Glad to see someone else finally putting a 2.3 Turbo into an early mustang. It looks like your 68 engine compartment is a whole lot bigger then the 66 was before I removed the shock towers. It is suprising how much a few inches makes a differents.
Again way to go!
Looking at your pictures is almost like, I have been there before!
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Metal 1933 Willys coupe 4.6 DOHC Soon to be Twin Turbo.
1966 Mustang GT140T (300+ rwhp SVO 2.3 Turbo)
Last edited by Angliagasser; 02-03-2012 at 09:56 PM.
I was hoping you would pop in here. Its still REALLY tight with the towers, I will post a pic shortly of the power steering fitting being less than an inch from the shock tower. Your car is one of the reasons I went this route, maybe we can park near each other at the Bellevue show.
I love what youre doing! Even though my current project isnt completed yet I have already started thinking about what Im going to do with the next one... this helps for sure!!
Here is a mini update. I ran the coolant lines to the heater core. You can see the Escort sensor piece I picked up, which will hold the water temp sensor and gauge sensor. It has a lot of hose clamps and transitions because the Escort pipe uses one size larger of a hose.
One of the popular mods for the 2.3 is to remove the water lines to the drivers side of the block, which I have done. This means there is no need for the large coolant passage in the lower intake. So, I plugged up the ports with pipe plugs. Then, I got this gasket that will seal off the water at the head. It is meant for a 2.3 that runs on LPG, the one on top.
One of the problems I was having was with the power steering lines. I went to the junkyard and found this 90 degree fitting off of a FWD Ford. I then had a local shop splice it onto the Mustang power steering line. You can see the fitting above in the picture of parts I got from the yard. It is still VERY close to the shock tower, but I think it will be OK.
After I put on the intake I then put on the injectors and fuel rail.
Then I finished off the fuel lines:
I painted the upper intake to match the valve cover.
My alternator belt came in, I ended up needing one 29" long. So, I finished up the bracket.
For my final task of the evening, I cleaned up the throttle body and bolted it on.
Another mod is to move the IAT sensor from the lower intake to the upper. This helps the ECU get a more accurate reading and is supposed to minimize heat soak. That's it poking out at an angle on top. Normally that sensor is in the lower intake, I will be using the port it used to be in to get vacuum. You will also notice that I installed the coolant sensors for the ECU and the dash gauge. I think its pretty cool that the stock 68 sender just screwed right in to that Escort piece. On a 87 Merkur engine. That I pulled out of a 90 Mustang. Which is now back in a 68 Mustang. It's like the circle of life!
Thanks! I like how the cat jumps out (I had no idea she was there) right when the starter noise happens. I don't even have the starter wired up, I had to find a sound clip.
Oh yeah... Great job on the car so far! I was too busy laughing earlier to give the credit due. By the way, if that video goes viral I might, might have something to do with it! Priceless!
I don't want to sound "preachy" but you might want to turn the boost down a bit...
Intercooler and radiator time. I am using the large intercooler that comes from an Isuzu truck known as the NPR. At first I tried to mock it up without cutting the core support and using a radiator from an Explorer:
I was having hood clearance with that setup, the radiator cap was hitting the turn signals in the hood pretty bad. I hacked the Explorer radiator up pretty good to try and make it fit, but couldn't. So, I decided the core support had to be cut. Here you can see how much I took out.
This is roughly where it will live
Because I cut up the Explorer radiator, I bought a new one made by Champion. It its a universal unit that fits in between the intercooler outlets. It is still VERY close to the hood, but it fits. These pics should show you how I mounted them better than I can explain it.
I also trimmed out the trunk, but didn't take any pictures of the process. Basically its MDF with carpet, I did it so I could keep the fuel system safe but still access it. I also needed a firm base for the trunk battery.
I have also started getting prepared for a very scary step, the wiring.
I got a Megasquirt 2 unit from DIYAutotune, as well as a relay board and the marked wiring. I think the Squirt will end up in a custom center console of some kind.
Just a little progress this weekend. First of all I got my gas pedal and throttle linkage sorted out. Its just the Spectre kit from the local auto parts store and a 69' gas pedal.
Then I decided to finish running the starter cable. To do it right, I removed the passenger fender.
Here is the cable running down toward the sill. It is now secured in place, this was during routing.
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