• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

"franken-lima" build idea...


i know about the stock power curve, but what about the 11to1CR, bigger cam, ported head 2.3 or 2.5?
 
Well if you put the right cam in it you can run up to 9K and still be in the good side of the power curve. You will have no idle quality, or low RPM. That cam wouldnt make a lick of torque below 3K
 
i want it to be able to idle and run below 2500 RPM if need be. basically a very healthy street engine... if i need to compromise ultimate power for some driveability, so be it.
 
I would go with a .450 lift cam then, they have a good powerband low and mid range, and it will be easily tunable from the stock tune. PPlus you dont have to have any extra head work done to make it work. The stock valve guides hit the retainer at .460" lift I figured this out while using a flow bench when i was experimenting in college.
 
so i've done a compression test on my faithful 2.0 to assess whether or not i can use it with a high performance head... not sure which method is correct but i ran the test once with the throttle closed and it had 125# of cranking compression and then i redone the test at WOT and it had 142# of compression...(all these measurements were completely even across the board)... basically i am thinking about picking up an 87 ranger for parts which has (they claim) a carbureted 2.3 out of a mustang... would plan on having the head worked and swapping to the roller cam setup and swapping the head onto my 2.0 as a "stop gap" until i get the money to build the block, as i think it might get expensive,lol...

anyway, is the compression good enough to handle a high performance head?
would milling the head cause the timing belt to seem too long? even if i milled off .125?(that's kinda extreme but you get the point of what i'm asking)
 
The stock pistons are the concern, they can handle the comression, but nnot the RPM. 6k is pushing stock cast pistons.
 
i don't plan on revving the dog crap out of the stock short block... but people do run then at 6200-7000 on tracks... that being said, i don't see that cam giving me any usefull power beyond 6k...
 
I have run a bone stock 2.3 bottom end at 8,300 RPM before, but it should have blown up. The cast pistons are really only good to 5500 RPM.

The stock cam stops making power around 4500 or 4600 rpm. They really are pretty much useless.
 
remember i wasn't planning on using the stock cam with a performance head... i was going with the .420 lift one you mentioned earlier in this thread, so i was planning on having decent power up to about 5500 and then it falling off gradually... i still occasionally have my 2.0 at 5500-6k RPM in the snow but it's only for a few seconds...
 
just do a hyperutectic build then. They are safe to 6500, and will hold more than that, ive done it.
 
but that comes later... gonna build a head first and try and kill my 2.0 with it...lol

i just plan on running it that way until i build the 2.3 block...
 
Well... I killed the stock cam and followers in my 2.0, so i am going to a new cam... Flat tappet unfortunately, but comes with new followers, and its i think .440 lift and 272 dur... Operating range, 1500-5500 RPM... Itll give my 2.0 a little extra kick...

EDIT: cam is here...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-cl70-127-6
 
Last edited:
That cam works with the 2.3 as well...I can understand using the 2.0 head if you have one that isn't cracked (I'd suggest getting it tested again just to make sure) but the 2.3 is a slightly better head...and can utilize that new cam better with a bit of porting and maybe bigger valves...

If you want to tap into that advantage, I'd suggest going a step further and getting the most...I only say this because I had a head rebuilt with a similar cam and did notice some improvement...but I didn't port and polish that head and I also didn't go with bigger valves...but that was mostly because I was thinking of what someone told me about honking out the head and dropping it on a wonky short block resulting in requiring a rebuild on that eventually...

I am now looking at building the bottom end up before I invest anything in head upgrades because I've been down that long and expensive road and didn't "do it right the first time"...

Just a suggestion...but if you're limited financially like I was it is totally understandable to just do what you can to keep it alive...
 
I actually plan on taking the head off sometime this summer and having it worked over, raising CR, porting and intake porting, header... Cant find a similarly priced kit with a smaller cam though...
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

TRS Events

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Ranger Adventure Video

TRS Merchandise

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Sponsors


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Sponsored Ad

Back
Top