I am considering building a locost but have no idea which engine to go with. Are the pinto engines the easiset to modify?? Also I have a mk5 escort that sits on my drive. How many parts could i rape off of this??

the mk5 escort will not be very useful as it is fwd. engine choice is a tricky one. a ford engine and gearbox will be simplest and easy to obtain with your donor, sierra is quite favourite due to the cheap + commoness of them. check out crustworld (do a search on google) for engines fitted to sierras and in what year. the pinto is popular, cheap and is tunable, most people avoid the 8v DOHC engine. the crossflow is another good choice.

the rest is up to you, most engines can be used, but need to be mated to a rwd box, the more different you are, the trickier it normally gets...

Ned.

I dont know much about modifying pintos, but they certainly are simple and common. I think everyones got a favourite engine that they would recommend, all i'll say is its probably best to keep it simple unless you're good...

you could use the zetec engine from the mk5 but you would need rwd box from a sierra convert to carbs or throttle bodies,
aftermarket ignition ecu or try to get the standard injection ecu working.

if you want to make a small, compact car, a crossflow engine will give a lower bonnet line than a pinto.....lots of people on here happily run modded 1700cc units.

atb

steve

Ps - im not convinced people ignore the 8v dohc - it carries a bit of bad press if its allowed to overheat. As sierras get older, this is gonna be the more available motor at some time