1978 engine swap v6 to???

Kgeek,
For what market was that car intended? IMHO it should not have points if it was a US market car. Available? I found Autoline D4028 is a 2.8 duraspark on rockauto
I sure would love to get this issue sorted out. There seems to be limited replacement parts for the 2.8 Cologne. I want to be confident that I can keep the engine running long term before I go much further with it. It runs for now but who is to say that I might need a head, water pump, pistons or rings a year from now. It is so easy to get anything you might want for a small block chevy. I want a 2.8 v6 though!! Go figure
 
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Item # 8066 from wild horses is an oil pan that should work. C4 bellhousings are all the same or the same enough to work for your swap. What on a mustang II would require a specific bellhousing? The car was sold with a 302 and C4 so you should have no trouble finding parts. I see 4 bellhousings on google for C4 all should work one is a safety scatter shield. Like to see you get that one
This pan?


That one won't work in a II. If you're not modifying the front end at all, a front sump pan is required and will need either the engine shimmed at the motor mounts OR a specific pan designed for the II. I took pics of a standard front sump pan compared to the II pan as well as a pic of the part number and shared them in a thread I posted a while back.

This picture is to illustrate the difference between a II oil pan and another stock front sump pan. I also have a picture of the part number for the oil pan. I'm not sure if it's the complete part number or not, but what I have is still visible. The II pan is behind the standard.

IMG_20200523_114031.jpg


IMG_20200523_115201.jpg

As far as a V8 bellhousing is concerned, IIs had a smaller bellhousing designed that fits, others may be too big. You can use a standard bell housing, but it might require some BFH massaging of the firewall/transmission tunnel area. I'll make an educated guess that a standard sized bellhousing with a scatter shield won't fit without modifying the car. And the engine side motor mounts are specific to the car, too, and not so easy to find.
 
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Did not know that! I wonder if it would be possible to swap gears between the 2? That would alleviate the problem.... :shrug:
Sure? What will happen with vacuum and mechanical advance... uhhmmm... ähhh... vacuum and mechanical retarding?
The company offers service for redoing the 2.3 distributor to match the 2.9 engine, that it looks stealth... for TÜV maybe. So it can be done, but you need to figure a solution for mechanical and vacuum advance.
Anyway it seems a solution is found and @1977 Mustang II can keep his 2.8 running.
 
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The D4028 looks like a viable option. They require that I send my distributor off and they rebuild it and return it to me. Thanks for a solution!!
One thing I'm still unsure about is, if this will work with what you have. Because as far as I understand this D4028 is without points (you asked explicit for points in the beginning) and will need the control module in your car. If you still have the stock setup it will work. You can identify if there is this plug with 3(4?) wires in your car and some of them should be connected to a control module which looks like this:
6H1012__ra_p.jpg
 
Sure? What will happen with vacuum and mechanical advance... uhhmmm... ähhh... vacuum and mechanical retarding?
The company offers service for redoing the 2.3 distributor to match the 2.9 engine, that it looks stealth... for TÜV maybe. So it can be done, but you need to figure a solution for mechanical and vacuum advance.
Anyway it seems a solution is found and @1977 Mustang II can keep his 2.8 running.
Let me re-word:
Did not know that! I wonder if it would be possible to swap gears between the 2? That could alleviate the problem.... :shrug:
 
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I'm all kinds of confused - is this thread is about an engine swap but also about points for the 2.8L? :) If your distributor has points, then it's been swapped in from a 74. Anything from 75-78 uses the Duraspark ignition and you'll find the boxy-looking module @extra_stout has posted above mounted on the driver-side inner fender with a set of wires (3 I believe) going to the distributor.

The points distributor has only the ground-wire coming from it and going to the coil - the connector plug looks similar to the one in the picture above but it only contains one wire. If you just need new points, get them for the '74, RockAuto has them for about $5.

I know all this because my '78 II 2.8v6 came with a bad engine but with a complete replacement engine from a '74. I swapped over the distributor from the '78 to the '74 engine when I installed it so I could keep the electronic ignition.

If you have the 74 model and just need the points you can get them. If you need a complete rebuild, you'd want to pick one of the rebuild options under the '74, depending on whether or not your distributor has vacuum retard. You can also still get one new. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/cardone-distributor-31-968/5630282-P

If you have the 75-78 model (electronic ignition) those are usually pretty indestructible (the module on the inner-fender on the other hand is always a failure waiting to happen). If you do need a complete rebuild of the distributor, that's the D4028. You can also still get one of those new (I bought one of these 2 or 3 years ago was a perfect fit); https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...c-w-o-module-domestic-reman-30-2691/5630517-P

Advance Auto also carries a Pertronix brand electronic distributor for the 2.8 if you're so inclined though I have no idea if it actually fits (you'll see a lot of v8 stuff mis-listed for v6).

The 2.8, believe it or not, has really good parts availability thanks to it surviving so many years, and being used in the Bronco II and Aerostar. You just have to get creative searching sometimes as many catalogs don't have what you need, but I guarantee you can still find it.
 
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Both available distributors for the 2.8 had mechanical advance as well a vacuum advance. The duraspark had both. The export model had a Bosch distributor with points also had both mechanical and vacuum advance. The points style is also still available google et al.
 
I'm all kinds of confused - is this thread is about an engine swap but also about points for the 2.8L? :) If your distributor has points, then it's been swapped in from a 74. Anything from 75-78 uses the Duraspark ignition and you'll find the boxy-looking module @extra_stout has posted above mounted on the driver-side inner fender with a set of wires (3 I believe) going to the distributor.

The points distributor has only the ground-wire coming from it and going to the coil - the connector plug looks similar to the one in the picture above but it only contains one wire. If you just need new points, get them for the '74, RockAuto has them for about $5.

I know all this because my '78 II 2.8v6 came with a bad engine but with a complete replacement engine from a '74. I swapped over the distributor from the '78 to the '74 engine when I installed it so I could keep the electronic ignition.

If you have the 74 model and just need the points you can get them. If you need a complete rebuild, you'd want to pick one of the rebuild options under the '74, depending on whether or not your distributor has vacuum retard. You can also still get one new. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/cardone-distributor-31-968/5630282-P

If you have the 75-78 model (electronic ignition) those are usually pretty indestructible (the module on the inner-fender on the other hand is always a failure waiting to happen). If you do need a complete rebuild of the distributor, that's the D4028. You can also still get one of those new (I bought one of these 2 or 3 years ago was a perfect fit); https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...c-w-o-module-domestic-reman-30-2691/5630517-P

Advance Auto also carries a Pertronix brand electronic distributor for the 2.8 if you're so inclined though I have no idea if it actually fits (you'll see a lot of v8 stuff mis-listed for v6).

The 2.8, believe it or not, has really good parts availability thanks to it surviving so many years, and being used in the Bronco II and Aerostar. You just have to get creative searching sometimes as many catalogs don't have what you need, but I guarantee you can still find it.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I really want this engine to be a long term dependable engine. You must be right. I have seen so much available for the '74. I'll try that route. Still if anyone is removing a 2.8 for a 302 swap, I am interested in the 2.8. Thanks again!
 
Came across this forum to see if anyone had tried the idea in my head of doing a 2.9/4.0 swap into a 2.8 MII as well. Figured id give my 2 cents, I found out about Morana V6 Racing back when i had my Bronco II in 2017. when i had that truck i never got it running but did endless research on the Cologne engines and became a fan ever since.

Not sure how much of an issue the height difference would be with a 4.0 in a II since people do 302 and 351W swaps with i assume no issues regarding height especially only 2", maybe just a careful choice of intake/carb setup etc. anyways, as mentioned Tom Morana has Carb intakes and, if you see in his pictures, pictures of long blocks on RockAuto (as i often do for clues and bellhousing patterns etc) you'll see (and he shows and mentions) that you can install a distributor into a 4.0, not only the 4.0 OHV but the SOHC as well, and a car intake for both. using a 2.9 dizzy and ignition setup (or MSD or HEI etc etc). what i'd love to see is a 4.0 SOHC with a dizzy and a carb in one of these with either a 4-speed or maybe a T5.

Also they stopped using cam gears after they went to the 2.9, they switched to conventional chain drive the same time as they ditched the siamese port heads, also because of that, the heads, cam etc all changed. also 4.0 heads differ from 2.9 heads, besides just deck height. 4.0 SOHC might be a height issue but wont know until its measured or tried. his carb setups are fairly low profile especially for the SOHC since it doesn't require a lower plenum (from the looks of it)
 
I think there is another thread where "Morana V6 Racing" was mentioned. I also looked into that idea because here in Germany it would also be a nice option for European Capri or Granada. I found info about height comparison of 4.0 and Windsor 302/351 and thought that it could be a funny project even if it is tight fit. But I think you need at least a hood scoop...
 
The 2.8 was good for 150k miles and then only needed the timing gears replaced to go another. The factory gearset had a nylon or phenolic cam gear. The service part had both new gears steel in a matched set. Be sure to replace both the crank gear and the cam gear. If you do not replace both gears it will whine.