Anyone souped up a 2.8? What were the results? Fun or no fun? I know Racer Walsh sells some cams and exhaust parts. I was looking for a good alternative to the 2.0 . I wanted to stay N/A for simplicity and I want to keep the manual trans maybe even go to a 5-Speed like i did on my Maverick.  I know the 2.8 fits and manual trans are available from Mustang 2 donor cars (I have access to several). I also can have the heads ported, so thats no problem. Is the 2.8 trans to engine bolt pattern compatiblel with any 5-Speeds?
     The other idea was a 2.3 with bigger roller cam and F.I. lower intake converted to 2-BBL carb and ported head. I know the 5-Speeds will be easyer on this project but it's still 30 cubes smaller.  I have an 8" rear out of another Pinto and 4.11 gears for it. 
   It will be going in a 72 model with disk brakes and 4-Speed. I love the friggin car but it needs about 100 more HP.

What is your opinions on this? All would be welcome. Wich ones the better idea?
Thanks
-Aaron

    I live in Fresno CA.  The two Mustang 2s are at my friends shop. ( The Mustang Ranch) I am sure he would ship the parts you want. I'll stop by there tomorrow if time permits and make sure they are still there and are manual trans cars. I was pretty sure one or both were 4-Speed cars. The onely problem is I think they are buried in behind other cars. So it might take alittle work to get to them.
   Still curious about any 5-Speed options though. I wonder if the 5-Speeds that were behind the Ranger 3.0 and 4.0 V-6 have the same bolt pattern? They are the same engine family.....Hmm mmmmm??? Worth checking.
   Thanks for the info.
-Aaron

Any one else have any ideas?

Thanks Demon. I forgot that today was Saturday and that the shop is closed so I'll have to check Monday for the manual trans cars. I think I will be running a 2.3 naturally aspirated with a 5-Speed and 4.11 gears. I have an old Turbo Coup motor and T-5 5-speeds are easy to find around here. I have access to my old ported big valve head too. (Used to have a modded SVO) I still have the roller cam I bought for it. Hell I dont have to smog the Pinto eather because it's pre 1975. So I might get an even bigger roller cam. I have a friend who used to race Pintos who of course loves them. He is also a very experianced head porter. He likes both the 2.8 and the 2.3, ok and the 2.0. In the 70s he had a 73 with the 2.0 with EVERYTHING you could throw at it. Had 11:1 compression huge cam brazed and ported head and twin Delordo 2BBls. It ran low 13s and he made alott of money drag racing it. He has fond memories of a 289 equipped Pinto station wagon he later had that ran low 12s and was a daily driver. He named it the Golden Toad.
He's been a bad influence on me as I now own a 72 Pinto AND his (and mine) other favorite Ford a 72 V-8 Grabber Maverick that is now equipped with a 9" rear 3.70 posi and T-5 5_speed ,ported and decked 69 W heads big cam and every other old school thing you can do to it. I am saving for a 331 stroker and AFR heads. Oh and a Tremec tranny. Funny thing is I get just as many complements for the Pinto as I do the Maverick  
     Any way so how does this combo sound guys? 2.3 (old TC motor with forged pistons) with a T-5, Ported big valve head, 350 CFM 2BBL carb on a FI lower intake manifold. 8" with posi (already have it) 4.11s . I also have a full length headder for a Pinto or Mustang 2  with a 2.3. The crazy Pinto friend I mentioned  gave it to me. I am aiming for 140-160 HP but I am aware that the motor will onely have about 8.5:1 compression when done (Dished TC pistons) But it will leave the option to put all the turbo stuff on later if I get unsatisfied with its performance. I just want it to be able to out run the average ricer witch means low 14s would do. It's no fun in the Maverick to pull up next to them, they will not even look at me half the time. In the Mavs defence it cackles and makes alott of muscle car noises. Even though the 302 is tired and it onely runns mid 13s at 106.
    Any way the 2.8 is also abundent around here and there is a guy who always seems to be going the other way with an early 70s Capri with a wild 2.8 that I watched out run a mid 80s Z-28 repeatedly. I just diddnt care at the time now I cant find him!
     Any experiances you guys have with eather the 2.3 or the 2.8 that you can relay would be helpfull and I love the stories any way so dont worry about long winded posts....Hell I think I just wrote a book here.
Thanks guys.

P.S. My Pinto sometimes makes me feel like I am driving a go-cart with a roof. It's more fun than it should be

Yea, that 2.0 my crazy friend had is the source of alott of his stories. I like to hear them since at 32 years old the 70s are kinda foggy distant memories. The two cars I own are the same age I am. We are all holding up well...heh. My friend wanted to mod the 2.0 and port the head and add a monster cam .near .560 lift and like 245 duration ) he still has lying around but I really would rather have the 2.3 for parts availability, cubes, and the hydrolic roller cam I have is a little .420 lift turbo cam that will run nice and still get good mileage. That 2.3 you had sounds like a good inspiration for me to go with one of my own. I mean I really have alott of parts for 2.3s laying around any way. (Including a motor) The headder is neat looking and the ported head was from my SVO. The guy I sold it to bought an Eslinger aluminum head and wants to sell the iron head back to me for a really low price.  Funny part is he absolutly CLOBBERED me with my old SVO when I was driving the Maverick. I mean all I could do was wave to my old SVO as it ran away from me. I think it's hitting about 350 at the wheels at street gas friendly boost levels (15 PSI or so) It has a Vortech aftercooler and an aftermarket turbo and computer, and 4.10s in an 8.8 with posi. Sadly it weighs more than the Mav. It weighs 3050. The Mav weighs 2840. The Pinto weighs 2220.  I figure that I'll lay the ground work with the N/A 2.3. It should raise some eyebrows.
     Oh and Pintos appear to love spining out! Mine at stock power levels takes some dirt and powerslideing to get started but wow does that rear end come around quick. The short wheel base makes things very interesting and makes them happen very fast. I forgot what the wheel base of the Pinto is but the Mavs is 103" Isnt the Pintos around 90 something?

Yeah, the Pinto likes to change direction. The footprint is nearly square, that is almost as wide as it is long. This makes an unstable little beast. However just like in a Fighter Jet, a little unstable is a god thing. It makes a lively little car. Add in a manual rack & some 205 series tires & the Pinto will nearly roll over before it slides. My car will corner on two wheels (as my wife will testify) I run KYB gas shocks on all 4 corners & an Addco sway bar on the front. My tires are 195/60-14 front 205/65-14 rear Michelin One Touring. The tires are sized for looks & rake, but it still corners like it's on rails! Now if I could get rid of that annoying LT rear brake lockup I'd be in business!!

Thanks for the warning. I might just go to the Racer Walsh catalog for a N/A roller cam. I think they have several. I have a catalog around here somewhere. More lift and duration sounds good to me. I think you can go up to close to .480-.500 lift with the stock length valves. The head has 1.89/ 1.59 Ferea valves so durability will not be a problem. He (Racer Walsh) says it should go to alittle over 7000 RPM with no trouble and make good power. I can use the .420 cam later on the turbo set up if I decide to use it.
 ﾃつ  ﾃつ How strong is that 2.8? What mods does it have? It sounds like fun. I suppose 200 HP would be possible with some porting, compression, and a big cam with good exhaust. It must scream, and have decent torq.

Beleive it or not, my v-6 is totally stock, except for the 71 carb off a v-8, the car only has 62000 miles on it. ﾃつ My first experience with a 2.8 besides the one my friend rebuilt for his ranger. ﾃつ The whole ranger thing had me convinced they were junk, but I figured Id give it a try since we have 6 cyl class. And I was pretty shocked the first time I took it out.
 I was up against 90's grand prix's and grand am's and they weren't a problem. ﾃつ I had my car a little too set up. I could corner like a demon but I fish tailed down the straights. I've got that problem figured out though. If it ever quits raining on saturdays I'll find out if it worked.
 ﾃつ The original plan was to 4 cyl the thing with some of the goodies I had stored, but Since the 6 ran I tried it. ﾃつ Now I'm going to hammer it til it pukes.

if you "pour" the nitrous to that TC block without a turbo it will also kick out some serious horsepower. I think i remember someone spraying a 250hp shot at it with good results!