Marine 2.3 Difference

[Lanes dad]

Hi Guys new here to the group is there any difference in the marine 2.3 than a truck model 89 yr performance wise

 

[RonD]

In the late 1980's Ranger 2.3ls went from 4 spark plugs with distributor to 8 spark plugs and no distributor, but the engine was the same except for the extra spark plug holes which could be blocked off
Distributor hole was still there until 1995 I think

So yes you could swap in a Ranger 2.3l engine and bolt the boats intakes and exhaust to it

 

[tomw]

The marine version, to my knowledge, had a carburetor and a slightly different cam. Don't bet the farm on the cam being 'performance' as what you want with a marine application is immediate 'grunt' to twirl the prop.
If you have a broken marine 2.3, you should be able to swap cams as desired. You may be able to detect a different grind. The cam could have a manufacturers part number if it is not a FoMoCo designed/produced part.
If you like, you can use a roller cam follower cam and followers and gain some hp/torque. Again, grind may be different.
I did fiddle with one that had stumble problems when the throttle was pulled wide open from an idle. Carb accelerator pump needed to be 'fattened' as I remember.
tom