1989 2.3 NA buildup...need some suggestions

I've learned thta by the time you spend the money on N/A mods, that you could buy a turbo motor and set that in the place of your N/A and still be decently quick stock. Then add your exhaust and intake, and add some boost, and a few other things, and you can hang or maybe even beat(depending on what mods you do and what they have) your "brother's" cars.

I think it depends on what tools you have and how much knowlege you have. If you are looking for N/A power, most of it is hidden in the head. Pull that head off and expect to put about 30 to 40 hours into it with the grinder. Port the crap out of it. Then take it to a machine shop and mill a lot off.. not too sure how much, but look into that. Then, definitely go with a long-tube header (yes, that's Pacesetter). Also, look for a cam from a 91-93 Mustang or a similar year of Ranger. They have a roller cam, which is slightly better than your stock slider cam. Or better yet, get an aftermarket cam. You can't go too big because you have the speed density setup, but still, you can improve over the stock cam.

svt's right, though.. turbo is the way to go for best bang for the buck. I did a turbo engine swap and my insurance is exactly the same. Who says you have to tell them what you did?

Poke around in the scrapbook on my website if you want some pictures of my ported heads.