changing my 2.3 to a 2.2 diesel

[Mutant Pony]

That is my first D-port 2300. It is in my Drag car (2wd Pinto). Small journal block, heavily ported d-port head, d-port EFI lower plenum adapted to a 4bbl pattern, adapted down to a 2bbl pattern, 350 cfm holley that has been healivy worked. I also have a 390 4bbl.
Staying carburated will save you a lot of frustration. EFI wiring will not just plug into your truck. You would need the complete wiring system from an '85 EFI Ranger. That is three different harnesses. All the wires could be routed seperatly but, that is something even I would not want to do. Another option is a stand alone EFI system, pretty simple but, pretty costly.
I recently converted a 2.8 Ranger to a 2.9 for a customer, My hair is still thin in a few spots. LOL.
Ford did do a factory turbocharged 2.3 with a carb. It was only one or two years though.
You can make much more H.P. carburated. You can also make your motor more fuel efficient. The trouble is finding someone that knows enough about carbs to make it work.
The trouble with EFI is, With every mod the program in the computer gets farther off. Once you have a good engine built and the turbo making good power, the only way to make it run right is to have a new computer burned with the truck on a chassis dyno.

 

[83bagged]

hmmmmm

that does seem like alot of work, well i just see what a stand alone efi system would cost me, and at the same time try to look up some parts to turbo my carb. could i run 2 dcoe weber carbs with the turbo also? or just one big one?

and it would use the same intake an manifold, but it would just use a carbureator correct?

 

[83bagged]

ok well i think im going to turbo my carb.

like this
http://www.rangerpowersports.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239008

oh and also, does this look and seem like a good intake manifold?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-3-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories


so i will need, turbo t3? intercooler? a custom intake manifold, better carb, what else?

oh and will the forged pisons from a 2.3 turbo fit in mine? any other mods you would do while i was at it?

 

[Mutant Pony]

Esslinger and Racer walsh have much better pistons than the factory ones..
Don't buy that intake. It is hand made and not a very good design. Look for a '85-'88 EFI lower plenum that has already had the injector holes welded shut and the adapter fitted. If you know someone that can tig weld aluminum, You can buy the bolt on adapter from Esslinger or Racer walsh. You need to go to those web sites and look around.
You could run dual webers or 4 mikunis but, If you go with a Holley there is a better chance that someone can help you with getting the carbs right.

 

[83bagged]

Esslinger and Racer walsh have much better pistons than the factory ones..
Don't buy that intake. It is hand made and not a very good design. Look for a '85-'88 EFI lower plenum that has already had the injector holes welded shut and the adapter fitted. If you know someone that can tig weld aluminum, You can buy the bolt on adapter from Esslinger or Racer walsh. You need to go to those web sites and look around.
You could run dual webers or 4 mikunis but, If you go with a Holley there is a better chance that someone can help you with getting the carbs right.

ok well i just try one holley carb then. i imagine that it would be easier to tune

now i know there are like 3 or 4 different size pistons that i could choose. now with the turbo as a pull through or a draw setup it should still be quick? so should i have it bored and get bigger pistons? or the same size just forged? im not even sure how much itd cost me to have mine bored

 

[Mutant Pony]

Overbores are to make a wore out motor like new. If the bore is straight and clean standard bore pistons are fine. If the cylinders are wore to a taper, An overbore is needed. The size of the overbore depends on how much the motor is wore.
Blow through is the cheapest and easiest. It also makes it easier to convert to EFI in the future.
In the pic I posted it shows a blower hat on the carb. That is all you need to connect the turbo to the carb. Well, except for the tubes and hoses to connect them.

 

[83bagged]

Overbores are to make a wore out motor like new. If the bore is straight and clean standard bore pistons are fine. If the cylinders are wore to a taper, An overbore is needed. The size of the overbore depends on how much the motor is wore.
Blow through is the cheapest and easiest. It also makes it easier to convert to EFI in the future.
In the pic I posted it shows a blower hat on the carb. That is all you need to connect the turbo to the carb. Well, except for the tubes and hoses to connect them.

hmm ok, well i shouldnt need to bore mine then. it doesnt have many miles on it, but i will still look. so the blow through is still fairly quick?

and how would it make it easier to convert to efi?

 

[Mutant Pony]

A pull through system requires much more piping and would be useless If you convert to EFI. The blow through system will connect directly to the EFI.
I doubt that it will ever come to that, It would more likely be the other way around. I mean once you have come to the realization of the difficulties with the efi You then go to carb.
As I said before, you can make more power carburated. There is no EFI system available that can flow as much as a 390 cfm holley.

 

[83bagged]

ok well if i can make more power by staying carbed, well thats what im doing. i wont look for a turbocoupe anymore.

ill look at those sites you posted, check some parts and make a list. so you would use a 390 holley? or a little smaller? i think the carbed idea is cooler because you dont see it much.

now i should buy new forged pistons, and the efi lower plenum. i work on a pipeline and we can do tig hehe. so i might just get that adaptor kit also. so the lower plenum off a 85-88 efi 2.3 ranger? or is there another way i could go? any other parts you would suggest?

 

[Kenneth S]

All the turbo setups I've built are blow thru carb, the efi is more expensive, and more of a pain to tune if you want to get outrageous. My old 72 pinto pro street wagon that I built (302 w/top loader 4 speed) I made it a blow thru carb, you could tighten the 5 point harness as tight as you could, but once it got to 2-3 psi of boost you could feel it come alive (I had the waste gate set at 15 psi) it would push me hard enough back in the seat that the 5 point harness would get a little loose, the way the car accelerated, it all most felt as good as sex!

 

[83bagged]

HAHAH! well i guess im going to try my hands at this then! i see your sig says durasparked and carbed? whats durasparked?

im looking on esslinger and they have a cam kit that comes with cam, two peice rocker arms, springs, and retainers and uses the stock valves. now on racer walsh i seen some forged pistons that said stock bore, but on esslinger i cant find any that say that. is there any other performance part you would do? i know the turbo makes the most of it, but i figure while im in there...

and they have manifolds but they are for the aluminum block

 

[Mutant Pony]

Acorrding to Racer walsh that EFI intake outflows anything you can buy. You can buy the intake in the junkyard cheap. You then need to weld in the injector holes and the hollows just behind them. Once that is done you'll need to do a conciderable amount of grinding. Make the port openings round on top like the injectors were never there. Then turn the four small openings on top into one large opening with knife edges for each port. You will need the adapter to see where to grind to.
The 390 is a 4bbl carb. the 350 is a 2bbl. You may actually be able to use a bigger carb turbo charged. Too big and you will lose power though.
Also, something to keep in mind. The reason all those guys do it EFI is because it is easier to drive, less quircky. At the same time though, you are building something non-stock. It is gonna be a little quirky.
Keep an eye out on E-bay for one of those intakes already done, You could also make a post in the wanted forum here.

 

[Mutant Pony]

Duraspark is the stock ignition system in your truck. His truck came with TFI and EFI.

I went to Esslinger to see what they had, I don't see std piston either. Most people get .030 so that they have a fresh new bore for the new pistons. I did find manifolds though. Not what you want though.

 

[Mutant Pony]

It seams you cannot buy the efi intake to 4bbl adapter anymore. You can only get the 2bbl adapter. Kind of funny, Racer walsh sells only the 2bbl adapter and only the 4bbl carb. They've really gone down hill in the last 10 years.
Racer walsh has the manifold already done but, they want $500 for it! That is crazy! you can make it yourself for less than $100 and a bit of time.

 

[83bagged]

It seams you cannot buy the efi intake to 4bbl adapter anymore. You can only get the 2bbl adapter. Kind of funny, Racer walsh sells only the 2bbl adapter and only the 4bbl carb. They've really gone down hill in the last 10 years.
Racer walsh has the manifold already done but, they want $500 for it! That is crazy! you can make it yourself for less than $100 and a bit of time.

ok well ill just go and find one. and when i get it i will post pics as reference for some help!

hmmm, well would a 2bbl carb be ok? now like you said i dont wanna over power anything, i want it just right