Hello all. Recently added to my fleet of projects is a low-mile 1980 Ford Pinto, 2.3L 4spd manual. The car weighs under 2100 lbs but even so, it feels like a dog with this powerplant! This spawned brainstorms about cylinder head & cam options for improving driving range / 1000rpm - 3000rpm performance.

Some 2.3L heads have dual spark plugs, apparently some are DOHC?; there are some recommendations for camshaft selection / rocker selection on Route 66 Hot Rod High's 2.3L page. This page mentions several iterations of 2.3L development: non-roller engines (pre-1989?), 1989-1994 roller cam 2.3L, and 1995-2000 roller cam 2.3L & 2.5L engines. I'm looking for more information about the history of the 2.3L powerplant's development, to make an informed upgrade to the 1980's stock setup.

Thank you all in advance. Ford strong.

 

You should drop that site from your browser saves...
It PURE is fan-fiction.

The 2.3L goes back to the late 60's as an "Industrial" engine and the 1970 2.0L Ford Pinto.
https://performanceparts.ford.com/do...ineHistory.pdf
This is from late 1997, so it doesn't cover the 1998-2001 2.5L SOHC variant.

Heads:
Your 1980 2.3L has the 1974-1980 "Oval Port" heads.
Other than the late (7mm valve stem) Dual Plug head (1995-2001), this is the BEST flowing cylinder head that Ford placed on that platform (up to .500" lift).
I would stick with this set up as the late DP head requires an intake manifold change that will interfere with your distributor cap.

Performance:
Before you do anything, start with a good tune up and timing belt change.
The cam timing is critical and can be off far enough to kill performance while still being able to run.
Verify all alignment marks on the cam, distributor drive and crank.
Make sure all the slack is out from the cam to aux and crank pulleys before releasing the tensioner.
Verify again after the engine has been turned clockwise a few rotations.

Upgrades:
There are a few ponies that can be recovered from friction as well as im,proved reliability by upgrading to a round tooth timing belt (replace all pullies with Junk Yard pieces) and a "Ranger Roller" cam/followers.
Rear end gears make a HUGE difference with this engine - it likes to rev. 3.73:1 ring and pinion minimum.

Don't let anyone tell you this platform is a dog.
Enjoy!

 

Fredness, the information is much appreciated. Thank you for setting it straight & for chiming in! There's a lot of potential in the little car, and strangely very little support / information about them on forums.

 

By 1980 the gearing was set for max fuel mileage instead of performance. If you want more acceleration, look to find an older set of differential gears.
I owned a 74 with a 2.3, and it was geared so the engine had to rev to achieve highway speeds, and certainly could have done better with a 5th gear or OD. I think I got 26-27 mpg one time, with a tail wind going down hill from CO eastward. I regularly beat that in my 85 Ranger with a 2.3/5-speed. The Pinto has a LOT better aerodynamics than a Ranger, but poorer mileage, so that extra gear along with EFI makes a lot of difference.
If you could transplant a later model Lima along with a 5-speed, you'd get better performance along with better fuel economy.
tom