2.8L Build Up

[FordHorseman]

Hey Fellaz, I'm in Need of Some Help, although i Do not Own a Ranger or Bronco. I do Have a 1979 Mustang That I Have Been Re-united With After 12 Years.
Pic:
Here's a Picture of me (off to the side) and the Car Around 2001

Any How: I Pondered The Option of a 302 Swap.....But would Like to Stick with the V6 due to Gas Consumption and the Fact that i Would like to Pass it Down to My Son in the Future.
I Have Browsed the Internet.... and This Forum Is By Far the Most Helpful

My Problem is That Most Anything I Look up 2.8l ford comes to Mustang II
Broncos II and Rangers....So Theres Not Really Any Guidance for me

The Motor In My Mustang Runs Fine (Oil Pan/Valve cover leaks).......I'm Curious If I Should Rebuild the Engine With Cam, Have it Port/Polished Vs the Offy Intake and 390 Carb...Or Both??...And What All Would i Need? (forum Here Mentions Dual Spark..But may be for Later Models)...Im Trying to Stay around $1,000.

Thanks For Any Help in Advance!
Now Time to Browse Photo Gallery

 

[RonD]

I would have a read here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2_8L_Performance.html

Many good ideas for the 2.8l

Engine power is based on the amount of fuel/air you can burn effectively per second/minute.
Obviously the more cubic inches you have the more fuel you can burn right off the bat, V8 vs. V6 vs. I4
So a stock V8 might get the same MPG as a modified V6, and may last longer since it isn't modified(less stress on remaining stock parts).
So it really depends on what your ultimate goal is, a Daily Driver with some power when needed, or a "what else can I add to go faster" vehicle to play with.

You are either a "better to be in hock than stock" guy or not, lol.

And some engine modifications don't work as well with automatic transmissions, so if that is what you have keep that in mind.

 

[JoshT]

Don't use gas mileage as a justification for keeping the 2.8L, it would probably be about the same as the 302. If you think it would be cheaper to build a hot 2.8 than to swap in a 5.0L (without rebuild) think again. I did that with an 84 Ranger for sentimental reasons, for what I spent I could have swapped in a nice low miles 5.0L. I totaled that truck and the 86 Ranger I'm replacing it with doesn't have the history, it's getting a V8.

If you are certain that you want to keep the 2.8L then you need to figure out what you want. Basically you can have gas mileage or you can have power, the latter if driven properly might still get okay mileage. For gas mileage you are pretty much looking at a stock rebuild, and maybe the EFI swap that you can find info about in the forums. For performance there are a few parts and mods available that can give good results, but they cost.

For around a $1000 you're pretty much limited to a stock rebuild, if it'll cover that depends on how much of the work you can do your self. About the only hop up that you could with a rebuild on that budget is a mild port and polish, but that doesn't help without the exhaust (headers) and intake (ported stock or Offy) to support it. If your engine is in excellent shape you could look into some bolt on power adders, but I wouldn't throw them on a high miles motor. If you decide to up your budget a bit let us know.

Engine power is based on the amount of fuel/air you can burn effectively per second/minute.
Obviously the more cubic inches you have the more fuel you can burn right off the bat, V8 vs. V6 vs. I4

On paper that's true, in the real work it isn't always. It really depends on the application. The V8 can do the same work as the V6 (obviously), but do it easier so it can burn less to get the job done. It's really going to depend on the driver and what it's being used for. Ignoring the added costs of an engine swap, a stock later model 5.0L can get better gas mileage and have same (or more) power than a fully built 2.8L, and do it for less money. Now if you take that 302 and build it exactly the same as the 2.8L, it might get about the same mileage, but it'll have a lot more power and probably cost more.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Guys with third gens are getting mid 20's with an overdrive transmission and mild EFI 302's so I wouldn't let the milage thing bother you.

With mine it wasn't much more to put in a good running 302 vs rebuilding the stock 2.8. Milage is about the same... but the 302 only has a 3spd at the moment.

A pan gasket and valve cover gaskets don't generally a rebuild on an otherwise good running engine though.

Another thing to keep in mind though is I don't think they made many 2.8 Foxbody cars. It probably won't add value to the car to keep the original engine but it would add to the uniqueness of the car. Going down the line at a car show you would probably be the only car there with that engine.

I have been to the big Mustang rally up in Sturgis twice, never seen a 2.8 foxbody in real life. If it was mine and it otherwise ran good I would throw valve cover gaskets and a pan gasket keeping it as stock as possible and enjoy being the only one there with 1 of not many car with the 2.8.

There is a tech library here that has a ton of stuff on the 2.8, Duraspark is generally stock on the Mustang II/Pinto but I have no idea what you have.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2_8L_Performance.shtml

 

[JoshT]

I don't think they made many 2.8 Foxbody cars.

79-82 Mustang and Capri were the only ones. The motor was used in previous platform of both though, so it wasn't exactly a rare engine in the day. That said I doubt that many kept the 2.8L for long, being swapped out in favor of the more potent 302.

A pan gasket and valve cover gaskets don't generally a rebuild on an otherwise good running engine though.

Wow, I completely read over that bit if his post. If that's all that's wrong with the engine they don't constitute a full on rebuild, just replace those gaskets.

If you can get by with just the gaskets, then you'd have a bit of money for performance parts. External upgrades are pretty much limited to exhaust and intake. I'd start with exhaust, a good set of headers, because stock manifolds will limit all other mods you can do. While the Offy and 390 is a good set-up, it's expensive ( ~$1K) and not the only option. If not touching internals you may be just as well served by a modified stock manifold and a Holley 350cfm 2bbl. I don't think that the 2.8L can fully utilize the 390 without a lot of internal work, but you can probably get away with a mild cam on the 350 carb.

Out of curiosity what do you have for a transmission?

 

[FordHorseman]

The transmission is Automatic.
Where do I get Headers?
I read Ford Aerostar?
I guess I should stick with some add ons
Get the intake done & carb with headers..
Rock it for 10 years ....then father son 5.0 project?

 

[JoshT]

Is it an overdrive auto? One possible improvement I can think of for gas mileage is a transmission upgrade. Supposedly manual transmissions were more efficient than automatics. If you could swap in a 5 speed od trans it might help with mileage some.

Where do you get headers? No clue, I haven't got a Mustang. I've heard about the aerostar manifolds, they were more of a tubular "shorty header" design than the standard log manifolds. Can't tell you how they work or if they will fit a Mustang, honestly doubt that anyone else here can either, you'll have to find a pair and check it out. At one point in time Edelbrock made a shorty header for the 2.8L Rangers, don't know if it will work on a Mustang. I do know that the Ranger shorty style headers would have a better chance of fitting than a Ranger long tube for clearance reasons.

I'd still recommend sticking with a modified stock intake and a 2bbl carburetor or the EFI setup everyone's working on, but if you want to drop the money on an offy don't let me stop you. I'm tired now (12:30 am here) so it'll have to wait until later today, but I have a you might be interested in. I'll send you PM you about it later, I think 85 probably knows the one I'm taking about.

Rock it for 10 years ....then father son 5.0 project?

IMO that sounds like the best part of your whole plan.