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PostPosted: September 24, 2018, 2:32 pm 
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I have a 67 Triumph GT6 I am working on that has a Duratec 2.3 out of a Ranger. All the fabrication on the car is finished and everything except the body exterior is painted. I am just starting to do final assembly on the car and before i drop the engine in I want to do some performance mods to it.

Aside from the Weber 45s, tube headers, and megajolt ignition, the engine is bone stock. I'd like to put some performance oriented cams in it and up the compression a bit. I have a CNC mill so skimming the head to increase the compression isn't a big deal (not sure about valve to piston clearance).

This is going to be a road going car, so I'm not looking for crazy horsepower numbers. Just want to feel like I am driving a sports car and not a...well....ranger pickup.

Can anyone that's gone before me offer some advice on compression ratios and cam selection?

On a side note, I see that they now make a much lighter flywheel for the Ranger/M50D-R1 combo. Definitely going to buy that!!

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PostPosted: September 25, 2018, 2:04 pm 
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Joined: January 10, 2008, 4:47 pm
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Location: Massachusetts
I don't think you're going to have any problem making it feel sporty. The Duratec is a well tuned engine, I don't think there is anything you can do to it for power without a lot of money. A friend used to dyno these and Zetec for the local Caterham crowd and the 2 litre engines would get about 170 ( maybe it was 170+ ) with some cam timing adjustments.

There's a kit that replaces the oil pun and converts it to dry sump without an external pump and drive. That will let you lower the engine and make it a lot more capable. You can also do something to remove the balance drive, if it has one.

The cam sprockets are press fit on tapers with no keyways.

If you want to open it up, look around for another junkyard motor and use this one till you get the other one going....

I remember my race mechanic friend saying once you open it up your going to spend a lot of money.

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PostPosted: September 25, 2018, 3:18 pm 
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Joined: April 26, 2008, 6:06 pm
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Location: Under the weather. (Seattle)
The Ranger has no balance shafts and the lighter crank, so you're good there.

If you do end up taking the head off anyway, try to find a 2.3L Focus head to replace it. The Ranger 2.3L shared the more restrictive smaller port head with the 2.0L Focus, where as the 2.3L Focus had a higher flowing larger port head.

The mild 'Stage I' aftermarket cams might leave a little room for a slight bump in compression from head shaving, as I know some people also play with cam timing as well with them...Although I have absolutely no idea how much (or little) extra is there. However, I believe the 'Stage II' type cams have little to no wiggle room even for cam timing adjustments without changing to pistons with valve reliefs as well. And if you change out the pistons, then you can simply use them to bump the compression without shaving the head in the first place.

The Raceline wet sump oil pan is a pretty nice piece, and the exchange rate is pretty favorable on it still. Otherwise, I believe the Focus oil pan is at least a little lower profile than the Ranger oil pan, and has been used successfully in these cars as well.

Personally, if not doing a full build on it, I'd leave it stock internally. At most cams, and maybe valve spring as necessary.

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PostPosted: September 25, 2018, 6:26 pm 
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Joined: November 6, 2011, 5:06 am
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I believe the Ranger pistons are dished which is why the compression is slightly lower than that of the Focus. I might pull the head off to see if there's stock available to skim cut the head without getting interference. It would be nice to have around 10.5:1 compression and run the stage 2 cams that Crower sells.

The stock Ranger oil sump actually turned out to be perfect for the swap because it clears the front cross-member. I can't drop the engine any lower because the transmission would hit the frame (which converge to only a few inches apart...not really sure what Triumph was thinking on that one.). The bottom of the sump is even with the bottom of the frame so I am happy there. Also happy that the hood clears without modification.

Attached are some old pics. I'll attach current pics once final assembly is done on the chassis and driveline.


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PostPosted: September 25, 2018, 8:49 pm 
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Joined: February 28, 2009, 11:09 pm
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Location: Connersville, Indiana
Not to worry about the car feeling like a Ranger. The stock Ranger engine will feel like a rocket up to about 6,000, where it will start to sign off and be done by 6,500, even though it will rev to 7K. Don't spend any money on the Ranger head. As mentioned, it has 2.0 ports and an intake cam that was used only on the Ranger engine. It is the major reason the engine signs off so soon. But it is very good up to 4,500 or so. Try using one of the Focus 2.3 heads. The way it will get you down the street, even with stock cams, will amaze you.

Bill


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PostPosted: September 26, 2018, 4:13 pm 
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Joined: November 6, 2011, 5:06 am
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Thanks for the tip on the 2.3 Focus head. I am definitely going to do that swap before i get it running and start tuning the carbs and ignition. I'd love to put at least the stage 1 cams in it, but will wait til after i have it running.

I'd really like to hit about 175 crank horsepower with this setup. Not sure how reasonable that is, especially since I likely took a power hit by going with the carbs.

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