Date:         Fri, 15 May 1998 00:14:01 -0400
Reply-To:     Patrick Dooley <pdooley@GTE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Patrick Dooley <pdooley@GTE.NET>
Subject:      2.3 swap update
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Seem to be moving at snails pace, but did make some progress on the 2.3
engine swap.
Went to the junkyard yesterday and pulled a 2.3 turbo motor from an 84
mercury cougar XR7.  The same motor can be had from a Merkur XR4Ti,
Thunderbird TurboCoupe, or Mustang SVO.  The motor looks fantastic inside,
with fresh hone marks on the cylinders and silky smooth rod journals.  FYI,
the clock in the vehicle was at 103,000 miles.
After 6 hours in the HOT south florida sun, absolutely no shade to speak of,
the motor was mine.  I spent some extra time getting the drive accessories
off of an 87 mustang,  the advantage being serpentine belt drive.
Left with motor, two turbo setups, all accessories and a spare exhaust
manifold for 200 bux.
Cleaned everything up and dropped the cylinder head on the block.  Hmmm, the
cam sprocket just touches the rear lip of the engine compartment opening.
The 3/4 inch thick adapter plate used up just enough room to make things
interesting.
I checked the trans mount to see if it could be moved forward some.  The
trans mount is offset, and can be turned 180 degrees,  giving an inch or two
more room in the engine bay.  Problem is, the bracket that bolts to the
trans is too short now, and will not mate with the mount. The trans also has
little room to move before hitting the firewall.
I may try dropping the drivetrain down some, then back a little, gotta get
creative to make this thing fit without cutting the van.
I hope to update my page soon, maybe this weekend, will keep ya'll posted.