The Merkur and the Turbo Bird had the exact same
2.3 engine (originally a pinto power plant)....but
there was no room for an intercooler in the Merkur,
thats why they dont make as much power. Another
variation, and the fastest, is the SVO Mustang,
which had a bigger throttle body, among other things.
The 2.3 was never what you would call a smooth engine
in the Japanese tradition, but they are sturdy.
Roush Ford has many fast parts for these engines.
As far as the Merkurs being troublesome, yea, they
fry turbos if you dont idle them after a fast run,
and the early ones have wierd electrical problems,
and parts are terrible to find, but they are actually
pretty cool cars. GRM had a good article on them
a few months back. My Brother in law, who screws
together Vans at FORD Lorain assembly plant has
an XR4Ti, and also the rare big Sedan, the Scorpio.
The Scorp compares well with a big BMW or Mercedes
as far as ride and creature comforts. The pushrod
german ford V-6 is pretty slow though.
But, if I had a roadster, and needed a new engine,
and didnt have a lot of bucks, I would go with
a L-series Datsun. I picked up a L20B, with
NISMO guts and dual 2X 44mm mikuni carbs,
hooked to a 280ZX 5spd, with low miles on it
for 1K. Look on the 510 sites, there are a lot
of good L series out there. They almost got
to fit in easy, they just look like they would.
BTW, as many of you have heard before in my
ramblings, my L20 is eventually going into my
1972 510 wagon, just to be a sleeper
rice boy beater.
Roadster Content: Fixed the pesky very slow
brake leak today, and completly bled all
brake lines. Taking care of all my little
gripes on the car while waiting for my
clutch, water pump, head gasket kit,
and other stuff to get here.
Best Regards,
Jim Cawrse
Chesapeake, Virginia
67 pushrod 2L 5spd
72 510 sportwagon
----- Original Message -----
From: datsunmike
Sent: Saturday, May 11, 2002 7:35 AM
To: SLBESQ@aol.com; Tomet9@aol.com; datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Quest for easier fit engine
Yep, but they're pretty rare. I think they were made in 84 or so. The first
SVO Mustang and the first with quadra shocks in the rear. The Merkur used
the
same engine also but we'll leave that troublesome car where it is - in the
junk yard.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: SLBESQ@aol.com
To: datsunmike@nyc.rr.com ; Tomet9@aol.com ;
datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Sent: Saturday, May 11, 2002 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: Quest for easier fit engine
In a message dated 5/10/02 2:18:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
datsunmike@nyc.rr.com writes:
How about the 4 cylinder supercharged engine from a TBird? Real cheap and
easy to get parts for.
Mike
the 2.3 inline 4 is plentiful enough. in the t-bird iteration making 180
or
so HP. but the same engine in the SVO (to 1986) mustang with large
intercooler made 220+.
s
67.5MIZU
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