59 EDSEL 2.3 Turbo 5 Speed Conversion

[amcpacer]

I did not check mpg's with the V8 since I have not had the car very long. Whatever it is would surely be beyond my budget so I started the turbo swap right away. The exhaust from the V8 would burn my eyes when going through a drive up.

[EdKiefer]

I used to have a XR4Ti which used a stock 175hp version of turbo coupe . There a lot of parts you can use from stock SVO stuff to custom 3rd party . SVO put out like 210hp but hp is not really issue here I think TQ is .

On the oil pan if my memory right all the turbo engines used same pan, the mustang SVO, thunderbird and Merkur XR4Ti had sump in back .You can see where distributor is oil pump right under neath with pickup going to rear . Not sure on pinto pan ,it is same family but only 2.0L , might work .
How much clearance do you need and where .

Those 2.3 turbo 86-88 were suppose to be 14lb boost but were only like 12lb so raising boost to 15-17lb is easy and safe pickup of 25hp or so .

[Oval_Overload]

If I'm not mistaken, the old 'Birds of the 1980's and '90's weighed well over 3000 pounds, so taking into account the 200-300 pounds the Edsel will loose by ditching the V8, it might actually be faster with the four-pot.

[EdKiefer]

Originally Posted by Oval_Overload

If I'm not mistaken, the old 'Birds of the 1980's and '90's weighed well over 3000 pounds, so taking into account the 200-300 pounds the Edsel will loose by ditching the V8, it might actually be faster with the four-pot.

They did weigh more than 3000lb, I think the mustang SVO was around 3200 and Tbird around 3400lb . My Xr4ti weighed around 2900 .
The thing is the rear ends where higher geared 3.55 (stick)-3.73 (auto) . With the stick it might not hurt to much expect off the line with 3.10 rear .

[amcpacer]

I expect it to be a little bit slower than a T-Bird due to the rear end having such little gear reduction. Most important thing is fuel economy so I will stick with the rear end even if it is slow off the line. The T-birds and Mustangs look like they are very aerodynamic. I could not find any air drag numbers for the Edsel. It is probably more drag than a T-bird. I will miss the vibration free 400 to 450 rpm idle that the V8 was set at.

This Tuesday I hope to get out to some wrecking yards and get an oil pan and pick-up tube. I need about 4 inches of clearance for the lower frame member and steering linkage rod. Right now the oil pan has the sump right over where the linkage is. A front sump would work great.

[bhazard]

Which year tbird did the motor come out of? It looks like an 87-88 engine, with that particular valve cover and intake manifold. If so you should already have the big VAM, brown top injectors, and LA2 or LA3 ecu. The IHI turbo is good for 18 psi and the T3 is good for 20-22. A front mount intercooler should look quite interesting behind that big ol 50's grill.

Your gearing should be alright for a cruiser. The 4cyl T-5 has a 3.97 first gear which is really good at getting the ball rolling. One thing the 2.3 is NOT good at is lugging around though. Youll have to keep the RPMs above 2000.

[amcpacer]

It is a 1986 engine. I was able to find an old ford courier with a 2.3 and take it's front sump pan and pickup tube. I will post some pictures when I can get to a computer.

[EdKiefer]

Originally Posted by bhazard

Which year tbird did the motor come out of? It looks like an 87-88 engine, with that particular valve cover and intake manifold. If so you should already have the big VAM, brown top injectors, and LA2 or LA3 ecu. The IHI turbo is good for 18 psi and the T3 is good for 20-22. A front mount intercooler should look quite interesting behind that big ol 50's grill.

Your gearing should be alright for a cruiser. The 4cyl T-5 has a 3.97 first gear which is really good at getting the ball rolling. One thing the 2.3 is NOT good at is lugging around though. Youll have to keep the RPMs above 2000.

I would not recommend going over 17lb especially in heavy vehicle .
My 1985 XR4Ti was not stock but I never went over 18lb (kept max at 17-18lb) . I had borla exhaust, T3 with GN intake housing/impeller , intercooler up front , 86 SVO MAF/ECU .
When I went to install big valve head few pistons were down at TDC.
Ended up 3 rods were bent , these motors rods are weak so be careful . Also the ECU always felt like it maxed out around 4500 rpm@high boost , some say it was limiting TQ, not sure on that I think bad knock sensor programing is part of it as unpluging knock sensor helped here but i never leave it like that (maybe they fixed that in later yrs ) .

[naturalextraction]

Good luck with your project. I've done somewhat similar to old muscle cars I've had. Their heavy sure, but turbo charging provides good acceptable torque. Providing you have a good compressor housing impeller combination and turbine side you can compensate for the weight with out a bunch of boost. Non-the-less, have fun and end up with a cool project.

[usergone]

Would it be possible to just turn the oil pan around, so the sump is sitting in the front and it will fit? Or is the bolt pattern not symmetrical? I can't say I know much about rebuilding engines, but that popped into my head to try.