I've got an '88 GXL w/blown coolant seals. This summer I want to give it more power. It has a TII trans, hood, clutch, and rearend. I only want to spend about $2k and wanted 200 N/A hp or 250 turbo charged horsepower. Considering I'm doing it myself, how acheivable are these numbers with said budget? I figured the first thing to do is get '89 rotors and housings then port and add some bolt-ons. But a turbo conversion seems like it would be much more costly.
Thanks for any replies,
Chris

 

Turboing an n/a is apparently more trouble than it's worth in most cases. Although, it sounds like you have the equiment to hold it back. If your body is straight, has good suspension, and looks damn, damn good, you may want to look into buying a TII engine and ecu and putting it in. That's about 200hp. With the RB exhaust system and a decent intake you should be closing in on both your marks ($2k and 250). Although, I forgot about fuel mods, so you'll probably lean out and blow something up

If you're rebuilding and porting your engine yourself, then keeping it n/a would be pretty sweet. Throw on a true dual system (Mazdatrix header, shop made straight pipe, and whatever mufflers = ~$500), intake, and then anything else to nab a little extra and you should again be close.

I don't know about either of those goals realistically though. That budget seems pretty tight to shoot for 200 on an n/a or 250 on a converted n/a. Also, I assumed you meant flywheel hp. If you're going for 200/250 rwhp, you're gonna need more $$$$. Remember, plan BEFORE you buy. Either way, let us know your plans and best of luck!