Different strokes for different folks

My 1986 SVO

I know the words Mustang and 4 cylinder don't go together for some, however I've taken a different path.  My interest in Mustangs started in the 80's with my friend's 1985 GT.  Out of the gloom of the 70's cars and their lack of any kind of seat in the pants vroom, this car had some gusto!  I was impressed and being a teenager at the time it was neat to go fast and see a future for factory go-fast cars.  During that time Ford introduced the Mustang SVO and I thought it was very cool....different.  Buick had the T-type/Grand National during that same time and it was a muscle car in it's own right...with a 6 cylinder/turbo combo. American cars didn't have turbo charged engines, as the motto no replacement for displacement was the factor to use when creating horsepower.  The SVO was in a different league and more European in it's design than American.  It had all wheel disk brakes, a turbo 4 cylinder engine and a move in a different direction for Ford and the Mustang. Unfortunately the SVO didn't do well in the American market and was produced from 1984 - 1986 but stopped due to overall cost and unusual combo for the American market.   

Fast forward to now and I own two Mustangs, one is a 1986 SVO and the other is a 1988 LX with  - in excellent condition.  As I fancy the turbo route the original plan for

the '88 LX, which has a normally aspirated and painfully slow 2.3 liter engine, was to buy either a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, SVO or XR4ti. Then swap the 2.3 Lima engine in it's place and move forward with the turbo route to give the car more gittyup.  I read about the Coyote engine however the V-8 route isn't for me when it comes to engine upgrades. The Ecoboost option, for a power supply, is something that is interesting and worth pursuing for a new and plentiful powerplant. Unfortunately there is currently not alot of information, compared to the Coyote engine, available for people seeking to do the same kind of transplant I'm exploring.  I did find a article that was in Road and Track written by someone that used a 2.0 liter Ecoboost engine from a 2013 Focus ST for the engine swap. Another person posted his swap on Youtube with his 2.0 liter Ecoboost in a 1986 Mustang SVO.  Ford does make a controls pack for this sway, which would help out alot on the electronics, however I have not found a suitable K-member/motormounts for the new Ecoboost engine to nestle into the Fox body engine bay.  In the R&T article mentioned that a K-member was developed by Maximum Motorsports and I did reach out to them regarding a timeframe when they might release a production K-member for the swap. According to the response I receive it appears that a production version would be ready next year however nothing on the horizon.  I'll look at other options for the K-member portion of the project and continue on with which engine to use - I think it will be the 2.3 liter Ecoboost.

Ford has the 1.0,1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.3, 2.7, 3.5 Ecoboost engine options with all having their advantages.  The one that most interests is the 2.3 liter Ecoboost that is currently installed, as a option, in the  2015 Mustang.  With 310 hp @ 5500 RPM and 320 lb - ft @ 3000 RPM this would be a great replacement for the 2.3 engine it came with in 1988. With the availability of these engines from wrecked vehicles it makes the swap a option.  

The search now is for all the components to put it together and bring old and new together.  More to come as my goal is to document what it takes to put a 2.3 liter Ecoboost engine in a 1988 Mustang LX and the results from such a swap.