I just got done doing the silencer thing. I used 3" exhaust pipe, cut to size, and it worked. It even looks good enough that I didn't have to paint it. I took it around the block, and didn't notice as much as everyone else seemed to, but it helped. It's so funny, cuz everyone for the last month has said that there are no mods for this motor, but the last two days I've found quite a few suggestions. Any other free/extremely cheap ideas, keep em rollin in. Oh, would it help to disconnect where the manifold attaches to the airbox to get in colder air?
I would just personally rather have a mustang. My wife had a neon before we started dating, now it's her brother's, and it's a pile. The turn signals come on when you hit the brakes(and I've seen that happen on other people's neons too), it runs like doo-doo, and my mom and pop in law have put over $3,000 in it in the last two years. Oh, and it's a 98 so it's not that old. Anyone I've ever known with a stang, however, has been happy with the reliability and I've never heard of any problems. So, as much as the neon may be a little quicker, I think the mustang is better, cooler looking, and more fun in the winter. BUY THE MUSTANG lol
There's something to be said about the last post. Not that I dislike Neons, but I wonder how many will still be kicking 14 years after the last one is produced.
The 2.3L doesn't have much power at all right out of the box, but they can be built and modded to be incredibly quick and very reliable. For years they were used by entry level dirt track racers because of this. It's an age old design that has stood up and lasted. There are numerous performance parts available also.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
Actually, they're still used by entry-level oval track racers. It's the primary reason why us street car folks have the aftermarket performance parts we have.
It's certainly not the street guys that keep Esslinger and Racer Walsh in business. Yeah, we contribute, but not to the extent the mini-stock and mini-modified guys do.
Them boys are crazy
I have 93 hatchback, rear seat removed, straight pipe w/ glass pack,
removed silencer, installed 3 inch tubing, removed cataylist converter, and one more thing, I took the automatic A4LD out, and swapped with C3 transmission (pulled from 1987 thunderbird turbocoupe) changed cross memeber, and custom made driveshaft, light weight,
it is easy to drive fast at high rpm but starting from low end rpm range is slow but after 2600 rpm to redline , I already drove past 85 mph on my odometer it was quick and easy from 55 to 85 with in 2 to 3 seconds.
The rear end still the same 7.5" 2.73 ratio
hope that helps ya,
I have 93 hatchback, rear seat removed, straight pipe w/ glass pack,
removed silencer, installed 3 inch tubing, removed cataylist converter, and one more thing, I took the automatic A4LD out, and swapped with C3 transmission (pulled from 1987 thunderbird turbocoupe) changed cross memeber, and custom made driveshaft, light weight,
it is easy to drive fast at high rpm but starting from low end rpm range is slow but after 2600 rpm to redline , I already drove past 85 mph on my odometer it was quick and easy from 55 to 85 with in 2 to 3 seconds.
The rear end still the same 7.5" 2.73 ratio
hope that helps ya,
but yea i can get mine to hook and go once i cross that same rpm level. especially in second u can really feel it pull. (cant wait to feel the turbo pull!!!)
another suggestion, keep it under a quarter tank...less weight equals more vroom vroom!!
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As you may have guessed- I'm a young gun with dreams of pimpin' my baby 2.3n/a into a fire-breathin Shadow Runner.
so far:
1987 hatchback mustang
2.3L, replaced to a '89
Air silencer removed
t-5 all the way
1400 watt sound system w/ twin 12" chrome subs
-The shadow runner was a legendary chinese horse that could outrun its own shadow[/size]
you can retard or advance the stocker a few degrees if you have a degree wheel, I've got the cam in my '74 dialed-in 4 degrees advanced... of course, it's not a stock 2.3, but the valves and bottom end are the originals to the engine (which came out of an '88 Mustang when the original 1974-vintage 2.3 gave up the ghost with a few hundred thousand miles on the ticker...) and aren't hitting or anything, even with the larger cam and the cam advanced. If you've got access to a degree wheel, and have the time and knowledge (or a good buddy that does) you can dial in the cam where you want it on these engines (within reason), as long as you know how much valve-to-piston clearance you have to play with, there's not a lot to worry about though, the first time I did a cam swap on a 2.3 I put the cam in 180* out, she not only didn't hurt anything, but she fired up and ran! (Just with hardly any power, and whacky throttle response... I chased the problem around for nearly 2 days before I figured out what I'd done wrong!)
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1976 Ford Mustang II Ghia: 302 with a 600cfm Edelbrock carb, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake, Dynomax Blackjack headers, 2.5" exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44s. RJS 11-gallon fuel cell, C4 tranny, chrome 16" pony wheels, fuzzy dice, brown vinyl half-top, and painted in the tackiest color ever (harvest gold, that's why I call it "The Goldenrod").
Also have a 2003 Dodge Ram (lightly modded daily driver/tow rig/office/dining room/home away from home/workshop... I call it "The Big Blue Dawg".)
I have a 91 mustang with the air silenter out 2.5 inch from the cat back to a glasspack like thing not as loud as a glasspack looks just like one fatter to the turn down pipe it has dual spark any thing I can do to that, oh and the best thing I ever did was to zip tie the slack out of the thr cable ;-( got that out of a ranger form sounds ghetto but it works great
I have a 75 Mustang II hatchback with a 2.3. Stock it was a slug. I switched the C3 for a T5 from a Turbocoupe and put 3:55 gears in it. That helped the driveability immensely. The C3's want to go 1,2,3 as fast as possible for gas mileage. You can be in 3rd by 25 mph unless you stomp on it. I put a Ranger header and a Mallory distributor with a pertronix module in it. I now have dual 40 Dellorto's on it. No smog and a 2" exhaust. I had a Magnaflow muffler (with angled deflectors inside) but removed it because it was too loud. Way boomey on the freeway, too musch resonance. I have a turbo muffler on it now, much better. The sidedrafts have a nice burble off idle and whoooop under full throttle. The car drives more like a sports car now and is fun to drive. Not real fast but much faster than stock. The cam lays down around 5000. I have another head at the machine shop. I am having 40 thousanths taken off. I have an A237 Ford racing roller cam, bigger valves and springs put on it. I'll swap the head out when I get it out of the machine shop. That should put a little more zip in the car. The biggest thing with these motors seems to be getting air/fuel in and exhaust out. The intake and exhaust are very restrictive. The heads aren't too bad. The cam leaves a bit to be desired. I considered turbo'ing it but I wanted to see if I could make it run descent naturally aspirated. More of a challenge.
Anyone can make these cars run better. Get rid of the older automatics, go 4 or 5 speed. Better intake and carb. Header and muffler. Cam and headwork. They will perk right up!
