I haven't made it back to the shop to check compression on the XR's 2.3, but I am not looking forward to what I find. I've made a decision.
This weekend I begin my powertrain shopping.
Here's my engineering parameters:
Low end torque in a street/auto-x friendly range Less weight is good Junkyard parts are good Daily driver reliability (can I do without the brave little toaster?)
So I want opinions on how silly each of the following is:
1) Explorer 5.0 with GT40p heads. Good power, ridonkulous torques, inexpensive. Cons are that it is an iron-headed pig that will throw an extra 40-50 pounds over my front axle. Also requires extra beef in my drivetrain.
2) 5.0 shortblock with streetish AL heads. 400+ hp and enough torque to break everything. Almost too much power. Cons are cost (planning spreadsheet says $1500 min on engine with aluminum aftermarket heads) and cost (my diff will probably poop itself, I'll swap in an 8.8, and then that will poop itself) and cost (my back wheels will become a lovely rubber to smoke conversion device) and cost (hello, Mr. Officer, I swear my foot fell off the clutch in front of those hot girls)
3) 3.8 V6 from Mustang: 190 hp/220tq in a lighter, aluminum-headed engine that sits further back in the chassis. Bonus: Super Coupe blower! Cons are lack of stonkedness (no 300tq without the puffer) and a general aversion to pushrods. (They're OK in a big V8 because I can rationalize the OHV's packaging advantages etc. but something just rubs me wrong about a sweet Euro car with a pushrod 6.)
4) The SHO V6. 3.2 preferrably. Awesomeness. What should have been in the 1990 XR4Ti (or XR6i if you will) if they made one. Cons? I'll have to gear for the powerband . . . but it has more powerband than anything else on this list. Can't they spin to 8K w/underdrive acc. pulleys? A 3.2 with 3.0 cams and dual exhaust sounds really sweet at this point.
5) Duratec V6. Less preferrable. NS orientation may prove troublesome. All aluminum though!
6) Upgrades to the 2.3 turbo. Problem is, almost everything about the 2.3 aside from the short block is ass. The head doesn't flow, the intake manifold sucks, the exhaust manifold sucks, the Folvo swap is more of a curiousity than a viable solution, Esslinger want the same money for one 2.3 head that AFR and Trick Flow charge for two 4.6/5.4 mod heads, the factory turbo setup is an on/off proposition for power, and the whole setup in the Merkur is a botched implementation of the engine. I'd throw boost at it, but it'd just make the engine more bipolar. BB turbos, headers, new intakes, etc all get WAY more involved $$$ than I can go at present, and even getting it to act like a modern engine will take about the same money that a built 5.0 would.
7) This is one I'm curious about. Super Coupe M90 in place of the T3 on the turbo 2.3. Has anyone done this? I'd still have to get around the head/intake, but then I could run mini stock Pinto headers on the exhaust side and get my underhood temps way down without throwing away the benefits of forced induction.
I'll admit, I'm probabaly going 5.0 unless the right SHO setup comes along or I get a smoking deal on an Esslinger head. I'd just like to see what the Ford guy's take is on the different powerplants. I also want to know which swaps have easily purchased or easily fabricated mounts/crossmembers.
)The T-9 are not known for taking a lot of torque. What's their upper torque limit?
