Other than the typical "just burn the courier to the ground" suggestion, does anyone have any ideas / experience with this? I would like some more meat under the hood, but in order to avoid major suspension stress issues caused by a v6, I was thinking aboout using a turbo 2.3 from a thunderbird or mustang. Sound completely crazy or doable? Any and all input appreciated.

its starting life as a 1.8l 4spd manual

 

you're pretty limited...

that truck is all Mazda, and nothing is convenient....

when I read this title I was gonna say, burn the courier to the ground.

The turbo 2.3 might work, but it revs high, and you won't be able to use its RPMs very effectively.

 

I've got a 77 Courier with a blown 2.3 and have thought of putting a 289/302 into it along with the needed drive train. Anyone ever heard of this being done and any suggestions or warnings? Thanks...

 

I had an '83 Mazda B2000 and the only warning would be lack of front suspension and spring rate, and weak brakes if you are going to add V8 power.

Certainly there are better small PU's out there.....

 

73tank, what year Courier? Some Couriers in the early eighties or thereabouts actually came with the 2.3, so the mounts are available. It can be done as almost a bolt-in, I should think. Quite a number of people have put the 2.3 turbo into Rangers, so why not a Courier? I have two 2.3 turbos just sitting, was thinking of building a turbo motor but I don't know what I'd put it in at this point...maybe one of my parts trucks. Well, if you don't do the swap, you could alway burn the truck to the ground...! -TD

 

It's a 77 Courier and it did have a 2.3 in it that went bad. I was just wondering other then the direct bolt up what else would be involved in the installation? Thanks..Steve.

 

I have a friend who sold one about six months ago... he had shoved in 88 or 89 mustang running gear all around. Suspension, brakes, 5.0 powertrain, EFI, the works. It was a TON of fun to drive.... very quick. I believe that the courier is lighter than the modern day mustang...

What my friend did certainly wasn't something everyone would want to embark on, however after two years of working his butt off (all the way to the clearcoat) he had a really fun to drive, original looking truck that you don't see often.

I like weird stuff, what can I say...

 

Well, you would want the complete 2.3 Turbo motor, it has stronger internals than a regular 2.3, maybe the intercooler that was used on some, all EFI wiring, sensors, computer, etc. and someone to help wire it up if you're not familiar with wiring an EFI system into a formerly carb'ed vehicle. The wiring would probably be the biggest hassle, although there might be exhaust clearance problems to sort out. Sounds like fun, keep us posted. -TD