You can put a later 2.8 V-6 in , after all Ford kept importing the engines, into the late 80's. Merkur Scorpio for example. If you do any other swaps you will have to change the bell housing etc at least. As for the Chevy 4 banger which engine ? The quad 4s where computer controlled. You could just do a Ranger 2.8 and up V-6 without having to make any real changes.I do not know if the 4.0 the latest and greatest V-6 will fit.You could use a same year V-8 without to much trouble because the V-6 had heaver springs in the front , rear  and 8" rear end etc.The only thing would be the exhaust headers etc. I think the engine mounts are similar.
As a side note 2.8 heads are still out there and so is the rest of the parts for a rebuild it might be more cost effective to get uncracked heads and rebuild the engine.

Thanks for the input on my questions.
I know that there will be some modifications for any motor swap to some degree. I really don't want a v8 the v6 fills the engine bay as it is so I would assume a v8 will only make things more difficult to access. I am looking more toward simplicity and ease of service than lots more hp.
I have been looking into the difficulty of installing a Chevy 153 or mercruiser 181 4cyl into the pinto. These motors are basically a 250 in line 6 with the two rear cylinders removed from the casting. They use the same bell housing as a small block Chevy so trany selection is wide open. Very durable motor with lots of aftermarket support. Anybody ever considered this swap??   

(What transmission do you have it it trhe C3?)
It has a c4. But I would like to go with a T5

(johnbigman2011
I have a complete 2.3 and trans sitting in the garage that I could make you a good deal on.. Are you close to Houston Texas by chance?)
Thanks for the offer jonbigman2011 but I am in northern Ca.

johnbigman2011,
Is the motor in your avatar in a wagon? 

johnbibman2011,
How do you like the turbo motor in the wagon? What were the problem areas in the swap? Is the motor fairly easy to access for maintenance? Would you do it again?

The 181 Cid 140 hp Mercruiser engine is based on the old 153 Ci Chevy that was used in the 60's in Chevy II and Nova. It is basically a 250 Chevy straight 6 with the last two cylinder castings removed from the mold. It uses the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the small block so almost all GM trany's from powerglide to t-5 will bolt up to it. The Mercruiser is a heaver duty version with more counterweights in the crank and a better flowing head with individual intake and exhaust ports instead of the Siamese style on the 153 head. This engine has been used quite a bit in the oval dirt track racing circuts that limit the Ci displacement of the engine. The motors are very durable and have no issues with cracking heads, overheating or oiling problem's. The Mercruiser is rated at 140 hp @ 4800 rpm in a boat application but with a few modifications 200 hp could be possible. Clifford products and others make aftermarket headers and intake manifolds for this engine. With some modifications you could even install a small block Chevy head on this.
I was looking for a simple yet reliable motor for my wagon and ran accost this thread in another forum.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=651235&showall=1
I don't know what modifications would be needed to fit this in the pinto but it seems like it would offer a very good alternative to the Ford options.
Would like to get some feedback on this.

75Wagon 2.8

I think the Mercruiser they are talking about is the 3.7 liter(230 ci) 470 series 4 cylinder inboard engine. It is based on the internals of the 429/460 Ford in a Mercruiser aluminum block. The heads, pistons, rods, timing chain, lifters and flywheel were off the shelf Ford Big Block parts(well the flywheel was a 5.0). Only the block, crank, water pump and cam were unique to the 470. They were rated at 150-188 hp. And they bolt up to a Chevy smallblock bellhousing. With an aluminum 460 head the whole motor weights about what a 2.3 does and can be made to make about 300 hp naturally aspirated(oh, with 300-400 ft lbs of torque from 2000 to 5500). It's a very big four cylinder


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To give you an idea of the level of power available I would point out that the manifold on the right carried a spread bore Q-jet 750, the same carb GM used on a lot of engines over 400 ci. And that's before you mount a Boss 429 head on it, a Sawed Off Shotgun, so to speak! Sounds like fun to me.


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