>2. A Pinto/Mustang 2.3L 4 cyl. engine has been installed, but not
>very well. Has anyone seen a decent conversion? How was it mounted?
>
>This is just a project to soak up my spare time for the next year
>or so. Any help would be appreciated.
I guess Frank Marrone has finally flushed me from hiding and I must now
finally admit my Alpine is not Sunbeam powered.
Over a decade ago I started out with my Ser V Alpine as a restoration
project. The 1725 cc spun a rod bearing (a very common occurence I was to
later find out) only after about 3 weeks of service. I was a teenager with
little money and could ill afford to rebuild the Sunbeam engine. The
crankshaft was shot, and the rest of the rebuild job far exceeded my budget.
I also realized that it was quite probable that it would happen again even
if I did rebuild the engine. The Alpine was all I had to drive at the time
so I had to have something more reliable and less expensive to maintain.
The answer to my problem came in the form of a wrecked 1971 pinto with a 2.0
liter engine. I installed this engine in 1984 and ran it until last year.
The little 2.0 liter was tough and survived the hazing that all teenagers
put their cars through, but after years of service and a lot of fun miles,
the engine was smoking, burning oil, and transmission howled horribly from
spent bearings.
Instead of repairing the aging 2.0 liter, I decided to go the next step and
in the Spring of 1995 I installed a 2.3 liter Ford engine and 5 speed
overdrive transmission. The car is reliable, fun, and can maintain
sustained interstate speeds (not a high priority in Alabama but nice
neverthless) without difficulty. Parts are available and cheap, and the car
runs much stronger than the stock 1725 engine.
I'll give you a quick rundown of how I converted my Alpine into a Ford
powered car.
The Donor vehicle was a 1980 Ford Courier truck with the 2.3 liter Ford
(not the mazda) running gear. To the best of my knowledge all 2.3 liter
trucks came with a 5 speed tranney.
Engine mounts - consist of a flat pancake type mount that came out of a
1971 pinto. The mounts have a stud on each side that allow for easy and
simple mounting.
Steering - no modification were required to the steering (though it's real
close in places). The steering arm on the driver's side does bump the oil
filter (even if you use the short one) so a oil filter relocation kit would
be a good idea.
Intake manifold - clearances between the steering box and the intake
manifold are really, really TIGHT. On most 2.3 manifolds of the 1980's
vintage there is a plate on the end of the manifold that goes into the water
jacket in the cylinder head. Water flows through this end plate, preheats
the intake manifold, and then makes it's way into the head. The hose
supplying the manifold is one from the heater. The end plate that comes
with the engine is bulky and sticks out for no apparent reason. Removed the
original end plate and make a flat one. Drill a hold in the center of the
plate and tap to install a threaded connector that accepts a heater hose.
The connector needs to be at a 90 degree angle to conserve space. The
flatter plate gives you precious room between the intake manifold and the
steering box.
If you're running a weber carb (which is what comes one most 2.3's) you'll
find that the large factory air cleaner gets in the way of everything.
Victoria British offers an air filter for the Weber DGV's that, with some
slight modification to the bottom plate of the air filter, will fit your
weber. It'll look good and give you performance and accessibility to the
rest of the components under the hood (master cylinder, dipstick, etc). The
air filter is a Long Flo and the part # is 3-442 from my "Catalog of Sprite
& Midget Accessories & Parts". The catalog number is SM.18. It's the 1995
spring edition. This air filter is for the Weber conversion kit that fits a
Midget. This filter is short and helps on hood clearance as well.
Oil pan - I guess you've found the oil pan wants to bump the frame. Trim
the flange on the frame as much as possible. It still won't be enough so
what I did was heat with a torch and put a groove or recessed area in the
pan to allow for clearances. I would heat the metal and then fold over and
compact with light taps from a hammer. The depression was made on the
driver's side of the engine, away from any internal components. After I was
satisfied I had enough clearances (after pulling the engine in and out a
couple of times) I brazed the pan up with a brazing rod and repainted the
pan to hide my hideous crimes. Blue Ford engine paint hides many sins.
cooling - I used the original sunbeam radiator, however, a fan would not
fit on the end of the water pump pulley. To solve this I installed an
electric pusher fan in front of the radiator. It's thermostatically
controlled which allows for quick warm ups (something unknown in the
original engine). Get your radiator in top shape because you are pushing it
pretty hard to cool the larger engine on a hot day. I've had no problems
with the clean radiator, however, I feel with extended idling the car would
overheat. I've driven it on several trips (over 150 miles) and had no
trouble at all. It definitely gets hot enough in Alabama to test a cooling
system so I think everything is going to work out ok. If you do much town
driving, a 3 core radiator conversion(a good radiator shop can do this)
might be advisable.
transmission - the transmission mounts are nothing special and are simple
to make. I used a chevy transmission mount (very common, fits all the three
speed straight shift chevy's of 60's and 70's vintage).
The transmission itself is of Japanese manufacture (Mazda built the
Courier for Ford) and lends itself exceptionally well to the car. Very few
mods to the tranney tunnel were required. The shifter, unbelievably comes
out of the correct hole in the floor board. It sits approx 1" farther back
than the original shifter. If you're having tranney problems, this one
really works out well.
clutch - I stuck with a hydraulic set up. The courier came with
hydraulics and I just transplanted the clutch master into the Alpine.
starter - the starter is on the rear of the engine on the courier. To
solve clearance problems I cut the section of the tranney tunnel from the
courier that was over the starter and transplanted it into the alpine. I've
had some problems with the started wanted to turn slowly when the engine is
hot. Upgraded to a high amperage battery and installed heavier battery
cables and have had not problems since. I am considering putting a heat
shield over the starter to prevent the exhaust pipe from excessively heating
the starter.
gas pedal - I used the cable, pedal, and linkage from a Mercury Bobcat of
early '80's vintage (most any ford car that came with a weber and a 2.3l
will work).
fuel pump - the mechanical pump that came with most 2.3 liter
engines will not clear the frame in my series V car. I installed an
electric fuel pump in the trunk to keep it out of the already cluttered
engine compartment.
Got rid of the wire wheels and went with a set of Aluminum slot Ford
mustang wheels from the mid '70's. Gives it kind of a "Tiger" look and
better stability with the 6" wheels.
I also keep and maintenance log on all my vehicles and I've been careful to
store all parts numbers and where they came from on the Sunbeam. I've
included a copy of the parts section of the sunbeam maint.log in hopes that
it will be of help to you:
>1966 Sunbeam Alpine
>Running Gear:
>1980 Ford Courier VIN # SGTBXK-25242
>
>Engine: 2.3 liter ford (1980 Ford Courier)
>Transmission: 5-speed manual overdrive of Japanese manufacture (1980 Ford
Courier)
>
>Ignition: 1978-80 Mercury Bobcat
>Ignition module: ST'D #LX203
> B/W #CBE7
> NIEHOFF # FF402
> PARTS MASTER 4-3002-V
>Distributor: 77-80 Bobcat, Pinto, and non-turbo Fairmont w/2.3 liter
> Best Test #55-2009
>Spark Plug Wires: Rockhill 2970 (1978 Pinto w/2.3 liter)
>Spark Plugs: Autolite #765
>Ballast Resistor: Standard Part #RU-11
>
>Carburetor: Weber 2bbl from 1980 Mercury Bobcat
> Motorcraft Carburetor #D7EE HA
> A 6 G 23
> United Carburetor Rebuilt #7-7530
>Carburetor Kit: Standard Motor Products Hygrade Jiffy Kit # 969 J9
>Carbunretor Linkage: I used the cable, pedal, and linkage from a Mercury
Bobcat of early '80's vintage (most any ford car that came with a weber and
a 2.3l will work).
>Fuel filter: Fram G2 (in trunk at fuel pump)
> Fram G22A (at carburetor)
>PCV Valve: Standard #V203
>Air Filter: LongFlo from Victoria British. It's the air filter that
goes with the MG Midget Weber Conversion Kit. The part # is 3-442 from my
"Catalog of Sprite & Midget Accessories & Parts"
>Oil Filter Fram PH16
>
>Oil Capacity 5 qts
>Oil type Pennzoil 5-30w (winter)
> Pennzoil 10-40w (summer)
>
>Voltage Regulator (Chevorlet)
> ST'D #VR103
> B/W #R281
> NIEOFF #DR153B
>Alternator: Rockhill #7058 (late 70's Ford)
>Fuse Box: 1957 Pontiac Station Wagon
>
>Cooling:
>Radiator: Ser V Sunbeam Alpine
>Thermostat: Gates #33258
>Thermostat housing gasket: Felpro #35114
>Upper Radiator Hose: 1980 Ford Courier
>Water Pump: Precision #348 (1980 Ford Courier)
>Lower Radiator Hose: Universal Fit
>Cooling Fan: 9" Electric pusher cooling fan
>Cooling Fan Thermostat: Universel fit (adjustable)
>Fan Relay: Four Seasons #35777 (Late Model GM blower relay)
>Heater Control Valve: Four Seasons 74627 ('69 Ford Truck?)
>Cooling Recovery Kit: Champ # CSL 9-1663
>
>Engine Mounts: Pancake or Hockey puck style - 1971 Ford Pinto
>Transmission Mount: Anchor #2378. Late 60's Early 70's Chevy transmission
mount for three speed standard shift. Very Common.
>Clutch Slave Cylinder: 1980 Ford Courier
> Rebuild Kit: Wagner F103501
>Clutch Master Cylinder: EIS #E98254 (1975-78 Toyota Truck)
>
>Differential: Stock Ser V Sunbeam w/3.88 gear ratio
> Wheel studs: Dorman # 610-157
Terry Geiger
Florence, Alabama USA
'66 Sunbeam Alpine - a.k.a. "Puff the Magic Dragon"; named so because
everytime you shift gears she puffs smoke.
'67 Sunbeam Alpine - just for parts, just in case
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 09:23:04 CDT