Installing a 2.3 EcoBoost in a 1970 Ford Cortina GT MK2

In 2019 after blowing up our last 2.3 Lima (Esslinger and Race Engineering), the crew decided they wanted to go to a more modern drivetrain- the 2.3 EcoBoost. 1st had to put the funds in place- Ebay Store and local sales of parts and equipment we no longer needed. That took about a year before we could order a crate 2.3 from Ford and a T5 with GForce gears plus , plus, plus!

Making the 2.3 fit the Cortina: as front sub frame has already been strengthened with 3/16 steel plate for the previous setup, removed the welded on engine mounts and bolted  stock Mustang/EcoBoost engine mounts -perfect fit, no cutting. But the stock aluminum oil pan would not clear the X member and steering rack, even with the rack now mounted under and behind the X member. No one made a front sump pan for the EcoBoost so bit the bullet and bought a Dry Sump System form Mountune. Now it fits with 3/4" clearance. Of course now had to get an oil tank (modified - extended filler neck) , 3 port catch can with breather, -12AN lines , adaptors and hose ends, etc. .

Actually our 1st purchase was a QuickTime bell housing to fit the T5 (Ford) and EcoBoost. Able to keep the transmission without chancing the "stock" location, drive shaft length OK and no changes to the Winters Mini. Quickchange diff. 
So now we had to consider new and larger brakes- Wilwood Integra 6 piston calipers , 12" x 1.25" rotors for the front and put the existing front rotors (Wilwood Superlites , 4 piston) on the rear.

Next had to look at the front struts and spindles- would they handle almost 400 HP? Questionable so am now in the process of designing an upper A-arm with a single control arm with strut rod (already have the control arm and strut rod done- made to work with the original MacPherson strut) . Mustang spindles and hubs available along with the QA1 Proma Star coil over shocks, so that is most probable way we will go. Problem with spindles I would have swap the left and right sides along with the steering arms and mount the calipers forward facing- is this possible or am I opening a can of worms- we will soon see. Oh, and going to AERO 15""x 8 racing wheels with Hoosier slicks to match.

Then comes the custom aero package- we got our hands on a damaged IMSA LMP3 rear wing (since repaired), fabricated a mounting system putting the down force directly onto the roll cage and rear suspension through the trunk surface. Rear diffusers center section came from a F-Renault plus fabricated the end sections. Have not really come down with a shape of the air dam and splitter but most likely somewhat close to the one we saw on an Escort Mk1 on Bring A Trailer recently.

Now what else- installed an AiM digital dash with GPS, installing a LifeLine fire suppression system and looking for a full containment seat. Hopefully will have her completed for the 2022 race season. Planning on a YouTube video for later this year. 
Do we have the only MK2 Cortina with a 2.3 EcoBoost in the world or at least just NA. She will surely be a track monster  with an 1.9 HP/weight ratio- 400 HP with 2200 lb.

See our website: www,elliottracingatlantic.com

Gerald.Elliott2@gmail.com.        Elliott Racing.   Enfield, Nova Scotia

Pictures. We need pictures!

Cool car, look forward to seeing the new front suspension set up

In reply to Racerjiggs :

I'll be watching also. I'm planning a 2.3 Ecoboost swap into a 1978 Mustang II. I'm planning on trying the factory Mustang engine and controls. The engine should be lighter than the 2.3 Lima that the II came with, and the stock 300 HP is double that of the 1978 302 V8!

Does the high pressure fuel pump clear your firewall or will you have to clearance for it?

I had planned on a MX-5 6 speed, but I've already got a T-5, so I'll look into the QuickTime bell.

In reply to 78CobraII :

Had to cut a piece out of the fire wall- about 12 x12". Then made up a recessed box to to cover the cut out section. My problem now to what to do with the new front suspension. Plans are to use a Howe lower control and ball joint plus a Howe adjustable A arm for the upper ball joint. Plan to use a race prepared spindle and hub from Howe or Heidi. Replacing the strut with QA1 Proma Star double adjustable coil over  shocks.
We have been using the Howe lower control arm for years ,by removing the ball joint holder and substituting it with a 3/4" rod end (female part of balljoint). A 3/4" Grade 8 bolt was placed down into the steering , welded in place  for the male part of the balljoint. Welded a bracket onto the control arm to handle the sway bar and another to take the strut rod which goes forward to a bracket on the subframe (adjustable caster). The steering arm is bolted into the bottom of the MacPherson strut.

Why replace the spindle? Because of all the extra stress on the stock spindle which is part of the MacPherson strut, we feel the stock spindle has the potential of failing.

I will send pictures asap.

Racerjiggs said:

In reply to 78CobraII :

Had to cut a piece out of the fire wall- about 12 x12". Then made up a recessed box to to cover the cut out section. My problem now to what to do with the new front suspension. Plans are to use a Howe lower control and ball joint plus a Howe adjustable A arm for the upper ball joint. Plan to use a race prepared spindle and hub from Howe or Heidi. Replacing the strut with QA1 Proma Star double adjustable coil over  shocks.
We have been using the Howe lower control arm for years ,by removing the ball joint holder and substituting it with a 3/4" rod end (female part of balljoint). A 3/4" Grade 8 bolt was placed down into the steering , welded in place  for the male part of the balljoint. Welded a bracket onto the control arm to handle the sway bar and another to take the strut rod which goes forward to a bracket on the subframe (adjustable caster). The steering arm is bolted into the bottom of the MacPherson strut.

Why replace the spindle? Because of all the extra stress on the stock spindle which is part of the MacPherson strut, we feel the stock spindle has the potential of failing.

I will send pictures asap.

Can't wait to see them! 
Also hello neighbour.

Been trying to add photos and text but being rather computer illiterate have no idea how to do it. Anybody want to make some suggestions?

In reply to Racerjiggs :

when making a post, click the little square with mountains in it. There will be a pop up, you click the "Upload" tab and then select the photos off your computer or device to load. You have to do it one at a time. The site does the hosting for you

Finally figured out how to drag the photos of the infamous EcoBoost MK2 Cortina.Now have to see how to add text with the next photos. For an in car video from past years racing see www.elliottracingatlantic.com

Gerald Elliott

That is a beautiful beast!  Can't wait to hear about the performance differential.  Did you take the opportunity to upgrade the downpipe and tune for more boost?  They can make really great power gains with minimal stress to the powertrain if you watch the Ford Ecoboost forums.

Thanks for sharing the build, Gerald, and hope all is going well. 

The QuickTime bell looks like it solves one of the issues with using the T-5 in the Mustang II...that the shifter is too close to the dash with the Fox or T-Bird bell housings. The QuickTime bell looks deeper.

I still have to figure out the high pressure fuel pump however as it looks like several inches will be inside the firewall.

The MII also is a front sump suspension, but there is space behind the cross member with some modification.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Hi Dave

Not sure if you remember me but I was a member of your Daytona Sports Car Club when you started it up until 2015. I was at most of your Roar before the 24 meets and tours.  My wife and I are Canadian Snow Birds and the winter of 2014-2015 was our last season in Florida. I was the old guy roaming around in the electric scooter. We managed to meet at a number of race weekends at St Petes and Sebring. I appreciated our brief chats.

Gerald Elliott

In reply to 78CobraII :

Not sure if the stock Mustang wiring harness will work with the 2.3 EcoBoost- believe I read that somewhere when I was researching the project. You might want to see the wiring schematics . An interesting problem , our crate motor was a 2020 , but we got our hands on a control pack for a 2015 to 2018 including both an engine and chassis harness but the 2020 engine harness would not fit our earlier computer. We switched the 2020 engine harness for the 2015-2018 one. Problem solved. Have for sale an engine harness for both the standard and automatic transmission.

the T5 transmission is much stronger than the Miata, but also depends on the year of  the T5. The early NWC one's are useless, after 1984 the WC are the best way to go , and every year that got stronger. Range 225 to 330 HP, the T5Z being the best. They are fairly rare and expensive . The post T5Z can be strengthened to 275 HP.

In our case we had a T5 built to handle up to 550 HP by 5 Speed Specialities. Case based on a T5 from the SVO 4 cylinder Mustang, with the gear sets made by G-Force.

The differential is a Mini Quick Change made by Winters. We are trying to get a bullet proof drive train to match the 400 HP EcoBoost. Overkill is the manic word.

Gerald Elliott

In reply to 84FSP :

We have a rather unusual exhaust system. The down pipe will be aro7nd 18" long 2.5 inches diameter at the flange then going into a 3" diameter exhaust pipe which is mounted on the passengers side exiting out the of the door. There is an aluminum sub floor over it with 2" diameter holes in the original floor shaped into scoops in and out.No CAT .     Gerald Elliott

This is awesome, that car looks great!