I have a thing for asking strange questions-
I have an 81 Courier with the 2.3l Ford engine, and five speed manual.
Is the bell housing pattern used on this setup common to any other engine, namely the Mustang 200 small 6, or Mercury Capri 2.8 v6? I'm tired of an underpowered four cylinder-

 

Sorry bud...the 2.3 is all it's own bolt pattern.

 

Figures- I did do a quick mod (literally five minutes) that allows me to now accelerate on the highway in fifth gear, and not have to downshift on small hills-
There is a little flap in the air cleaner nozzle, that closes when the engine is off to prevent gas vapors from escaping. Problem is, it closes when the vacuum drops, like when you have it floored, so it goes rich, hurts fuel mileage, and generally makes me hate the truck.
I pulled the vacuum motor, pulled the flap, and put the vacuum motor back in place- Now it actually accelerates up hills in fifth gear, and got quite respectable mileage on the trip home. Time will tell how much better mileage-

 

If that's still not enough for you, you could always go the 2.3 turbo route...

 

Well, I thought about that, but this engine would need to be pulled and gone through, since it burns a little oil already.
Right now, I'm investigating leads on a 200 or 250 and 4speed or maybe 5speed manual- While doing this swap, I would also be lifting the truck about 5" from stock height to fit real tires, so the loss of overdrive wouldn't be a big hit.

 

is there a turbo engine that is a direct swap-in for an 82 courier? i recently contacted a rebuilder to inquire about a reman 2.3L, and asked is it would accept a procharger supercharger, but the guy figured the stock crank might not support that power.

is there a better alternative than a reman, ported, polished, with a s/c? please let me know

 

The 2.3 turbo from the T-bird, Mustang SVO, or Merkur XR4Ti is essentially the same as the N/A Ford 2.3 used in the Courier. The '80s T-bird version is the most common.

The main upgrades to the turbo motors to handle the boost were forged pistons and rods, but I believe they still used the standard cast crank that came in the N/A 2.3 engines, which is a pretty stout unit anyway. There are aftermarket forged cranks available (along with many other HP parts) as these engine are quite popular with the mini-stock racing crowd.

Here's a Courier turbo I found...not quite to my taste, but you get the idea:

laidoutcourier?s 1973 Ford Courier - Pictures, Ratings, Specs, & Modifications ? Mini Truckin Web

 

Dan: what year would you think for an 82 courier? an 82 t-bird turbo? is it a drop-in job? need new motor mounts? was there a year that had bad casting for the block, or anything like that?

appreciate your advice!

bobby

 

Not to overtly promote another forum, but I did find his place a month o so ago:
Ford Courier Collector :: Index

Ford Courier Collector, lots of specific info there. There are a couple of turbo'ed Couriers on there, I'm on there.......

The oil burning thing seems to just be valve seals, so I may go the turbo route. Either that or swap out the engine and tranny for a 2.8v6 from a Capri or a 200 inline six from a Mustang. Who knows, I'm just driving the thing now.

 

Hey Man! Thanks for the amazing link!

bobby

 

Ford has only two crankshafts for the 2.3 lima. Large main journal and slightly smaller main journal. They were all cast and quite strong. Get ready to shell out close to 2 grand for a billit crank.Non turbo engines had cast flat top pistons, where as the turbo engines had forged dished piston. The engine mounting points are the same on all of the 2.0, 2.3, 2.5 lima blocks, so it can bolt right in. The electrical is a little harder.
Another alternative is a 289, 302 V8 with C-4 or 5 speed. I've done them.