Hi! 79 2.3 draw-thru rebuild ideas and help with vaccum hoses!!

[colonialmotion]

Hi everyone!
i bought this 79 pacecar in Dominican Republic..
the car runs ok but the vacuum tree is a mess,
and also ive been trying to clean up the engine bay..
since the sensors were all unplugged i ripped all that crap out
also there was a couple things on the intake manifold that looked like vacuum hoses went to before and capped all that off too... the pic shows i also capped off something that looks live a pressure release valve... i hope someone here can tell me what that was and if it needs to go back in..

i also want to rebuild the engine because it leaks oil everywhere and blows white smoke really bad... i wanna put new rings, rebuild turbo, new carb (or rebuild) and new valves.. if i should do more please tell me!
i wanna keep the engine carb because i like this unique setup!

Heres some mods im thinking on doing:

- Entire exhaust in 2.5 stainless steel because its cheap here! or i think it is anyways.. 6 or 7 bucks a foot including labor..

- 8.8 rear (found one out of an 84 GT)

- Svo sail panels (like toms pacecar haha)

- Lower it 1, 2, 3 inches.. (not sure)..

- Shave all those useless holes in the engine bay

- Lookin into the water/alky inyection...

- Cold air intake into the fenderwell

- in dash dvd player with 5 inch screen

- 17 or 18inch wheels, havent made up my mind because 18 inch are cheap here but in 4x100/4x114 they make them fit with a dremel, drill, hacksaw, ect.. but doesent sound that safe... then the 17 inch ponyRs are nice but only shipping to here will be $200!! ($50 per wheel)

- four eyed pride stickers (one on each quarter window)

there are really good turbo shops here but i read this turbo needs carbon bearings or something.. it would be nice to know where to get a rebuild kit for the turbo and the engine too!
well sorry for all the writting!! heres the pics!
im open to any ideas you guys offer me!!!
thanks everyone!!!

[Syco Stang]

Nice to see a '79 Pace Car alive and well in The Caribbean! It looks like a solid car you've got there, how is it underneath?
Are those body side mouldings faded or removed? Do yourself a favour and get a few cans of Satin Black paint and go over all the proper trim, it will really make the car come back to life. Just scuff it up with some burgundy Scotch Brite pads and spray the paint on. That car will look really nice with a little clean up!
I can help you with some of the questions you have, but I'm no 2.3T guy so I will secede to those more knowledgable on these subjects.
A 2.5" exhaust will definitely help, but you should at least get a 3" downpipe. You probably don't have to run a catalytic down there, a 2.5" exhaust after the downpipe will be perfect.
'84 GT's did not have 8.8 rear ends stock, so it was either an 86 GT or someone swapped in an 8.8 into the '84 GT.
SVO sail panels would look awesome, add it to the above mentioned trim painting.
I don't know how the roads are in the Dominican, but unless you're going to do some better quality suspension pieces to match them I would not lower it more than 1.25". Upgrade your front and rear sway bars to the 87+ GT parts, install some KYB GR2 shocks and struts, polyurethane sway bar end links, and offset steering rack bushings should round it out well. I strongly suggest some more modern tires, as that is the most important part of the suspension!
I'm with you on getting rid of all the swiss cheese.
Be careful with water/alcohol injection. It will have to be installed after the turbo, so it will have to be more pressurized than your boost level to overcome it. You cannot install it before the turbo, as the impeller blades will break over time because they'd be getting cut by the water. If you're going to upgrade the turbo, I strongly suggest first finding a stock 2.3T EFI setup. I don't think that draw through set up will work that well, and most people steer away from draw through carburated turbocharged 4 cylinders. The 2.3T EFI has a lot of potential, and this is from my limited experience with them. It seems like the logical choice to me.
CAI will help, but you would have to get a new air cleaner lid as that is first going to suck in all the hot engine bay air.
I don't know where you'd mount the 5" screen but post up pics of the install.
Wow, $200 to ship wheels is a deal. It costs me $200 easily for four wheels, and with you they have to go over water! I have a friggin land border! You would be crazy not to install the 17x8" PonyR wheels!! Then you can round out your suspension with a nice set of 245-45-ZR17 tires all around.

Best of luck with the project, I'm sure we'd all love to see more pics of this beast! Welcome to the site!
SS

[colonialmotion]

Hi Syco Stang!! thanks for all this info!
about shipping the wheels i have to pay shipping to miami then a company
in miami ships to dominican republic, so im paying double shipping actually...
the in dash dvd is regular sized behind an then has a big faceplate so it fits in a standard
dash opening.. i will post a pic as an example...
man that sucks if that car isnt 8.8!!! i heard if its got quads its 8.8!!
i took a pic of the quad and will post below as well...
i have the vin # to the car i found in a junkyard here...
#1fabp28m7ef171880, the vin decoder says:
302 CID 8-Cyl (5.0L), 1984, Ford Passenger
Dearborn, MI.... i guess its a GT... maybe im wrong...
that sucks because foxbodies in this country are a needle in a haystack..
i was gonna get that rear end for $100 bucks..

i took the mouldings off because some were pealing off... they are all bent.. i read up on how to restore them taking the metal out but they say it makes them shrink so not sure im gonna go that way...

also i did spray paint the bumper and hood temporarily but im not gonna put much effort into it because im going to paint it as soon as i finish fixing a couple things here and there.. its gonna cost me like $700 dollars to paint it in a decent under a mango tree body shop.. lol
the underneath is not that bad, the frame and everything is solid, a little rust under the battery but i think thats normal, the only thing im not happy with is that below its all banged up but its normal in a country with so many potholes... plus the old owner lived in the country side, no asfalt and lots of big stones in the middle of the roads...

thanks for the interest in my car!!
here in dominican republic all people care about is riced out hondas and toyotas
so i dont really get to talk about my car much here... lol
hopefully ill have it ready in a few months!
radio/dvd i wanna put in it

84 mustang with quads, i thought that meant 8.8... maybe not