A. YES! For the last time on the turboing the n/a crap, what has to be done, I am going to set this as a FAQ. I know the tranny has to go but the engine yes can handle boost, the internals infact are so strong they can go for over 200,000 mile without even giving out. This has all been said be a mazda tech at the padre ford mazda dealership in corpus. Cast iron is not a weak metel, the internals can handle boost. The head gasket is a different story, the turbo gasket is different in the fact that it is different in thickness and has 2 holds in the upper left hand corner of it, for what perpose I don't know. Guys with dx/lx 6's, If you turbo the n/a it would be a good idea to get a metel head gasket or a turbo gasket. The internals in my n/a are not stock. the rods are crom moly and the crank is from a gt, so as you can guess it can handle some boost. But this is for the stock n/a, I would not recommend turboing a n/a motor unless you have rebuilt. If you have one with over 100,000 miles, I would not turbo it, I would first rebuild it and have new pistons put in-( mine were $250 for the set but you can get some for about 2 bills) bearings ($50-$150) rings ( $60-$110 $110 for total seals). I would also have a head job done, with new valve guide and seal put in, a valve job done and the head magnafluxed to check the integraty and the amout of pressure it can take. Of course all new gaskets and seal put in as well. A new clutch and pressure plate to handle the boost ( or just be smart and get a gt tranny). The oil and water pumps replaced, along with the idoler and tensioner pulleys for timing belt safety, ohh and a new timing belt aswell, if you have not done all this than you sould not even think of turbocharging the motor, just for safety reasons. Another thing is that the motor will put out way more power than a stock n/a and more than a gt, because of the higher comp. ratios. you can also have the block checked for problem and you can also over bore it, and get even more power. The head can be ported and polished, belive it or not, I think the p and p job is the biggest mod in power standings you can do to an n/a, considering that it is the weak spot in power for the f2. The bottem end of the f2 is very strong, in fact the guy ric from
www.racingmazda.com told me that the n/a can very well hold up boost pressure, if a honda 1.8 sohc non-vetc motor can than a 2.2 f2 sure as hell can. So try it, its alway good to try, if you don't you will never know!