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Originally Posted by jnpwoodson1970  I want to know which 2.3 engines will work in a 1978 Ghia?
Will a Tempo, Newer mustan, or ranger work?
New to the redheaded stepchild of mustangs. |
Tempo? No, that's the 2.3HSC, a front-drive only 2.3L engine that was used in the Tempo, Topaz, Taurus, and Sable.
Newer Mustang? Yes, all from 1974-1993 will physically bolt into the engine bay, but there are a few things you should know:
1988+ engines have no provision for a mechanical fuel pump, meaning you will either have to run an electric 3-5psi pump to work with your carburetor, (such as the one most parts stores carry made by either Airtex or Mr. Gasket) or switch to EFI.
Later EFI engines (forget what year they made the switch) went to DIS (Distributorless Ignition System) and used 8 spark plugs (2 per cylinder). Using one of these all but requires converting to EFI, though a few people have custom-made distributors for them to fire all 8 plugs with a carburetor, or just used four of the plugs (with non-firing plugs in the other four holes). Going this route, EFI is your best bet, as the 8-plug EFI 2.3 was the most powerful naturally aspirated 2.3 out there.
Ranger? Yes, but they made the switch to the DIS/dual-plug system a year or two earlier than the Mustang. They also continued the same basic design with the 2.5.
I'm sure there are other little details I'm forgetting, I did the swap into my '74 from an '88 Mustang that's engine originally resided in an '88 Ranger. (2.3s are THAT tough, I pulled out the original, running 2.3 in 2006 because it was "smokey" and I had the '88 engine laying around and didn't feel like doing rings and/or valve stem seals. I had the engine dropped in and running in four or five hours. I think I had to make a dipstick (locations and lengths vary depending on application and year), I know I had to reuse my '74 Oil pan and oil pump pickup...
Your best-bet swaps are the 2.3 Turbo engines from SVOs, Merkurs, and T-bird Turbocoupes if you're wanting to go EFI and maximum performance.
You can also look at Mazda B2300 and B2500 pickups from 1994 on. They used Ford 2.3 and 2.5 engines.
The 2.3s have been swapped around so much that the internet has tons of info available. Performance parts are out there (see the 2.3 Forums on this site, for instance), and reliability on these engines is outstanding (They're incredibly well designed, a little harsh on vibration here and there, but when well tuned will go forever because they have a good oiling system, a non-interference valvetrain design (meaning timing belt failures aren't fatal engine failures), massive main caps for the engine's size, and were already ahead of their time when they came out in 1974.)
What 2.3 engines will work in a II? 
