans combo it's currently equipped with that is one damn good looking car. Keep it, care for it, and one day when you're able... give it the motorvation (see what I did there? lol) that it needs, nay... that it DESERVES !

You want to see a sh*t " first car "... you should've seen mine. a 1980/81 (can't remember exactly) Datsun 210. Option list? A/C. No, I'm not exaggerating. Nothing else. No power anything, hell it didn't even have a RADIO! Jesus Christ on a cracker. It was two door, four wheels, four cylinders and a manual 4 speed. Es todo, amigo.

But, it was waaaay better than walking and through thick and thin it survived every form of abuse I could throw at it with aplomb. It never, not even once, failed to get me where I was going.

I hated that GD car.

I loved that GD car.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:12

I'd say you should try to get an YBD engine, sure they only had 220HP er something from the factory. But DAMN they are easy to make TONS of HP out of.. Then again, importing an YBD to the states may be a tad expensive.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:13

Might be able to find a 2.3 Turbo from a Thunderbird Super Coupe or something, though. Make it sort of an SVO of sorts.

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:14

Great first car. You are over looking a lot with your small minded post. You have a offended the fox body gods.

Harris Lue > ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR
10/17/2013 at 12:36

LMFAOO I appreciate the engine because it's what helped bring Mustang back into it's prime, but the thing is just so damned slow... and after 5 years I'm ready for some POWAHHHHHH lol

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:38

Agreed. Swap a duratec 2.3 from a focus or ranger. More power and Less weight(on the front end specifically) Exactly what the fox body needs.

CobraJoe > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 12:39

That 2.3 is a great engine. Upgradable as much as you want, can be boosted with junkyard parts (if you can find them), nearly bullet proof, and extremely easy to work on (remember, the engine bay was made to fit a V8).

Just because they were weak in stock form doesn't mean much. Besides, every I4 was weak in stock form back then.

Harris Lue > Captain_Overboost
10/17/2013 at 12:43

Thanks man, It is my car and It's been a long journey to get it where it is now! I bought it at 15 for $700 and now I'm 21 and it finally looks the way I want it! Completely replaced interior with black carpet and 2004 v6 leathers. Scoop/stripe, smoked headlights, repainted front bumper and right front quarter, gt hatch/spoiler, and finally the Saleen SC Wheels that I got before going to Mustang Week for my 21st Bday! Its been a long ride and its far from over, because we have a 302 block in the shed just waiting for me to graduate and throw some money at it.

Kinja'd!!!

It's been one hell of a car, especially at 240K miles, and I'm never letting it go, because in the struggle between your last two sentences the second one always wins!

Harris Lue > Captain_Overboost
10/17/2013 at 12:44

Ohh and the only options this car came with were the Premium Sound and the A/C which has currently been bypassed due to a locked up compressor clutch, so I feel your pain!! At least it has a sunroof and I dont have to worry about broken window motors.

Harris Lue > CobraJoe
10/17/2013 at 12:46

Yeah this one currently has 240K on the odometer and is still running strong! I've y'ed out the exhaust with glass packs and put a CAI on it, but other than that it's just been routine maintenance and exterior/interior upgrades.

Harris Lue > Paul, Man of Mustangs
10/17/2013 at 12:52

Yeah I've seriously thought about that, but it wont have the sound... I've already got the 302 block and I plan to go carbed to complete my 1985 GT tribute, because to this day the '85 GT is my dream Mustang!

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 13:07

I had a 2.3 AOD Fox Mustang hatch in high school, and it wasn't nearly that good looking. (stock medium canyon red, inside and out.) The only real mods were 86 tail lights, and only one 5.0LX exhaust pencil tip on the driver's side.

It was the slowest car in Ford's lineup when new. The V8 LX and GT were the fastest. Same model was alpha and omega.

The AOD sucked. busted twice, and the reason I sold it. The I4 was cheap to run otherwise... and cheap to insure. If it had been a 5-speed, I probably would have had the car longer.

Part of me likes the SVO turbocharged cars more than the ubiquitous and more modification-freindly pushrod V8 GT... although I quite like the looks of the 85-86 GT, especially with T-tops, that SVO never got.

A Turbo 2.3 Mustang with a Volvo 16-valve head, and some plastic fender flare arches... with an ultra-clean monochrome paint job, and some retro wheels... sort of a retro-jdm look, albeit on an american car... could look interesting, especially on a 4-eye car, pre-87.

That is giving me ideas... Ideas that I can't afford to implement right now.

Frank Grimes > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 15:58

Hey nice car! heres mine also 2.3

Kinja'd!!!

I hate this motor!

Harris Lue > Frank Grimes
10/17/2013 at 16:35

Wow those wheels are sex! And yeah its a pain in the ass, but the mileage is decent on a college kid's budget. Do you have an auto or the 5-speed?

Frank Grimes > Harris Lue
10/17/2013 at 20:47

hangs head in shame...mutters under breath "auto".