2.8L transmission

[brew74]

I have a 2.8l engine that i am going to be putting into a little ratrod driver, but i need to figure out what kind of transmission i can put behind this engine. i can find all sorts of manual trans in Bronco II but they are all 4wd. I need a 2wd auto or manual trans prefferbly a non electrical model. My engine has a offenhauser 4 barrel manifold with a holly carb and edelbrock ex. Can anyone tell me what model trans i am looking for or what vehicles i need to be looking at and what year and engine combos.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

For a ratrod you probably want to go manual look in the tech section here. Parts are hard to come by as most first gen rangers are all still running or have been crushed. Your best bet woud be a two whelel drive manual 4 cyl ranger as a donor vehicle for all the clutch parts.

 

[brew74]

so what Liter 4 cyl am i looking for for a manual trans with the same bell housing as required for the 2.8 already have a starter, flywheel, clutch disc, and pressure plate and the aluminum filler-inspection plate

 

[stegomon]

Any 2wd trans from a 2.8 2.9 or 4.0 will work. No 4 banger wi,l bolt up. You can also get one from a 70s pinto or mustang 2.

 

[stegomon]

Also if you are pushing over 160hp. I think you should go with m5od from a 2wd ranger from 1990 to 2012 or a sploder from 91 to 02. Some mustangs from the late 2000s with 4.0 may have a 2wd 5 speed. And I think some of 2wd areostars may work. With the 4.0. There may be more but not sure.

 

[brew74]

So Stegomon let me get this right any Manual 2wd trans from a 2.8, 2.9, or 4.0 will bolt right up, and from what i know there is no way to run a automatic from the newer 2wd truck because of the Electronic shift. I am kinda thinking about going Auto because the woman cant drive drive a stick. '

 

[stegomon]

You may be able to get an a4ld from like 85 or 86 2wd. Or get a c4 trans and put on a c5 bell housing on it.

 

[JoshT]

Stegomon gave you some good info. The The M50Ds will work and are great in a truck, but IMO they aren't geared quite right for a car. I'm not sure about the A4LD, wasn't the Torque converter lockup controlled by the computer? There may be a way around this, I'm not an auto guy so never looked into them much. The C4/C5 are good options that definitely aren't computer controlled. The easiest to acquire would be the C5, they came on some rangers, the C4 parts (which can also be used for C5 swap) came from a 70 mustang so they're getting a little harder to find these days. For more information on them check out the transmission section in the tech library.

putting into a little ratrod driver

I am kinda thinking about going Auto because the woman cant drive drive a stick. '

Those right there are enough of a reason to go with a stick. To me a ratrod needs a manual trans, it's your build so make it yours, but for me no stick = no rat rod. If I were to put the time and effort into building a ratrod I wouldn't want my woman driving it. I made it mine, if she can't drive a stick no chance of her making it hers.

As I mentioned earlier I'm a manual transmission guy, even if I am stuck with autos at the moment. I had built up a 2.8L in my 84 Ranger with a manual transmission. It had the Offenhauser intake, Holley 390, long tube headers, Comp Cam (low-mid range), and mild port & polish done on the heads and intake. The Toyo Koygo (mazda) 5 speed behind it had seen better days and lots of new drivers. Since this truck was going to be a lowered street truck I didn't really want the truck gearing I would have gotten from a Ranger transmission. I knew I wanted a car trans that had a short throw shifter option. Pretty much came to the decision that a T5 was the only option, which at the time meant collecting a lot of scarce parts from a 70s Mustang to make it work. Then Ford did us a huge favor. The 2005-2009 (or 2010) Mustangs got the same 4.0L as the Ranger, and Ford decided to put the T5 behind it. They gave all of us Cologne (the 2.8, 2.9, 4.0 engine family) guys a readily available 2wd performance oriented manual transmission.

I never got a chance to do the swap myself. Totaled the truck with less than 5000 miles on the motor. I saved the truck to put the motor into another body, but found a V8 donor before I could get started on the swap. Someday I'll get my hands on one of those transmissions and build some sort of small rod around this motor. That or I'll mate it to a VW transaxle and build a military style dune buggy around it.

 

[Lil-Pony]

I personally would do a c4/c5 or you can rebuild a c5 to be even stronger and not worry about the c4

 

[brew74]

JoshT thanks for the advice. I have located a automatic trans from a 91 2wd ranger that has a 4.0 in it but being that i have a carb'd engine is the trans in the 91 electronically controlled in anyways or is it a c5 ?? Sorry for all the questions i am a Diesel fanatic this gas/ranger stuff is still new to me :-(

 

[adsm08]

Look for an 88-90 2wd Ranger V-6 stick.

It will bolt to your engine, be 2wd, and the only thing "electric" on it is the switch for the backup lights.

I have one that I could stomach parting with, but it would 100% have to be in trade for a 4x4 M5OD.