1988 Mustang 2.3 Turbo | EVERY MOD and History

[@Rlancon83]

I had 89 mustang. My oldest brother got It new handed it down my middle brother then me. I loved it ran it freshmen to jr year I'm high school. Great memories took me everywhere.

[@e-dod]

That's awesome all of you got to enjoy the car.

[@sebastienseb919]

I just purchased a 1987 2.3L SVO yesterday. It wasn't cheap considering the prices for fox bodys has skyrocketed. I plan on keeping it stock as I'm sure it will be worth more in the years to come. Your Stang looks really cool. Good work indeed.

[@e-dod]

Thanks! They have certainly been going up in value. The SVO's are super cool, I think they will definitely go up in value as time goes on.

[@sebastienseb919]

@@e-dod bravo! Well said sir.

[@mchristr]

The SVO was produced from 1984-1986 so perhaps that's a typo. They are fun cars but it's difficult to resist updating with modern fuel injection, suspension, brakes, etc.

[@mchristr]

Nicely done. As a youngster I tended to modify my car backwards (engine first). Now I know better but it took a few years and lots of wasted money. 1) Subframe connectors; 2) rear suspension fix; (torque arm preferred); 3) 5-lug, SN95 brake swap; 4) decent struts/shocks and c/c plates; 5) more power.

[@e-dod]

Heard great things about the torque arm. I already have a panhard bar in storage that I bought years ago so really need to just get a torque arm now.

[@mchristr]

@@e-dod The torque-arm/panhard bar will completely transform the handling. It feels like driving a different car, not at all like a Mustang. It's easily controllable at the limit instead of white-knuckle scary.

[@e-dod]

@@mchristr Did you notice any major increase in NVH?

[@mchristr]

@@e-dod Not that was noticeable. The front and rear spring requirements are different but if the pinion/driveshaft angles are correct you should be okay.

[@turbojoe9554]

had a 93 coupe, 2.3T swapped-almost identically done. FUN car. not very fast, but certainly a ton of fun.

[@e-dod]

That about sums it up, reliable car too.

[@notchbackhoodlum415sf5]

Dope ride brother can’t wait to finish my notch swap 2.3 turbo

[@e-dod]

Glad to hear people are still doing the 2.3 swap. Notch looks clean man, hope to see some vids of the progress & when your done!

[@notchbackhoodlum415sf5]

@@e-dod will post some videos soon it’s almost done

[@Anubis-h5p]

Very cool car ! I love these old mustangs! I had one of the 1979 turbo 2.3 and it had no intercooler so the power just wasn’t that good but it was as powerful as the V8 of the same year .

[@2.3fox]

Damn those rims were nice on the fox before too

[@jodycook9877]

I have my coils mounted on the top of the valve cover. I am running a rotated intake so that helps free up that space. Good luck!

[@e-dod]

Thanks! I ended up making a custom bracket in a more recent video and I am so much happier with the new location! Did you build a bracket to mount them on top?

[@jodycook9877]

@@e-dod I was able to find a ls coil bracket and utilize it for what I needed.

[@R3TR0R4V3]

_Very_ nice! Looks like I should really invest in a Pimp ECU through Stinger next.. Got a 2.3t swapped '89 Ranger, which was acting up before I parked it, but I bet ditching some of that stock crap would wake it up & make it more reliable. 👍 Doesn't look bad as is, but I see lots of people mount coil packs on the firewall. If there's enough room, that's probably the route I'd go.

[@e-dod]

Thanks! I would definitely recommend it! I ended up making a custom bracket in CAD in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoCvg3SOmJ6Kp5o. Super happy with the setup now.

[@fredfuchs3573]

Four eye pride 84 capri turbo rs with t tops 😮

[@Turbo4Joe363]

Really nice build! I see you are in Maryland....do you go to any local C&Cs? I've got an '84 GT Turbo Vert that's been sitting in my garage for years waiting to be fixed up/modded. I've accumulated lots of go fast 2.3L parts over the years and finally have the time and (more) money to start this project.

[@e-dod]

Thanks! I usually make it to the Carlisle Ford Nationals show every year. Whats the plan for the GT Vert project?

[@Turbo4Joe363]

@@e-dod It's a pretty rare Foxbody, so I'm pulling the OEM 2.3L Turbo engine (non-intercooled and pretty lame @ 145 HP) and the OEM T-5 transmission for storage. I bought a wrecked '88 Turbo T-bird parts car years ago. I've accumulated the following: '88 Turbo T-bird block NIB Ranger 2.5L crank Crower rods Wiseco forged pistons with crown thermal coating/anti-friction skirt coating. Esslinger aluminum head (ported) Garrett GT30 water cooled ball bearing Turbo Rod's stainless steel header ATR 3" stainless steel Downpipe to ATR 2.5" dual exhaust Port matched, gutted upper and rotated 90 degrees T-bird intake 65mm Mustang TB. World class T-5 transmission Ford Motorsport SVO steel flywheel/clutch kit. Still need a cam, roller followers and injectors. Need a good front mount Intercooler. Need a MAF conversion too. Not sure if I can run the '88 T-bird's EEC-IV computer?

[@e-dod]

@@Turbo4Joe363 WOW! that's a hell of a parts list. That car is gonna be awesome! Your really doing it justice keeping the 4cyl. I would definitely look into a PIMP ECU from Stinger. Then you can ditch the MAF. The 88 T-bird ecu will not be able to run that setup properly. You could do a piggyback setup like a quarterhourse but its pretty archaic at this point and very hard to tune. Honestly the PIMP ECU from stinger is the best mod I ever did. The car never ran right with the stock ECU after I ported the intake and installed the BO-PORT 1.5.

[@Turbo4Joe363]

@@e-dod Thanks for the 'heads up' on the PimpX! I talked to Stinger and will be ordering a front mount intercooler along with the PimpX ECU system. No need to buy a MAF! Just got my Boport 2.5 roller cam, roller followers and HLAs. How do you like the PimpX self learning feature? Did you notice any improvement over the base tune?

[@e-dod]

@@Turbo4Joe363 The self learning is super awesome. My base tune was VERY rich and the self learning leaned it out a lot. You'll definitely have to do a lot of driving around with the self learning and some manual smoothing afterwards (Stinger explains the whole process on his forum sticky's) Overall, I found the whole experience extremely fun though. And the knowledge gained is incredible.

[@erniecochran350]

Pull the charge wire off the alternator for a couple days and see if the battery keeps a charge. One of the diodes could be blown and no long only one way, which means.... it will charge when running, but have a constant high amp draw when it's not running.

[@e-dod]

Thanks for the tip! I will keep this in mind for future issues. I ended up fixing this issue in a subsequent video.

[@b323ss2]

Did you end up finding the battery issue? My 81 t top 2.3 turbo swapped mustang has the same issue. Kills batteries within a week.

[@expels]

lets see some clips running it

[@e-dod]

Coming soon! I need a new battery. For some reason the car keeps killing batteries so I need to get a new one then track down the issue. Then I will definitely have some vids of the car running as well as in car point of view.

[@DuelingForce]

You had to cut the driveshaft, yes?. Have 2 84 gt t 2.3t's, had one all my life. A pretty cool and popular swap, keep info out to others.

[@chasingcloudsandflavorrevi9817]

Hey man I see this is your last video about this car? Are you going to get it going or something?

[@e-dod]

Hey thanks for watching! Here is the playlist for the mustang, I have two more videos after this one: kzbin.info/aero/PLWQLzs5Seg5SqSgX1CjXLKpuPp-Oz_0f1 Unfortunately I never got a video of the car driving around but I did take it to a few shows last year. Planning to get some in car POV footage very soon since I finally got a recording setup for that.

[@samueljackson2478]

I really wish ford would put some serious money into the 2.3 and make a Svo that can handle like a lotus and performance like a Taurus Sho and be tuneable like a Honda civic with aftermarket support.

[@scottw2157]

The 2.3 EcoBoost is a completely different engine than this engine. This 2.3 has quite a few good parts and pieces because it was used as a midget engine for years. Parts can still be found.

[@Reczony]

i got a 2.3 thunderbird engine aswell and was wondering what is exhaust did you use, because im trying to find one for myself

[@e-dod]

Stinger performance sells exhaust kits: www.stinger-performance.com/store/exhaust/exhaust-complete-kits. That's where mine is from.

[@Lovrboysett]

Man I’m having an issue with spark, can’t figure it out. New coil packs, spark plugs, wires, and man I don’t know. Its turning over but not cranking

[@e-dod]

Did you do an engine swap? How did the issue start?

[@michaeleckermann7466]

Why did it stall at traffic lights? Bad ground? I have the same issue.

[@e-dod]

This issue only went away when I swapped over to the PimpXS and got the tune dialed in. I think the old ECU could not compensate for all the modifications to the car. This issue only started after I ported the intakes and upgraded to a Bo-Port 1.5 cam. Note that mine only stalled after a full throttle pull and coming to a stop. It was still very annoying though. Along with grounds, make sure TPS voltage is within range. You have to measure it with a multi-meter and adjust until it reads a certain voltage. Getting the TPS adjusted correctly helped my car a lot.

[@michaeleckermann7466]

@@e-dod Mine happens erratically. ECU is old, will check TPS, thanks for the advice

[@lilianamariapaezgallo9467]

Dis you have to change the computer to be able to tune it?

[@e-dod]

Yes. I am running a PIMP XS from stinger.

[@jimmycrawford9588]

I'm from south Carolina I have a 1986 Ford mustang with a 2.3 motor in it .it need to be rebuilt. I'm trying to find a good place to get it rebuilt.

[@e-dod]

Unfortunately I don't know anyone in SC area. I would suggest to check/post on stinger-performance.com forums or turboford.org. There is also some 2.3 Facebook groups someone could definitely help there as well.

[@samueljackson2478]

I wish Ford would bring back the 3.8 V6 and 2.3 and develop a new Probe and Contour Svt also the Escort ZX2 RWD or AWD.

[@nicholaswilliamson1180]

About 2 years ago one of my buddies managed to find a 91 fox body 5.0 5 speed that only needed an alternator for $500 no clue how he managed to get that deal but to this day i wish I beat him to it

[@e-dod]

Now that's a crazy good deal!!

[@mustangjosh9133]

I did 700 bucks last august rust free 5spd 2.3l

[@e-dod]

That's a great deal!