[bhazard]

Nice job man. You should definitely get the 87-88 electronics in there though, that or megasquirt, which would be way better.

These engines are NOT tuned for FE in the least bit. They run rich to be safe. In the summer I could pretty easily get 25-30 mpg with my tbird. In the winter, maybe 20.

Theres a good amount of misinformation in this thread too. 2.3 bottom ends are NOT weak in the least bit. They are actually far stronger than a stock 5.0 bottom end, 500hp is nothing for them. Some have put 800 to them with no issues.

If you go with the 87-88 electronics 18 psi is plenty safe on a stock setup. I wouldnt do it on the earlier stuff though, just not enough fuel.

87-88 turbo coupes weighed 3415lbs fully optioned out. Mine was around 3200 empty. I ran a 14.71 at 93 mph with 18psi on the stock turbo, a 3 inch exhaust, and a K&N in place of the airbox. So the old folks can stick in up their you know what. The 2.3 will far outperform the wheezy old lopo v8. That tall gear will slow it down though. Might make the engine lug a bit too much too, 5th will probably only be usable on the highway.

A friend of mine has an 88 tbird with a stock 2.3, holset and megasquirt. He runs 28 psi all day. Car has run 12.75 at 112 mph on street tires at FULL weight, over 3600lb. Only .25 seconds off the gt500 he ran against. He also drove it to the track and back. It dyno'd around 350rwhp and 400rwtq.

The main thing holding these engines back is the stock management. Chryslers setup is far superior. The ford EEC is archaic. Megasquirt is by far the best though.

But like I said the easiest/cheapest thing to do for a stock/daily car if youre not looking for a ton of power is to update everything to 87-88 spec. That, a 3 inch exhaust (mine was pretty quiet with a magnaflow muffler), K&N right on the end of the VAF, and a cheap boost controller running 18 psi. A car with those mods dynoed right around 200rwhp and 300rwtq. Yes thats a big hp/tq ratio for a 4 banger. Thats the great thing about 2.3's they put out good torque when the boost kicks in. At that point you would have a great daily driver with ample power when you want it.