1984 Ford 2.3L powered Bronco II

Nice. I remember during the overlap between the Pinto and early Fox body (1979-1980), most SCCA racers stuck with the Pinto chassis. It was well sorted combination by then, leaf springs and all. That gutted Pinto probably weighs less than 2200 lbs.
 
Man I wanted to do one of these so bad in my 56' let the guys on the hamb convince me otherwise. I have since pretty much moved away from that place. They won't accept reality...... if it isn't a V8 they don't want it.

I have a chance to get my hands on some local 2.3L. I need to grab them before they go to the molting pot. What year ranges are the best? They mostly have the 8 spark plug versions from rangers. They worth swiping if the price is right?

I would like to here more about turboing one of these. I had always planned to get one from a turbo coupe. They are getting harder and harder to find. What did you use, turbo size, brand, rods, carb type and setup.........

My first truck (97 ranger) had a 2.3L I always wanted to build it up, and couldn't afford it. So I have always had a soft spot for them.....
 
The best ones to build are the blocks that were the start of the one piece rear main seal (1985) up to the end of the single plug engines (~1990). The dual plug engines were rated at ~105 HP, but they also were a bit higher compression. If you mill the single plug (open chamber) head to match the dual plug compression ratio, HP is equal. The large main journal blocks/cranks are a bit stronger than the small journal stuff, but my 2549cc turbo engine used a small journal block with the 2.5L Ranger crank, and reworked stock rods. At one atmosphere it was plenty strong, and made plenty of power.

There are stock crank/block turbos out there at 50+ psi making upwards of 900 HP (with Esslinger heads) and they live.

edit: By the way, the 2.3L is most prevalent in Mini Stock racing. These 'stock' engines in some cases with no more induction than a 2bbl Autolite or Holley are making upwards of 190 HP.
 
The turbos I've used are stock Garrett T3's as used on Merkurs. They came with 60 trim exhaust turbines and were well suited to the 2.3L. Mine started building boost at 1200 RPM and had full boost at 1600.

T3-T4 hybrids are also a good choice. Some are using the throwaway Cummins turbos, such as the Holset HX35 series. One of those on a well-tuned, stock cammed 2.3L at 19-20 psi nets 400 HP.
 
Quick update: Rods have been weight matched, balance pads removed, beams polished. Weight started at 638 grams, now 617 grams.

pistons1_zpscrlnabnt.jpg

Four cylinders can be helped in smoothness if the reciprocating weight is lowered. You don't want to reduce rotating weight, though. Improving the rod/stroke ratio helps with the secondary balance issues also. The next 2.3L I build will have 5.7" rods in it and pistons that weigh about 400 grams. More on that later...

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The rods are press fit pins. I heated them with a propane torch until the rod small end glowed 'brown', and slid the pins in.
 
I'm going to experiment with the oiling system on this engine a bit. Windage is a problem on the 2.3. The Esslinger trays are supposedly worth 10 HP. I'd love to see that before and after dyno run.

The 2.3L has a lot of oil flow to the head. The oil pumps, according to Rick Byrnes (noted landspeed racer) flow as much volume as a 460 V8. Looking down the oil returns through the cylinder head and block, the oil returning from the head dumps right onto the crankshaft. The return passages are straight drillings slightly over 1/2 an inch. I might drop some tubing through from the top of the block to direct the oil flow toward the sides of the block or even through the windage tray. Any thoughts?

I'll throw up some pictures soon to illustrate what I'm thinking.
 
MechRick":1ui09xid said:
I'm going to experiment with the oiling system on this engine a bit. Windage is a problem on the 2.3. The Esslinger trays are supposedly worth 10 HP. I'd love to see that before and after dyno run.

1 The 2.3L has a lot of oil flow to the head. The oil pumps, according to Rick Byrnes (noted landspeed racer) flow as much volume as a 460 V8. Looking down the oil returns through the cylinder head and block, the oil returning from the head dumps right onto the crankshaft. The return passages are straight drillings slightly over 1/2 an inch. 2 I might drop some tubing through from the top of the block to direct the oil flow toward the sides of the block or even through the windage tray. Any thoughts?

I'll throw up some pictures soon to illustrate what I'm thinking.

1 If you are running a roller cam you might be able to restrict oil flow(a little, not a lot) to the head.
don't even try it with a standard slipper follower cam.

2 I like this idea.
 
Quick update: Crankshaft oil scraper cut and ready to go.

First image is of the template...

scraper_template_zps42w7rrkl.jpg

Cut from cardboard with scissors.

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Transferred to metal and cut with jigsaw and dremel.

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I'll start working on the oil pan next, then finish the head.
 
That looks nice.
FYI, if there's ever anything like similar to that, and you need it in higher quantities, let me know..

I make stuff, CNC plasma, low quantities at work.. (as long as it doesn't interfere with my real job...)
flat plate

bent into a crossmember (early falcon T5 swap -- designed by SoCar72)

keep me in mind when you start thinking about motor mounts.
The bigger of these two brackets might bolt to your block, I'm not certain how many or which dimensions 2.3 and 3.3's share, just eyeballing your block they might be close.
Small Six Motor Mount Dimensions -- FordSix Forum
 
When I was cutting the template with scissors, I was thinking the pattern would be something ridiculously easy to waterjet. I'll have to nose around the mini stock boards and see if something like this would be popular/legal...
 
80broncoman":20d94cl9 said:
If you are running a roller cam you might be able to restrict oil flow(a little, not a lot) to the head.

The factory roller cam engines have an oil restrictor that screws in place of the oil gallery plug in the left rear of the block, where the oil passage is drilled up through the head gasket. I would like to restrict oil to the roller cam, but two things give me pause.

1) I'm using a high volume oil pump from a turbo engine (just because I have it).

2) This engine will spend some of it's time at less than 1000 rpm crawling over rocks.

Number 1 is the real worry, because if the 2.3 has a weak spot, it's the puny distributor gear. They can strip teeth if oil volume exceeds the restrictions in the engine (bearings, etc). High volume pumps are overkill for this engine. Maybe I should get off my wallet and buy the correct oil pump for the application.
 
:unsure: I like where your heading with this BII build, it would be a nice combo to have in my area for Winter use too. I have also though about finding one of the Mustang SVO's, or a Turbo Coupe to build as a DD.

Schneider Racing Cams also offers a regrind and other custom services! Good luck looks like it's coming together nicely. :nod:
http://schneidercams.com/otherservices.aspx
 
I'm pretty familiar with the paper concept.. Last night I used a stock 250 lift bracket to pull the measurements off, then modified the lift eye hole (round instead of oval) and practiced redrawing it a couple times before I asked for it to be converted into a DXF.

Paper copy of the original on top
Original bracket in middle
new bracket bracket on bottom.
IMG_1186_588.jpg

One of my coworkers taught himself recently how to trace irregular patterns using google SketchUp to make odd shaped parts.. (not the ones parts I have pictured above )
 
Last oiling modification was to braze some copper tubing together to fit the oil returns in the block. The idea is to shunt the returning oil off to the side instead of it dropping on the crank.

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Notice the gold tint of the block is gone. It's now painted Duplicolor cast-iron gray...

In theory, this should help. It's unproven though. I got the idea from how the oil returns through the windage tray on SHO/Yamaha V6's.
 
CoupeBoy":27aqrnci said:
keep me in mind when you start thinking about motor mounts.

My original idea is to use Ranger 2.3L mounts. If the BII crossmember is significantly different than the Ranger I'll be contacting you...
 
Hello MechRick, enjoying the build so far. Learning a lot! I'm interested in doing a 2.3 now. Could you give some more information on the oil feed tubes? Are they brass or copper , like plumbing tubing you get from a hardware store? whats the actual diameters & lengths of the pipe & connector sleeves? I think that's a great idea. I'd like to see your windage tray design when you get there.
Out of curiosity, since you are very knowledgeable about these engines, what do you think of the Volvo 2.3 DOHC head conversion? Is it worth it? Does it work well & how much is actually involved in doing it if you know? thanks!
 
It's garden variety 1/2" copper. The tubing itself is a bit too small to fit the drainback holes, but the couplers are perfect.

I figured solder would not work in an engine with the vibration and heat ( the last thing I want is a section of copper tubing impacting a crank throw at 5000 rpm). I used HVAC grade brazing rod at 1200 degrees to join the sections. The lengths were chosen to stabilize the tubing in the bore and sit flush with the top of the block. The front sections bottom on the front to back oil supply gallery and the rear section bottoms on the right side of the block.

Note that this might be a total waste of time, because I have no idea if it will liberate any HP. Esslinger states that their windage tray frees up 10 HP, but I assume that's on something making a whole lot more HP than what I'm building. If I free up 4 HP I'll be happy for the time I've spent. I'm a firm believer in *free* HP. I like to see what can be done without impacting fuel economy. So, porting, breathing, compression, oiling system and maybe a slight camshaft tweak is what this engine is getting.

I think a tray would be redundant at this point. I may leave it as-is. What do you guys think?

The Volvo head swap has been done numerous times.

http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/te ... tem045.php
http://starcityracing.com/Forums/showth ... OLVO-build
http://www.amcansolutions.com/amcandocs ... 20Head.pdf

With the external oiling and the welding and the custom intake needed, I felt reliability would be compromised. I'll stick with Ford parts on this budget build.
 
Hello MechRick, I agree with the HVAC brazing rod. So, the tubes bottom out on the engine casting. Does that mean that all the return oil exits the tubes through the two cross-drilled holes you made in the tubes? If so, wich direction do the holes point in the engine?
I think the windage tray is still a good idea. I would do it, just for two ideas. 1) It may just be a matter of just bending some sheet metal and maybe bolting it down to the oil pan bolts? & 2) It may help with oil slosh in the pan if you get into any exaggerated angles when rock crawling?
Will you be doing your own porting? And, will you be sharing any pictures of the procedure? I'm really interested in that as well.
Thanks! and have a good day.
 
chessterd5":3f9bgqno said:
Does that mean that all the return oil exits the tubes through the two cross-drilled holes you made in the tubes?

I think most of the oil will flow out the bottoms. They rest on curved surfaces, so I drilled the holes for extra flow.

chessterd5":3f9bgqno said:
It may help with oil slosh in the pan if you get into any exaggerated angles when rock crawling

I'm thinking of a baffle in the oil pan. I can shape one and spot weld it in much quicker than building a custom tray.

chessterd5":3f9bgqno said:
Will you be doing your own porting?

I've already started. I'm working on the intake bowls at the moment, oversizing them for 1.9" intake valves. I will take pictures as I go. The 2.3's respond well to porting, and show improvements everywhere, even on the bottom end.
 
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