The Golden Era of Romance

[TravisRice]

Turbo 2300 Ford 4 cylinder to the front. Heres an example of the power that can be made and spank most 385 series, FE engines and small blocks a like........... A local car to me and a frequent competitor in the Pro-stick group here. That's right a clutch car to boot. Ford power baby !!!!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fred+house+turbo+2300+ford+thunderbird&&view=detail&mid=7B06A6ECE9149CFCBFC97B06A6ECE9149CFCBFC9&FORM=VRDGAR

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fred+house+turbo+2300+ford+thunderbird&&view=detail&mid=07AC8ACEDD6E8860429907AC8ACEDD6E88604299&rvsmid=7B06A6ECE9149CFCBFC97B06A6ECE9149CFCBFC9&FORM=VDFSRV&fsscr=0

https://www.facebook.com/ARCracecars/videos/917275351663275/?video_source=pages_finch_main_video

[Heo]

I Tried to sit in a Opel GT a long time ago
When i was not stif as a piece of railroad
track.
It was impossible it just to small. And with
a big V8? You have to be short to fit in it.
My wife have a Kadet Rally coupe. Thats the
Car the GT is built on.I barely fit in that but
A fun car to drive i put a2.2 Opel FI Engine
In that with a 5 speed.
It have only 115 HP but the car wheights
880kg (around16-1700 lbs)

[machoneman]

I often though some time ago that the perfect engine for an Opel was a in-line dual OHC Cosworth Ford. The last versions had the biggest bore/stroke although I forget now the actual CID. The engine would be supercharged with something like a Vortec with a draw-through carb to keep things simple.

Today though I would have a different engine. It would be a Honda S2000 in-line four engine,with EFI, right out of the crate and size wise it should slip right into that small Opel engine bay. Amazingly powerful little beast btw although I shudder to think what a complete crate engine with controls would cost new. 

http://www.jdmspecengines.com/honda-engines/f-series.html

[cammerfe]

Several (!) years ago I bought a new Turbo-Coupe T-bird. And very soon after taking possession of it I was working with Brother Lon on his bought-new '67 Mustang that had had a 427 TP motor put in. We were replacing the brakes with a set of Wilwood discs.

Having done the installation, we took it out to do a bit of pad-bedding. I was driving; had not driven the car for several years.

I was immediately struck with the fact that the Mustang was so much work to drive that it was a bit of a disappointment. Even with the premium brakes the disparity between going and stopping was substantial and the steering was VERY heavy.

Directly thereafter I was driving the Turbo-Coupe and experienced brain fade. I was going far too fast to make the right turn into the sidestreet but cranked the wheel over anyway. I therefore pulled a four-wheel drift---which the car accomplished with aplomb. After shaking my head about the dumb manoeuvre, I realized that the car had made up for it with its superb daily-driver handling. And a quick thought back over my recently-completed experience with the Mustang left me with a big smile regarding how far cars had come over the intervening years.

I'll bow to no one regarding my appreciation for older Fords of most persuasions but let's be realistic about the possibilities. I'm now going through the steps necessary to improve the suspension on my Lincoln LS  ECTA car in order to better balance the go and whoa. And it started out from the factory with cast-aluminium upper and lower arms designed to be able to out-do equivalent bimmers and independent front-and-rear suspension and discs on all corners. They even put the battery in the trunk to help give 50-50 balance.

KS

[Autoholic]

I could put a small block Chevy in it if I was bent on power...

Really, you'd pick a chevy motor...on a Ford forum?

I'm not the kind of guy to put an engine from another brand in a vehicle. Opel is a GM brand, so I'd stick to a GM engine for one. I'd never do an LS swap on a Mustang, and I'd never do a mod motor swap on a Camaro. Again though, I'm not interested in Opel's for sheer power. If I wanted V8 power in a sports car from GM, I'd swing for a '69 Corvette Stingray. I like the "half a Vette" kind of personality of the GT, and I'm fond of the Manta. The Manta has this blank slate, give me a widebody look.