According to the ford shop manual, the numbered side of the rods all point left. looking from rear of engine towards the front. Do not deck the block any more than needed to true it, Same goes with the heads as this is a thin wall block and you may have sealing issues. If you are keeping stock pistons, The highest compression pistons were from the Ranger engine at 8.7-1. Racer Walsh lists a 9.0-1 Forged set with a 1.578 compression height. The cheapest way to get bigger valves (It needs those) is to use 2.9 stock style. I like the Enginetec valves. The 2.9 rods are stronger as well. There is so much you can do to this engine. Check Tom Morana racing as well. The stud girdle really stiffens the block. Use torque plates to bore the block if you can, It helps ring sealing a lot. The Ranger crank is the strongest, 74 non EGR heads are the best. With some machining, The 2.9 crank and rods with 2.8 ranger pistons will give you almost 3.0L with the best compression.... There is sooo much more info out there. Check out the ranger station for info too.
Forged H-beams and Forged CP-carillos.... with Fardon Crank will make it more like race engine. E85 fuel for higher compression.... Burton Power sell Stage 3 heads. Combine Highvolyme and highpressure melling pumps and get roller rockers with better ratio maybe 1.7:1? Drill extra water ways to heads to keep em cooler.
In the mid-1970s I was in the Air Force and, while home on leave in central Texas, bought my 1st car ... a 1973 Capri (2.6L V-6 w/ 4-speed manual trans). A couple of years later (while back in school after the Air Force) that Capri was rear-ended at a stop-light in Houston and, after looking awhile, I bought a 1976 Capri II (hatchback instead of 2-door coupe). It also had the V-6 but Ford of Germany had bored-out the displacement from 2.6 to 2.8 Liters (why I've never understood). I owned that Capri II for over 20 years and only got rid of it because I needed air-conditioning (was in my mid-40s by then and couldn't take the Texas summertime heat). I really miss those cars ... even I (with almost no mechanical skills) could understand most of how things worked. (in modern front-wheel drive cars I can't even find some of the external parts.) Back when I had the Capris I heard rumors that there was a 5-speed manual transmission available in Germany and, a few years ago, saw something that seemed to corroborate that information ... that would have been nice as I thought the engine RPM was a bit high for highway driving with the 4-speed transmission. (signed, Paul in Texas)
Miss my Capri. Had the 2.6 with valve springs, mild cam and slightly higher compression. Stock exhaust manifold, but big pipes that exited under the seats. It was gutted, so it was super light.It was really quick. This was 85-85 ish.
if i remember rightly, [35 yrs ago??] oil gets to the rockers via undersize bolts in a key location on rocker shaft, + it is easy to mix them up. my dads friend had very noisy valvetrain after a rebuild, sure this was the problem
Lol yeahhhhhh Rich does have a mighty big... box. With the crazy range of things he/we work on it's chalk full of specialized tools... even some stacked all the way across the top
If you notice the new style cam bearings help the lubrication of the engine rods and oil pressure up above the engine and below, Were the gasket meets the two exhaust valves there are two coolant holes you can drill straight for better reliable performance less hot spots better valve seat longevity if you can drill all 4 i bet that would be better. I own one of these and I have done it and I'm happy you know what you know its my favorite engine to modify/drive fel-pro head gaskets know.
I had a 73 Capri 2600 long ago. I LOVED that little hot rod and all the Ills that came with it. I got rid of it in 1980 and ALWAYS looked back with regret of seeing it drive away the last time. I've kept an eye out for another, but am always too late to the table. Good luck on your project. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of it.
Had a 1983 Mustang fully loaded convertible that was willed to me. 3.8 V6 surprised the hell out me when I found a good intake & 4bbl carb 390cfm. Put in an AOD, 2.5" true duel exhaust, set of 15" wheels & tires and a few front suspension upgrades. Great little cruiser.
I did one of these about 35 yrs ago on my friends Ford Granada 2.8. He wanted it to have more power, so we updated the camshaft profile to a more sporty one. I remember having to pay particular attention in getting the cam timing correct to get it just right. I have a TVR Tasmin 280i now with the same engine and it runs as if someone in the past has got the camshaft timing not quite right; it runs well up to over 115-120mph, but doesn’t have that hard acceleration at about 50-70mph it should have. I’m going to have fun trying to get this engine sorted. I will be patient!.
Thanks so much for sharing. GREAT VIDEOS. This will be a big help to many of us. I have a 74 Capri V6 engine in the machine shop now for a performance rebuild. Norm will be supplying me with the parts. I really look forward to following your progress. This is my first Capri in 40, years. Just purchased this in June. As a young kid I owned an MKI & 2. Both 2.8 V6's here in California. Both cars were so much fun. Still so much to sort out for this rebuild over the next couple months. I have so much to learn. I wish you the best and will check back frequently.
FYI - The 1974 version of the Federal 2.8L has a one year only cylinder head. After '74 all Federal heads came with internal EGR passages off the center exhaust port to the intake manifold. The '74 used an external EGR and so did not have internal EGR passage. A small difference but if you're building one for performance it's a better base to start from.
We lusted after both the 2.8 and 3.0 litre Capri, although the 3.0 had a reputation for tail happiness, however the scariest of all was the Zakspeed Capri, which was a 1.4 litre 4 pot with a 5 speed gearbox, turbocharged which made 400bhp and 170 mph, in 1978! This build is bringing back some serious nostalgia so am watching with great interest
I've had a 3.0S and a 2.8i, they were both tail happy, especially when it rained but the best combo for me, was 2.8i Bilstiens and brakes on the 3.0, it wasn't as quick as the 2.8i but a much nicer engine to row about in and made a much nicer noise. My 3.0 had been modified by the previous owner to 180hp, so she was fast in 1992... I had a mk5 cortina after the 2.8i that had been fitted with a 2.9i Granada engine, that was good fun fast car😎
The Zakspeed capri went up a group from 1.4 to 1.7, fitted with twin turbos making 660hp but that was unreliable, so a new single turbo was fitted and power was cut to 600hp, Ford showed Porsche a clean set of heels. 💪🏽
Can't wait to follow this build. I have a 2.8 Capri and 4 speed in my shed. I used to put them in 520 Datsun Pickups. I prefer the 2.6 because of the siamese ports in 2.8 were known to be suspect. Out here in Oregon the Capri is not very popular. I have been kind of looking for a small car to transplant my engine into. Don't tell my wife she said we have way to many things to do now. After this build who knows..... Thanks for letting us follow along.
I have a 327 it has that style rod it sprays oil towards the bottom of all eight cylinders from the Piston down towards the oil pan a perfect line but like a pump squirt bottle hope that helps you I think you're correct three are installed improperly
Had a -82 Ford Granada 2,8 in the early 90's, manual 4-speed. Was rated at 151 hk (hp?) With all emission stuff on it. Think has seen it was 160hk without emission. And that was an fuelinjected K-jetronic. So should be quite easy to get it to 200hp@crank. Time will tell 😉
You really should be looking for a set of 74 heads and a Ranger/Bronco truck block. The truck blocks have a larger cam that’s less susceptible to twisting. Maybe Norm will let you read Sven Pruett’s V6 book. Lots of good ideas in there.
American 2.8 V6 used 6 port heads in some applications, which are far better than the siamese port heads on our 2.8 cologne V6s used and I think the US 2.8 didn't suffer from the hotspot cracking issues in the heads but I could be wrong there...They made good power in the ETCC RS2600, the final 2.8 version in 72 made 320hp, in a 900kg car...very quick, even today.... Ric Wood is the man for these engines, he still makes the aluminium westlake cylinder heads Ford used in the race programme.
I marinized a cologne 2.8, I enjoyed it for more than 20 years in a 16 ft runabout boat. a very nice characteristics for marine use. It is a shame that a commercial marine version had not been produced.
I could see with 3 rods being backwards with pistons being backwards as well it throwing off the piston to deck mainly if the pin bosses are offset like the ol Chryslers were to keep from scuffing the pistons skirts.
I don't know if this will be of interest for your build, but if you type Gunston Capri Perana into a search engine and look at some of the images, you'll see that some of them have wide wheel arches which you should be able to easily and cheaply recreate with either steel or fiberglass.
V _6 look from the front and think of two three cylinders next to each other the big difference is the ports on one head reversed, most pistons have off set pins, when you look at the front all pin offsets will should be in the same direction the rods may have been installed wrong, all the oil holes should face the cam
Looks like you got lucky! It would of helped if the owner had some oil in it. My guess is why he still had a oil filer on it anyway was to keep it sealed from external elements such as bugs, etc.
He had put some oil in it here and there, at least visually. Initial inspections look decent so... fingers crossed. As you mention, the Fram did a good job as a bug block 😉
That body style of the Capri was released in South Africa by Ford with a 302 ci engine in it might be a way to go there were a few here in Oz at one time running pro stock
We really kicked around the idea of a 302 build in this thing, and it's still a future possibility. Would certainly make the platform a total riot but might screw with the whole "Euro" feel and make it feel more Mustang. Not saying no but... not right now.
How much are you allowed to build that engine for the class you want to run? Is injection legal? Multiple carbs? High compression pistons? What size cam? Oversized valves/what they are made out of? (like can you run inconel and titanium valves?) Something I'd suggest to help the longevity of the engine seeings how it's going to be raced is to get some good coated pistons that fit that have the X grooves in the side (I think they are called Diamond pistons) that help with oil drain and also to get a swinging oil pickup like they use offroad so that no matter where the G force throws the oil the pickup will stay submerged.
As you discovered, the lifters have to be pull out from the top of the block. You should use a powerfull magnet for that. Changing the camshaft bearing is also not easy, because you need to remove the plug located at the end of the camshaft and then use a special tool to push them out, same thing to install the new ones. You must also be very carefull when inserting the new one to make sure the bearing holes match the block holes, which angle differs from a bearing to another. In short, it's a piece of cake (or ... not! 🙂). I really hope that your camshaft bearings are in a good shape, which was not the case for my 2.3 Cologne engine... 😞
I think I’ve only ever known single piece rear main seals on European Fords. I’ve never seen a v6 being stripped before and the cologne engines were pretty good.
The rod squirter are facing toward the exterior if you have one old 2.8 piston and rod that you won't use I would like to buy one off of you if possible
The oil rod squirt hole are going all the side of the block not the center and will need a main engine crank brace if you Rev it more then 6500 ram for to long. What is the engine class you will be running in?
Ohhhh realllllly? That would certainly be interesting and awesome looking! It really depends on the type of racing we want to do with this car and this setup. If we want to do any kind of factory production racing, like this car was previously run in, we can't do any kind of modification to the intake / carb setup. BUT, for a funsies kind of build.... no such limitations ;)
My son has a73 capri with a 2.6 engine in it. We are thinking of using an autolite 2100 with weber to holley adapter plate from Australia. Any suggestions??
Its still happening just slightly stalled at the moment because of how busy we are with customer projects. Everything is machined and ready to go, just have to do the assembly!
@Lucore Auto and LucoreRacing will you guys have a spare 2.8 block ? For sale or you will use them all ? Thanks I'm curious how much power you will get from it
Is it going to be a street car hot rod or a race car. What kind of racing are you going to do. From the sounds of it you have hp In mind. The 4.3 is a good v6 might open the door for more trans options.
Why in the world would the rods be 1,2,3 on one bank and 4,5,6 on the other. Every V type engine I've seen is odds on one side with evens on the other side. With #1 closest to the front of the block. But maybe they do things different in der Vaterland.
[In Edit] "Archaic Stuff here" No shit! Its from the mid 1970s so at least 45 years old. Maybe built when this guy was in nappies. Sorry 'Diapers'. And yes stop thinking 'freedom' think 'metric'. Couple of points to help: The 2.8 was not the top engine. There was a 3.0 litre built in the UK and there was also a 3.1 litre in the homologation special RS3100. And you should not be surprised that head bolts were fitted 'dry'. This is an older tech engine and few had lubed bolts in the Heads, Mains or Rods. So unless you use specialist fitting like ARP bolts that require lube refit all bolts dry or you will overload the torques settings and either sheer bolts when hot or stretch them and on cool down they will release tension. Lubing of head bolts became more widespread when stretch bolts were developed and the clue there is the 'X ft Ibs plus Y degrees' torque settings. Good luck with the project.
Some people flip the pistons in the motor, that would make rods , look like there in wrong, it make more power, they say, and it run that way, lol, weird, lol
The 2.8 was a great little engine, imported from Germany if memory serves, they really scream at 6k ripems, and can put out quite a few ponies for as small as they are. I loved the GM 4.3 V8, it was the smallest, and it really screamed too.
It SEEMS like it should have pretty good potential but we can't find much of anyone with experience building a performance 2.8. SEEMS like the standard formula will apply, bump compression, better bolts, modern camshaft, better intake and carb. Not sure what kind of RPM these things will really breathe to.. It might not end up being all that powerful, but should at least be interesting!
No it was worst pice of sh*t engine build by ford. Each bank has 3 intake and 2 exhaust. So when you after go 5.5k it brokes the cylinder head. This thing only good for boat anchor.
