Engine Engine Indentification Number Help Needed !

Since it's carbureted, there's a very good chance it's the 2.8L Cologne v6, common to the Mustang II, Pinto, Bronco II, and Ranger. Two of the exhaust chambers should be siamesed on each side, and there is a 2-piece thermostat housing at the bottom of the water pump. It would have solid lifters / adjustable rockers and a gear-driven cam. You can check the distributor to see if it has points or an electronic ignition -- if points it's probably earlier than 1976 or earlier. It's a cool little engine, but the bad news is that it puts out around 100hp on a good day. That was adequate for the lighter European Capri, but it's a pretty big dog in a II. I kept mine in my II however because I liked it, and I fabricated a turbo for it to give it a little more pep. If you post a picture, I could probably tell you more.

This is a pretty cool resource: Ford Ranger/Bronco II 2.8 liter Engines

You'll also find this forum is pretty dead. The folks from mustangii.net have a Facebook group set up that you might want to join. Log into Facebook | Facebook

You're right LILCBRA, the 2.9 and 4.0's share many characteristics with the original 2.8 Cologne v6 (same bellhousing bolt pattern, general dimensions for example) so dropping one in (4.0 is recommended as the 2.9 isn't much of an improvement) is possible. However, pretty much nothing interchanges. The 2.9's and 4.0's are all fuel injected, so doing a swap requires the whole enchilada (computer, harness, gauges, sensors, return line, exhaust, etc.) I've seen there is one pricey aftermarket carb manifold for the 4.0, which can then use one specific distributor, if you wanted to run carb'd. Truth be told, if you're going to swap, may as well swap in a 5.0. which will give you many more options and junkyards full of donor vehicles. Otherwise if you have a 4.0 donor vehicle, it might work out just fine.

If you'd like to keep the 2.8, again almost nothing interchanges from its younger siblings, so your speed parts are limited. There were some tubular headers available at some point, tough to find but theoretically they exist. There is one aftermarket intake and cam combo which lets you run a Holley 390 -- again expensive and difficult to find, netting ~160hp from what I understand. Doing what I did (custom forced induction) is a possibility as well, not easy but can be done fairly inexpensively.

Keeping the 2.8 is a labor of love if you want to upgrade it. If you want to keep it and enjoy it for what it is, it's a nice little engine. If you want to upgrade it, I think you'll find swapping it out makes the most sense.