2.8 valve parts and camshaft

[Rsgwynn1]

What would be a good choice of a cam kit? Suppliers? I've pulled the heads and am ready to pull the stock cam and replace it. And what kind of lifters/tappets? I'd like improved street performance and fairly smooth idle. Will be going with a stock intake manifold and 2-barrel card. Will probably have heads and manifold ported before installing.

Also, does anyone know where I can find those odd shaped "load-spreading" washers that go on the valve covers?

Sam

 

[Jim E]

I like Delta Camshaft they will listen to what you have and what you want a grind you a cam. They can also surface your lifters or you can order a set from Isky, who also makes retainers if you want them.

I may have teh load spreading washers in my bucket of 2.8 junk

 

[Jim E]

Oh and Isky has springs for the motor but on mine I am very close to coil bind, think if I did it over would look at differnt or stock springs.

 

[V6 JOSE]

What would be a good choice of a cam kit? Suppliers? I've pulled the heads and am ready to pull the stock cam and replace it. And what kind of lifters/tappets? I'd like improved street performance and fairly smooth idle. Will be going with a stock intake manifold and 2-barrel card. Will probably have heads and manifold ported before installing.

Also, does anyone know where I can find those odd shaped "load-spreading" washers that go on the valve covers?

Sam

Hi Sam,

I'll answer your last question first. Your local Ford dealer should have some, since they were used on the 4.0 V6 in the Ranger.

The choice for a cam, is not as easy as it might seem. The stock cam is actually, a pretty good one. If you are going to go to the trouble of porting the heads and manifold, I would suggest going with the cam I always use. It doesn't have a smooth idle, but is very tractable, which is what makes for a very streetable car. Another comment I would add, is that once you port the manifold and heads, you should go with a four barrel carburetor to take advantage of the better breathing. If you keep the two barrel carb, you will not get much more performance than you have now, because it will be restricted by the smaller carb.

A set of resurfaced stock lifters, will work just fine. the valvetrain on this engine is pretty light, so you don't need to spend big bucks to be able to buzz it to 7,000 safely. I would recommend sending your cam and lifters to delta Engineering to have them refurbished. They do a great job, and don't charge a lot. They can regrind your old cam to whatever specs you might want. I would also have them rebuild your rocker shafts at the same time. I recommend using a set of new stock springs with, or without the larger valves.

Jose

 

[Rsgwynn1]

Well, another option would be to have the stock cam redone. These are all new/rebuilt parts I'm working with, from a remanufactured long block. From what you say, I might be better off sticking with the stock cam and lifters if I'm using the 2 bbl. and the stock manifold. What kind of hp would I be looking at? 150? I'd be happy with that (with the kit headers, of course).

Jim, if you find those washers, let me know. I still want the flywheel, too.

I did find the correct bellhousing today and got a good price on it.

 

[V6 JOSE]

Well, another option would be to have the stock cam redone. These are all new/rebuilt parts I'm working with, from a remanufactured long block. From what you say, I might be better off sticking with the stock cam and lifters if I'm using the 2 bbl. and the stock manifold. What kind of hp would I be looking at? 150? I'd be happy with that (with the kit headers, of course).

Jim, if you find those washers, let me know. I still want the flywheel, too.

I did find the correct bellhousing today and got a good price on it.

Hi Sam,

The stock engine, with it's restrictive exhaust manifolds and smog junk, is rated at 105 hp. I think with all the non needed parts removed, and the headers from the kit, you would get about 120/125 honest hp., and that is because the mfg'rs rating is a bit high to begin with. It would still be a fun car, but if you are wanting a thrilling car, you'll need to do more to increase power. It all depends on how much money you are willing to invest on horse power.

To get 150 hp., you would need to at least use a bit bigger cam and use the four barrel. If you went with the cam I suggest, and port and polish the heads with the bigger 2.9 V6 valves, along with all the other stuff I mentioned before, you can get about 200 honest hp.

Jose

 

[Bill Blue]

Hmm, sounds like the classical "half way" quandry. Aftermarket carb and manifold will do little good without head work, head work will do little good without the aftermarket bolt ons. Go figure.

Usually, (don't know about this engine) headwork will not hurt performance with the stock carb and manifold. Just does not do much good. If it was my engine, I'd have the head done at this time, and it would be ready for the upgrades when I found the additional money.

Jose, how does the Holley 500 two barrel work on the stock manifold? It supposedly works quite well on the Pinto 2.0, nearly as good as a four barrel.

Bill

 

[Rsgwynn1]

Jose, can you give me some appropriate cam specs? One of the websites (I think it was Summit Racing) had about six different profiles for the 2.8. Get me in the ballpark and I'll take it to the local speed shop and see what they think.

 

[Jim E]

Here is my cam card for the cam in my V6 this was ground to Jose spec, but it was ground on a performance Crane cam so is a bit bigger than you can get on a stock cam.

Oh and I like the cam a lot!

 

[V6 JOSE]

Hmm, sounds like the classical "half way" quandry. Aftermarket carb and manifold will do little good without head work, head work will do little good without the aftermarket bolt ons. Go figure.

Usually, (don't know about this engine) headwork will not hurt performance with the stock carb and manifold. Just does not do much good. If it was my engine, I'd have the head done at this time, and it would be ready for the upgrades when I found the additional money.

Jose, how does the Holley 500 two barrel work on the stock manifold? It supposedly works quite well on the Pinto 2.0, nearly as good as a four barrel.

Bill

You are correct in that porting the heads, with bigger valves, won't hurt performance with the stock carb and manifold, in fact, it will gain power, just not as much as it would if it had the whole combination of parts working together. Any stock engine, still has restrictions in the intake track, so when the heads are ported it will gain power.

The 500 cfm. two barrel carb will not carburete as well as the front two barrels of the Holley four barrel carb. The two barrel might work OK when it is wide open, but the throttle response will not be as crisp as the four barrel. The two barrel carb will also eat more gas than the four barrel, with no real benefits, that I can see. If you want a larger carburetor than the Holley four barrel, I would suggest using a Carter 410 four barrel, rather than the Holley two barrel.

Jose

 

[Jim E]

Don't tell anyone but I am thinking to try a 600....

 

[Rsgwynn1]

Thanks, Jim. I can get started with this info.

 

[Mod_Squad!]

Hmmmmmmm.....I've got a spare 2.8 in my garage that I'm eventually going to turbo or, if I can figure out a way to fit one in, supercharge. I'm thinking that I might want to pull the heads off of it, put in the 2.9 valves and massage it as Jim did to his then drop those heads on my current 2.8 until I can get the scratch to build up the other engine. The only thing that has me worried is the intake that is now mated to my engine might not mate up to the new heads. I wonder, if it's just barely off, if there is enough slop in the gasket to fill up any diff. I know that I did have some fun getting all that stuff to mate up on the first go. Maybe it would be smarter to pull the heads that are on it and massage them. Ahh, who am I kidding. As soon as warm weather gets here all I do is drive the thing. The only time I 'work' on it is if it absolutely needs it. You know, stuff like Armor-alling the tires and other important stuff .
Have fun,
Bryan

 

[britbeam]

Load spreading washers for valve covers

What would be a good choice of a cam kit? Suppliers? I've pulled the heads and am ready to pull the stock cam and replace it. And what kind of lifters/tappets? I'd like improved street performance and fairly smooth idle. Will be going with a stock intake manifold and 2-barrel card. Will probably have heads and manifold ported before installing.

Also, does anyone know where I can find those odd shaped "load-spreading" washers that go on the valve covers?

Sam

Your local Ford dealer should have these. Thats where I got mine.
Dwain V6 Krazy

 

[V6 JOSE]

Don't tell anyone but I am thinking to try a 600....

Hi Jim,

If you have one that you can borrow, (I hope you don't buy one), I think you will find that you will have a BIG flat spot when driving it. The 600 cfm Holley will work OK on a hot 289 cu. in. engine, but you are running an engine that displaces only 171 cu.in. Your Alpine will accelerate faster than it has a right to, when you stomp on the gas at 55 mph. in third now, but if you go to the bigger carb and you stomp it at that speed, it will fall on its face.

A 600 cfm carb is meant for an engine that displaces about 300 + cu. in.

Jose

P.S. It will eat gas like it was going out of style too.

 

[Rsgwynn1]

Thanks, Britbeam. I did in fact call a Ford dealer and found them. Pricey, though.

 

[bcbeamer]

carb

I would not suggest the 600 cfm carb . I tried a 500 cfm 4 barrel and as Jose said it will fall flat on its face until you get it past 4000 rpm . It boggs all to hell. If you can live with the bogging then have at her. I would suggest sticking with the 390 cfm . I put my 390 back on and no more bogging. The fuel consumption with the 500 is horrible. The little Alpine coughs and spudders every time it sees a gas station.

Good Luck