im pretty sure you would need a different trans or atleast a different bell housing. The motor mounts are different if your car was a 2.3 with a/c and has the 20 inch radiator it would prolly work but not 100% sure on that.

The motor should fit in the engine bay.

As for doing the swap me personally i wouldnt i had a 79 with the 2.8 its was aight but well the 2.3 can have just as much power and still get just as good gas mileage if not better and the 2.3 will last forever come on look how long most have lasted already lol.

At the risk of getting 2.8 fans mad at me, I would not bother trying to switch to a V-6.  I used to have a 77 Bobcat w/ the V-6 and it did not seem that much more powerful than a 2.3. The gas mileage was not very good, and the engine is really packed in there so it was hard to work on.  The most positive thing about it was that it ran smoother than a 2.3.
mike

theres a set of 2.8 headers on ebay right now lol dunno if they are really for a pinto or not but they are listed under pinto parts
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD-2-8-V6-CHROME-HEADERS-CAPRI-MUSTANG-2-PINTO-GASSER-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem53e1953c40QQitemZ360266939456QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. A four speed or a T5 with some work. I know a guy with four T5 2.8s.
4. 2.8 front springs, the engine bay wiring harness, rad like you said, fan (and don't think about an electric one, it won't work). There may be a few other things. If you want to talk more, call me. Shoot me an email

pintopower@hotmail.com

I hate typing this much! I'll be out of town a few days but I can talk after the 7th of June.

please no headers, they don't work correctly on a 2.8, I've been there.

They were hooker super comps.
These were full length headers. Each pipe was 1 5/8 to 2.75" at the flange. Two cats and mufflers each side out the rear independently. The exhaust 2.75" all the way to flowmaster, single stage mufflers (which i got rid of also).

 The car went from 130 at the rear wheels to 110. It lost all bottom end  torque and the engine lost its ability to keep cool.
The heat of the headers fried a battery and caused a fire, WITH the heat shield in place.

It had incessant exhaust leaks as the flange would never seal regardless of steel to steel mate, header gasket, manifold gasket etc.

 Since they were full length headers, the trans over heated and required a auxiliary cooler installed along with a heat wrap around the headers (top to bottom).

This caused two things, the heat wrap over heated the headers and caused them to crack and it finally fried the transmission. Then the trans couldn't be pulled since the headers were so tight against it that it would not fit between them.

Oh, lets NOT forget the fact that the oil filter is damn near impossible to change with the headers there.

They are not worth it on anything but a VERY built engine with a 5 speed not used as a car. A race car, ok. A normal car? No. A common misconception with headers is that they ALL make a car get more horsepower. Ok, lets start at the beginning. Headers never add horsepower. They free it up. Some exhaust systems are SO restrictive that the car just cannot breath. So, lets free up some horseys on a 2.8.
Leave the manifolds and run new header pipes to a true dual exhaust with high flow cats and good mufflers. That is all you need. You should free up 20 ponys (or more) there.

As for the headers, the size was the problem, they were to large. The larger the header, the better the high end performance BUT the 2.8 is a high rever to start with. This means the torque curve is higher so it takes low end to get it up to the max torque in the high end. With the huge headers, it lost the low end! How was the high end? I don't know, I was busy looking at the temp gauge at 220 and the white cloud of smoke from the trans spitting ATF on my cats.

In the 10 years my car has had no headers, I have been a happy man with a happy reliable Pinto and a perfect running C4.

My fingers hurt.

"A common misconception with headers is that they ALL make a car get more horsepower."

Also a common misconception is that many people think that BIG pipes = horse power... incorrect,  2.75 inch pipes are intended for motors running 300 horse and up with X-overs to stagger the flow.

From the sounds of what you ran there you actualy placed in pipes that took away the needed air velocity that runs through the pipe to control pressure. For large pipes to work  as you stated you need a HIPO motor that produces gobs of power in the 275-350 range.

2 inch pipes are intended for motors running upto 150 horse.  hope this might help some one who is wondering about pipe sizes.

cheers

78_starsky,
They probably were to large BUT there is really no option for the V6 hooker headers. What you have is all there is. Your idea is much better. Still, you have the heat issue. Plus, where did you get the headers from? The Pinto bay is SMALL and those hookers made some nasty turns to make it out of there.

 No one mentioned the brake booster are they the same v6 or 4 cylinder?