Hi

Really getting into the kit car world and thinking of building an avon. But with a new bathroom new front door and porch also looming its on hold for a short while. However in the mean time i do fancy having a tinker with a 2.0 pinto then possibly using this engine in the build. So where can i pick a good pinto engine up from where can i get a manual for stripping it as im a complete novice. How heavy is it going to be approx is it liftable with manpower or crane only i really am a novice haha. plus if im going to recon it what can i do myself and whats best to have others do and also what upgrades can i have done to it at this stage eg porting or cams,carbs etc?

If you're prepared to go scrappy searching you should fine a fair selection of Pintos. Else they pop up on Ebay reasonably frequently.

Bookwise you could try:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebuilding-Tuning-X-flow-Pinto-Engines/dp/1899814213/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1199575138&sr=11-1

Unless you're strong as a brick shi!t house you'll need an engine crane....

nahh not that strong might have to see if the girlfriend will gimmie a lift. haha or shall i try platting pee instead. what sort of money are they going for? Not sure if tiger racing sells them have to check but pay top wack there anyway i bet. Pinto or zetec though? ive heard you can pic zetecs up cheaper than pintos but dnt think its the best way for a novice to start may aswell start basic i suppose

IMHO there are much better engines around to tinker with. Yes the Pinto is an Old Faithful
but it's also Old Hat.
I'm a BEC fan but if I was to use a car engine it'd be Toyota 4age with Zetec or Vauxhall red
top fighting for second place.

And yes, the Pinto is very, very heavy
Q the boat anchor comments

[Edited on 5/1/08 by NigeEss]

Bike motor....

I've had two pinto's in my Indy, they are quite easy to work on, i must admit of being a novice myself but i did learn alot while working on them, they are also very heavy, if you want to go car engine, i would go for the zetec's, but i am a BEC man now, there was always work to be doing to the pinto's, i could never get them to run quite how i liked , since fitting the zx9 i've done nothing to it, dropped it in, easy peasy, just my penneth worth.

vauxhall for me! picked up an ecotec (sucessor to the red top) complete with FWD gearbox, injection system, ECU, manifolds etc, all stuff i can sell on, for £150 89k miles on it. they can be had for cheaper i'm told

I'd say get a pinto, cheap, simple and difficult to break. You'll learn a lot fixing one up. For fun you could convert it to bike carbs or even injection.

BEC's are fine but not best for town driving IMO or listing to the radio

Dont neglect the xflow, dead easy to work on and 130bhp is very possible using a 1.6

If you really (REALLY) have to have a car engine then I think that the Vauxhall XE engines are pretty hard to beat for money Vs Performance...

But if you are still in the deciding stage then get a run out in a Car Engined Car and a run out in a Bike Engined Car and then decide that the BEC is best!

Steve

One thing that would REALLY make the difference when overhauling an engine is an engine stand. Basically it holds the block securely and allows you to rotate it so that you can get on with various jobs. It also allows you to push it into a corner when you're not working on it.

Much better than struggling with it on a bench or workmate!

They're not very expensive, especially if you get a 2nd-hand one of ebay.

quote:

---

Originally posted by David Jenkins
One thing that would REALLY make the difference when overhauling an engine is an engine stand. Basically it holds the block securely and allows you to rotate it so that you can get on with various jobs. It also allows you to push it into a corner when you're not working on it.

They're not very expensive, especially if you get a 2nd-hand one of ebay.

---

Personally I cant remember the last time I saw a Pinto engine in a breaker yard

Or a Sierra come to that

Ronnie

I have two Pinto's available. Both have had the heads removed and stripped in order to re-seat valves etc etc.

They have everything including carbs and I have the loom from the Sierra I broke. There are too many bits to remember.

I would say they are perfect for you to tinker with and re-build (I have a Sierra manual also).
Both bottom ends were cleaned and painted a while ago.

Only down side is that one block has no crankshaft oil seal housing, however it can be used to learn with, without fear of damaging the other, as can the spare head be used for porting practice.

Only looking for £80....interested?

could be intersted in that mate. so one is in full assembly and the other has part missing and you want 80 quid for the pair? where are you?

Im a Pinto fan but if i was building again on a strict budget id probs use a Zetec. Quite cheap to buy and tinker with as well.

U2U sent.