Bring on the power, and then pump the brakes
There comes a time in a man’s life when he has to make a decision…what engine and transmission do you put in your project? And then you have to commit. Two things that have been stereotypically difficult for men.
Well folks, I did both! After a couple years of hemming and hawing, I finally pulled the trigger on a combination I think will work well for a Bronco.
I won’t keep you in suspense, so here are the deets - I ended up purchasing a 2.3L EcoBoost Mustang crate engine and a companion 10R80 transmission made for a Ranger.
What’s that sound? Ah, it’s the chorus of “But whyyy?” Here’s the deal.
In an engine I wanted:
- Something reliable
- Something that was small enough I would have room in the engine compartment to work
- Something modern, like at least fuel injection and OBDII
- Something economical, which leaves out most V8s
- Still, it needs a little fun power
- And something Ford. I refuse to put an LS in a Ford vehicle.
My daily driver is a Focus RS, which just so happens to have a 2.3L EcoBoost (albeit a modified one that makes more power than the Mustang version). And guess what? It checks all the boxes! And it’s available in a crate engine! Once the thought dawned on me, the EcoBoost seemed like a natural choice.
For the transmission, my thought was to get something that I didn’t have to fiddle with too much to make it work. The 10R80 worked perfectly because it bolts right up to the EcoBoost, and it is an adapter away from bolting on the Dana 20 transfer case. Oh, and in came in an easy package deal with the engine.
Interesting side note - I think I may have possibly purchased the very last unit of this engine/transmission combo. After I bought it, the company took the product off of their website, and no where else seems to have it in stock. The Ford Performance site doesn’t even acknowledge its existence. That’s either kinda cool, or a very bad omen.
Now for the bad news.
You’ve probably wondered why I stopped posting any progress. Whelp, due to a major life change, my project now sits in storage. I haven’t decided on its future yet. Of course I would love to take the pieces out again and finish it, but I just don’t know. If someone out there in the universe wants to purchase everything, hit me up on my contact page. I’d be open to it. I would like to continue to have input, and, if you are local, to be able to come and help.
Until then, I hope you will stay and read about my Focus RS, my musings on different topics, and a possible Rivian R2 in my future.