Slugstang Current Progress
April 30, 2004
I got a lot to write about today as I have not added anything since 2/13/2004. I resolved the issue with the intake gasket and took Slugstang for her first ride on 2/16/2004. She ran beautifully and the power really surprised me. I was not expecting the little 2.3L to pull like it did. I had ran it with 17psi of boost for about a month and then noticed oil all over my engine bay one day. All the boost and the mileage on the motor has now left me with allot of blow-by which is forcing my dipstick out when I spool her up. I had to reduce the boost pressure to 12psi to keep from blowing my dipstick out. I am gearing up for a rebuild which I will be doing within the next month. I acquired a 92 Mustang and will be pulling the Roller cam and aluminum oil pan to add to the turbo motor. I will also be upgrading my electrical harness again from the 89 harness to the 92 harness as it has the air bag feature. I will also be doing a SN95 style dash and door panel swap as well. I will be wiring in the SN95 passenger airbag into the 92 wiring harness so I will have dual air bags. I will be doing a How-To write-up on the SN95 style dash swap for those interested.
February 13, 2004
I finally got the last items switched over for my Turbo project and started it for the first time on February 6th. I had a problem keeping it running at first till I noticed I had installed the VAM backwards. Every time I would start the car it would suck the VAM shutter closed and stall the engine. Once she was running I began filling the motor with antifreeze which promptly poured out from under my intake. Not sure if I hacked the gasket when putting on the manifold or if I have the wrong gasket. I will be taking the intake back off this weekend to check it out.
January 22, 2004
On the morning of January 16th the motor in Slugstang blew up. I noticed the heat was not working that morning and just after I glanced at the temp gauge which was pegged the motor gave way. The thermostat seized and overheated the car blowing the heads gasket. I ended up getting my turbo motor in the car Tuesday afternoon but I'm still in the middle of swapping the electrical harness and clutch/brake pedal assembly. I hope to have it running late Saturday evening. Here are a few shots of the motor. One just after I got it from the junk yard and the other after the seal-n-shine.
January 14, 2004
Installed the old 8.8 rear from Rustang into Slugstang this past weekend. The install went flawlessly and the car feels much better acceleration wise with the 3:73 gears, however I am now running about a 1000 more RPM on the tachometer. The 88 Turbo Coupe motor arrived Monday morning and all looks well. Just the usual oil leaks from the valve cover and oil pan. I will be performing a "Seal-n-Shine" to the block and replacing the old timing belt while I'm at it this weekend. I'll post pictures shortly of my progress. I have already begun writing up my Turbo Swap How To and will post that along with the pictures.
January 8, 2004
After extensive research on what could be done to the 2.3L engine to boost it's HP I have decided to scrap that route and go the Turbo 4cyl route. I have purchased an 88 Turbo Thunderbird 2.3L turbo engine with the large VAM and E6 exhaust manifold, IHI turbo, LA3 EEC and EEC harness. I have also recently purchased 1988 Grey Mustang Seats for the front and rear and 1985 grey Halo headrests and since the 89 parts car I got was a hatchback and my 85 a notchback, I got grey coupe rear side panels and 3rd brake light for the rear deck. I have stripped all the interior out of the 85 except the dash and drivers seat in preparation for the EFI and turbo swap. I have been driving the little turd to work for about almost two weeks now and compared to my $40 bucks a week F150 Truck I have only filled the tank once which ran me $13 bucks. A sweet improvement in gas cost for my commute into Washington DC. I'll be taking pictures of my progress as I go and posting the usual How To's of each thing I do. Check back soon for more updates.
December 15, 2003
I got a lot to write about today on the new Slugstang project. In addition to the 85 coupe (Slugstang Project) I bought an 89 Mustang hatchback off EBay last week for parts. I will be converting the 85 from a carbureted auto- transmission setup to fuel injection 5 speed setup. Basically my plan is to pull the entire 89 dash, console, tilt steering column, wire harness, computer, engine and transmission, fuel lines, and pedal assembly and swap it into my 85 carbureted Mustang. As of now I have completely removed all the require parts from the 89. I have a business trip this week so I won't get started on the actual swap until I return. I have already purchased a 2 1/2" cowl hood and Saleen style spoiler for the rear of the 85. I will be installing Rustang's old 8.8 with 3:73's and a Pacesetter header for the 2.3l during this fuel injection conversion.