Remote Turbo Setup & Falcon Sixes?

[Crustang to Mustang]

And where is Crustang to Mustang supposed to get one? And then parts? If someone wants to modernize with an updated engine that can be turbocharged without cutting up the engine compartment, then why not do this?


Note: if the music is unbearable, lower or turn off the volume until 2:35 is reached in the clip.

Here is some information on the build:
Stacy Shaw's '62 Falcon is the epitome of a "sleeper" car. With the fabricating skills of her husband Nathan and his shop, "One Guys Garage" along with Stacy, getting her hands dirty they have turned out one cool car! Nathan explains the story behind it...I had seen some guys starting to swap the 6cyl Ecoboost engines and research showed that the Ecoboost 4cyl currently used is just a Duratec platform with direct injection. A quick car-part.com search showed a plethora of Focus 2.0 engines in the salvage yards for $300-400. Yes, it would require quite a bit of fabrication work with custom mounts, intake and exhaust manifolds, and transmission adapter plate, but that's the fun part for me. The best thing is it would not require any cutting to the body of the car or strut towers like most other swaps would. We also rebuilt the suspension using mostly stock style parts and swapped an 8" rear axle with limited slip center section out of a Maverick. Stacy did a lot of the work herself including disassembling the engine, cleaning LOTS of salvage yard parts, and getting the kids out to the shop to help with various tasks. Like any combo that is out of the norm it required a little R&D once running. I blew it up on the dyno once, making the poor decision to run it to 8200 rpm with insufficient valve spring pressure. We fixed the engine and then broke several GM 4L60E transmissions before finding the right combo of parts without spending $6000 on a professionally built transmission. Engine is a 2006 "Duratec" 2.0 4cyl with factory aluminum block and stock head. Crank is borrowed from a manual trans Miata (forged) and it has forged Manley rods and Wiseco pistons. 30lbs of boost provided by a Precision 5858 ball bearing turbo. One Guys Garage fabricated equal length exhaust manifold and intake manifold. Spark and fuel is controlled with a Holley HP efi system running on E85. Transmission is a 2002 4L60E from a 4cyl S-10 with cryo and micropolished stock components with a Custom 9" PTC torque converter. Rear tires are Mickey Thompson 215/60/14 ET Streets. Our current best et is 10.71 at 123mph.


At least the engine and parts are available. At a decent price. I believe the engine is putting out in the neighborhood of 500+ hp to the rear wheels.

The engine will fit without butchering up the car with a Barra boat anchor. I just had to say it.

Parts:

Ford 4-valve 4-cyl Engines & Parts | Duratec 2.0L Esslinger Engineering | Esslinger racing

Esslinger Engineering | Duratec 2.0L | Ford 4-valve 4-cyl Engines & Parts | Accessories

esslingeracing.com

Ford 4-valve 4-cyl Engines & Parts | Duratec 2.3L Esslinger Engineering | Esslinger racing

Esslinger Engineering | Duratec 2.3L | Ford 4-valve 4-cyl Engines & Parts | Accessories

esslingeracing.com

This is cheap. Adapters that will enable this engine to mount too a SBF housing.

Ecoboost/ Duratec to SBF Bellhousing Adapter - Ecoboost/ Duratec to SBF Bellhousing Adapter

This bellhousing adapter fits both Ecoboost AND Duratec 2L/2.3L/2.5L engines. It's designed to adapt the Small Block Ford bellhousing onto the 4-cylinder engines being swapped into RWD cars and trucks. The ad - Ecoboost/ Duratec to SBF Bellhousing Adapt

esslingeracing.com

Ecoboost/ Duratec to SBF Crank Adapter - Ecoboost/ Duratec to SBF Crank Adapter

This hub-centric billet crank adapter bolts to your Ecoboost or Duratec crankshaft and allows you to use any neutral balance small block Ford flywheel or flexplate. We've designed this adapter to locate the flywhee - Ecoboost/ Duratec to SBF Crank Adapte

esslingeracing.com

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Very cool build! I would love to do something like this in the future! For awhile I was thinking about a dropping a 13bt in my Mustang. I just want to keep the six for now, though.

 

[pmuller9]

Have you taken the time to read through this thread?
It applies to the small six also.
Much easier than reading through some book about turbocharging in general

P

Thread 'Selecting a turbocharger for the 300 six'

Mar 26, 2025

One of the first things you often hear is about picking a turbocharger that will spool.
That is not the objective.
The main goal is to pick a turbocharger that is the correct size for the engine and its application.

An engine is an air pump that has a range of airflow from the beginning of its power band to the end of its power band.
The turbocharger's compressor is likewise an air pump that has a flow range from the surge line out to the choke line.

Most of the 300 sixes discussed on this forum are for street use in a truck that works best with a wide power band.
In order to achieve the...

• pmuller9

• 

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

Have you taken the time to read through this thread?
It applies to the small six also.
Much easier than reading through some book about turbocharging in general

P

Thread 'Selecting a turbocharger for the 300 six'

Mar 26, 2025

One of the first things you often hear is about picking a turbocharger that will spool.
That is not the objective.
The main goal is to pick a turbocharger that is the correct size for the engine and its application.

An engine is an air pump that has a range of airflow from the beginning of its power band to the end of its power band.
The turbocharger's compressor is likewise an air pump that has a flow range from the surge line out to the choke line.

Most of the 300 sixes discussed on this forum are for street use in a truck that works best with a wide power band.
In order to achieve the...

• pmuller9

• 

I'll give it a read for sure!

 

[pmuller9]

So now that we know you will need at least 20 psi of boost the turbocharger parts list looks like the following:

Turbocharger
Wastegate
Blow Off Valve
Intercooler or a Snow water/methanol injection system.
Oil return system
Blow through carburetor
Ignition timing controller.
Boost referenced fuel system.
All of the plumbing to and from the turbocharger.

The engine will need a forged piston and possibly aftermarket connecting rods.

What fuel will you use?

 

[pmuller9]

Which DUI distributor do you have?
HEI style with the square coil on the cap or the DUI Duraspark?

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

It is HEI style but it is a knock-off of a DUI. I am not quite sure how good it is but it has good reviews and it was free for me. The curve may be off a little but I haven't seen any complaints in reviews. I'll have to wait until I install it to see how good it is.

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

So now that we know you will need at least 20 psi of boost the turbocharger parts list looks like the following:

Turbocharger
Wastegate
Blow Off Valve
Intercooler or a Snow water/methanol injection system.
Oil return system
Blow through carburetor
Ignition timing controller.
Boost referenced fuel system.
All of the plumbing to and from the turbocharger.

The engine will need a forged piston and possibly aftermarket connecting rods.

What fuel will you use?

My brother-in-law has an intercooler that he said I could have. He has built turbo kits before so he may have some other miscellaneous parts as well. I'll try to ask him soon.

If I were willing to settle for 325hp to 350hp, I will still need these parts correct?

I plan on using 93 octane pump gas

 

[pmuller9]

It is HEI style but it is a knock-off of a DUI. I am not quite sure how good it is but it has good reviews and it was free for me. The curve may be off a little but I haven't seen any complaints in reviews. I'll have to wait until I install it to see how good it is.

You can't use the mechanical advance in the distributor for a turbocharged engine.
The mechanical advance has to be locked out, and the ignition system has to control the timing and must be boost referenced.
In a turbocharged engine timing is retarded as boost increases.

The MSD Ultra 6AL Plus is the recommended ignition system

 

[aussie7mains]

I know, LOL no harm intended. We give it to each other at times. Hey look… I’m going V8 on my next build. I’m surprised that I’ve got very little flack. I guess I’m probably doing something right. Or people are too shy to voice their opinions. I expected much more. I’ve grown numb of criticism throughout the years.

It’s unfortunate that we’re not able to get some of the neat stuff that you have down under. We have to use what’s available up north.

Unfortunately , the 200 six performance parts are starting to become scarce. Fortunately, there are other options available.

I think a 4 cylinder Duratec swap is pretty neat. It’s still Ford branded. Talking about being an underdog, and beating the pants off V8’s.

Our late falcons did come with the 2l duratec turbo 4 pot from the factory. Ford was trying to get better economy than the barra could do. They only came as auto, and not many around, by all reports they are pretty good, but the six is way more popular. The Barra also found a home in our territory SUV, the terry also had a 2.7litre turbo Diesel.

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

You can't use the mechanical advance in the distributor for a turbocharged engine.
The mechanical advance has to be locked out, and the ignition system has to control the timing and must be boost referenced.
In a turbocharged engine timing is retarded as boost increases.

The MSD Ultra 6AL Plus is the recommended ignition system

I've read about people using the vacuum advance, does it not work as good?

 

[pmuller9]

I've read about people using the vacuum advance, does it not work as good?

The vacuum advance does not retard timing.
The timing must be carefully controlled so 1 degree of timing is removed for each pound of boost.

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

So something like the MSD Ultra 6AL Plus is my only option?

 

[pmuller9]

When using relatively high boost as in your case, the ignition timing is best controlled electronically.

Since this is a street driven vehicle, you need timing that is advanced as rpm increases (mechanical advance equivalent) and also increases as intake manifold vacuum increases (Vacuum advance equivalent).
Once boost is generated, the vacuum advance disappears and is replaced by ignition retard in the order of 1 degree per 1 psi of manifold pressure.

 

[pmuller9]

So why not put the turbocharger in the engine compartment?
This way you do not have a red-hot turbine housing sitting next to your gas tank.
It will also be a lot more efficient system.

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

The problem with putting it in the engine compartment is the cost of custom turbo headers, the deletion of at least one accessory (I was hoping to daily it so A/C is in the plan. Power steering is also ideal but I guess I could go without that and move the A/C compressor to the driver's side), and having to relocate the battery to the trunk (I may do this anyways but I would like to have the option in case I would rather leave it. Other reasons include the sound, the space, and the subtlety of the turbo's presence.

I actually have been meaning to mention this but I kept forgetting. I actually was planning on placing the turbo where the transverse muffler is, so, correct me if I'm wrong, but there could potentially be a decent amount of space between the turbo and the fuel tank. I would also plan on using a turbo wrap.

 

[63 Sprint]

The mustang does not need power steering if someone is healthy. Had a 1966 GT 2+2, 298 and it had manual steering and I thought the steering was light.
Now, if someone has a shoulder injury or just week in nature then I can see power steering would be beneficial.

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

The mustang does not need power steering if someone is healthy. Had a 1966 GT 2+2, 298 and it had manual steering and I thought the steering was light.
Now, if someone has a shoulder injury or just week in nature then I can see power steering would be beneficial.

Yeah, I've never driven one so wasn't sure but I figured I could probably take it or leave it.

 

[pmuller9]

What are you planning on using for carburation?

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

What are you planning on using for carburation?

The plan was to get a Holley 2bbl and mod it for blow through. I haven't landed on a specific model.

 

[Crustang to Mustang]

Also, I've seen this from a few sources but I was wondering if anybody here has tried it. I agree that an MSD controller is best but this was just a cheap option that I was curious about: https://www.instructables.com/Dirt-cheap-ignition-retard-for-turbocharged-engine/

I also saw on another Ford forum where someone had mentioned potentially using a Duraspark start retard for boost retard. This isn't ideal either but it sounded somewhat realistic.

Neither of these offer a progressive retard so performance is limited compared to MSD.

And I'm not implying that I won't get an MSD controller, I am just trying to learn.