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Author Topic: TECH TIPS  (Read 44094 times)

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Offline dick1172762

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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #90 on: February 14, 2017, 11:35:23 AM »
Need some cheap traction bars? How about clamps? On the front half of the springs make clamps that go crossways over and under the springs with a bolt at each end. You'll need two on each spring. Put them where the short leafs of the spring end so that you'll clamp all the leafs together. Then move forward and clamp the next shortest leaf. Do this while the floor jack is under the center section of the rear end. Use some pretty good material and snug it down really good and tight. I use 1/2 x 2 steel with 1/2 bolts. It'll ride a little ruff but not to bad. Make sure they don't rub the tires. Go for it.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #91 on: February 14, 2017, 05:30:52 PM »
Want a Rally package air dam for your 79/80 Pinto? Can't find one? Make your own out of 1/8 (.125) ABS plastic. A 4 x 8 x .125 sheet will cost you $100 at Granger. I cut off aprox 18" off the bottom so you end up with aprox 18" x 8ft strip. I then mount this to the bottom back side of the front bumper. You'll end up with about 2"or3" attach to the bumper and the rest hanging down. Use a GOOD heat gun to bend it around the fenders then trim it off and your ready to add holes for brake ducts and oil coolers. I build mine to be about 3" off the ground but use good judgment on yours. ABS is damn near bullet proof and speed bumps will not hurt it. If you want better or more brace's just add some 1/8" x 1" straps to the air dam and bolted at the top to the bumper. If you hit something all you will have to do is straighten the brace out and reinstall it. Finish product will only be as good as your workmanship. The Good heat gun is a MUST HAVE. No hair dryers.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #92 on: February 14, 2017, 05:48:31 PM »
Have a 2.000 L pinto race car or autocross car. By now you know you must remove the head to change cams. Right? Wrong! First slide the cam backwards till it touches the firewall. Mark the firewall where the cam touched by making a circle on the firewall. Replace the cam and center punch / drill the center of the circle. Go inside the car and drill a 4" or 5" hole where the center punch was. Make your self a sheet metal plate to cover the hole and your home free without removing the head. Just swing the plate out off the way and change the cam.I don't know if this mod will clear stuff under the dash on a stock Pinto street car.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #93 on: February 17, 2017, 11:56:38 AM »
Ever wanted to race your Pinto? Well its much easyer than you would have though. Go autocrossing! Yes, autocrossing! All you need is a helmet no older than 5 years (some clubs have loner helmets). That's it! If your really serious, your allowed to change the shocks and front sway bar. Car will run H-Stock with SCCA. No membership is necessary too. Tires must be real street tires, not R rated street tires (slicks with a couple 1/16" deep groves). Most courses are 2nd gear max and will last 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Much fun and you'll meet lots of real gear heads, plus you'll learn how to drive your Pinto in all kinds of conditions. Rules can be down loaded on the SCCA site for free (that's free). Most city's over 200k have several different clubs putting the race's on, ever week in. Some 100k city's have them too. Find out what your Pinto will really do, for cheap $$. You can race a full year for what one road race would cost. If you really get hooked then you can move up to a modified Pinto all the way up to Indy type cars. And if you have a go for it wife, they have class's for wife's in the same Pinto. H stock for you and HL stock for her. You can ever carry a passenger if they have a helmet and seat belt. What have you got to lose? Take a look at   http://www.na-motorsports.com
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #94 on: February 17, 2017, 12:41:21 PM »
If your going to autocross your Pinto there are a couple things you should do if your hooked and are going to race all year long. First your oil needs to be thin because you'll not have time to warm the car up. I use 5W-30 in my Pinto. Second, for the same reason, you'll need a thermostat of at least 180 deg's. 205 would be better, but I'm told there are no 205 thermostats. I use an electric fan and turn it off till the temp comes up to 180 deg's. Autocrossing is a type of racing where every little thing you can do is necessary. Win or lose by a tenth of a second is common at each race. But it is truly one of the most fun things you can do with your Pinto. You'll think your ten foot tall when you beat a BMW with your little ole Pinto. Take a look at http://www.autocross.com to see how big autocross really is.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #95 on: February 22, 2017, 09:59:43 AM »
Ever wonder what color's you should use under the hood of a race car Pinto. Well white reflects heat while black absorbs heat. Paint the firewall white while everything else would be black including the under side of the hood. Does it help? Well it should but only on a road race Pinto and then only on an endurance racer where your racing for hour's at a time. Paint it! What do you have to lose?
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #96 on: February 22, 2017, 10:10:05 PM »
..... If you've got a Vega, use a hammer.

'Priceless!' :)

I love reading these, fantastic!


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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #97 on: February 24, 2017, 08:39:11 AM »
Want a cheap way to keep your header looking new with NO rust? This only works on a new header that has not been placed on a motor. Strip off the paint that came with and spray it with ATF. Inside and outside. Then put the wet header on the motor and start it up. Run it till it doesn't smoke any more. The oil will burn into the header and keep it looking like it did after you striped it. DO NOT do this over your drive way. Remember the header must be new. This is not for show cars and who knows for stainless steel headers.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #98 on: February 24, 2017, 08:59:24 AM »
Say you want to rap your header with header-rap. Mfg's say it'll make the under hood lower by 50 deg's. Well who cares? Motor will not care and only the people who made and sold it to you will care. Header rap will rust your header in half the time it would with out the rap!!!! Why? Water collects under the rap because of the cycle of hot and cold temp plus a trip or two to the car wash. Header mfg's love it because they sell more headers. If you live in death valley maybe it would be ok but why would you want to hide your new header in the first place? DO NOT RAP except on a stage! Just what I think.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #99 on: February 24, 2017, 05:28:39 PM »
Want a traction loc for your 8" or 9" rear end for cheap? Try  http://www.fastfairlane.com/Tech%20Tips/Rearend/TractionTechTip5.html  Looks easy enough to do.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #100 on: February 25, 2017, 01:30:37 PM »
Want more horsepower out of your Pinto? Not as easy as you think! Almost anything you can do will only help your Pinto at 4000 +RPM! What you say!!! The new header I installed last week was to gain me 20 horse power. That what the mfg told me! Wrong! Mfg didn't tell you it would help you at 4000 +RPM did he? Bigger carb? Trick ignition? Three pole spark plugs? Wise bang plug wires? 120 octane gas? All these hop up parts will only help you at higher RPM than you would drive most of the time. Exception would be the race gas. It will not give you any horse power by itself. It only allows you to lean on the motor more without blowing it up. With it you can use more spark advance total. From 32 deg total to 36 deg total will make your Pinto come alive to a point. But none of these mod will do much by themselves. You must do more than one mod to gain real horse power. The kind you can really feel in the seat of your pants. Ever thing you can do is a trade off. Gas mileage / drive ability / engine life / drive train life / etc / etc will suffer as you add more mods to your Pinto. Think it over and never go by what the mfg tell you. They only tell you what you want to hear. If they didn't lie they wouldn't sell their products would they? Biggest help for a Pinto? Get rid of that piece of junk intake manifold along with a slightly bigger carb. 350 CFM MAX! That's all you need. The lower half of the EFI manifold with a little work and a Motorcraft carb is a great bolt on. Just remember that bigger is not always better. Remember you'll never be able to out run the newer cars on the street with a stock Pinto. They have a big horse power that a Pinto could only dream of. My two cents worth.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #101 on: February 26, 2017, 12:41:54 PM »
Here's what I would do to wake up a 2300 Pinto. First of all a GOOD header! I would chose a Mustang cast iron header because it will give you the most torque increase of all the headers for sale now days. Its heavy but who cares. Next would be a good carb and a better intake manifold. A 38/38 Weber would be a good start along with an adapter from ACE. Why the adapter? Because the stock adapter from the factory is off set on the stock intake. Another idea would be the lower half of EFI Mustang intake along with an ACE adapter to fit a Motorcraft 120 two barrel carb. This would require a little more work though on the manifold. Another idea would be an Offy four barrel intake with a 390 cfm Holley carb. Any of the three manifold's and carbs will be ok. Next would be an adjustable cam pulley so you can advance the cam 4 to 6 deg's. Next would be advancing your timeing several deg till the motor tells you when to stop. And it will tell you! It'll rattle so much you'll think it's some one shooting at you. At that point retard it a little and drive it again to check it out. These 3 things will wake up your Pinto and make it more fun to drive. I'm not telling you to do this.This is what I would do if I had a new, to me Pinto. What you do is up to you and your pocket book.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #102 on: February 27, 2017, 05:39:45 PM »
How do you hop up a 2.0L pinto engine? First move to England or get a real good friend over there. Why? Because the 2.0L was not used over here after 74, but was used in England to a few years ago. The Brits wrote the book on 2.0L Fords and make and sell all the good stuff in the world. Aluminum heads for a start. The stock 2.0L head is a real piece of German junk! Why? Because the intake ports are the worst ever cast that is known by man. They go straight into the head and then make a 90deg turn to the valve seats. Not too bad for a turbo but pure junk for an engine with carbs. It can be fixed but only with VERY high $$$$ to spend. The intake ports need to be moved upward almost 1 inch! That's 1 inch! Racer Walsh had a welder back in the early 70"s that could make the mod if you had the money. $1000+ in 1973 dollars. If you do, some how move the ports then the intake manifold will not fit. The intake manifold will need to be relocated. Everything else for the hop up can be bought over here or in England and maybe Germany. Bryan Walsh has a very fast 2.0L Pinto and may very well have one of those heads. Easy to tell as the intake manifold will be up near the valve cover. I do not know if the English aluminum head has the ports moved but it would be really dumb if they didn't. Now you know how to get that 200 horse power on the street.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #103 on: February 28, 2017, 10:01:11 AM »
Still on the do's and do not's for a 2.0L Pinto. Never mount the engine and tranie solid. Walsh use to sell the solid mounts. I tried them ONCE and payed for it. In one 25 lap race the header, the bellhousing, and the tranie tail shaft housing all were cracked. The tranie crack was a full 360deg crack. The header and bellhousing were all most as bad. The header was fixable and the rest were replaced. If you've ever raced a 2.0L Ford you know how they will crack a header unless its a two piece Hedman header. Racer Walsh use to tell that in his early catalogs. Where will you find one? Lots of luck as Hedman quit making them way back. You might take a brand X and make the collector removable like the Hedman. I don't think it would be necessary on an autocross Pinto, but I always used one for the full 20 years I raced my 72 Pinto. 2300L don't have this problem thank God. I think the only 2.0L Pintos being road race'ed now are the ones in vintage racing. I don't see any Pintos being raced in regular SCCA road races without a 2300L. The 2300L make nice horse power without to much work. Cam / header / carb will wake one up. BTW if you want to see my 20 year raced Pinto go to the pintosopher photo gallery. Its the red group 2 number 272. Sold it in 95 and its still raced today in vintage road races on the east coast.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #104 on: February 28, 2017, 11:26:50 AM »
Dick,  Is laying down all the good Stuff, My Hooker Super Comp 4 into 1 cracked #4 at the flange twice, and it was heavily brazed at all the joints, later I went to a creative high temp silicone mount with tubing to the Bell Housing, and made sure the exhaust wasn't in torsion. I also took a VW bug Steering Damper and mounted it to the Bell housing and Cross member horizontally to restrain the engine torsion shock loads during autocross events. All of this with Stock rubber engine and trans mounts, and it may have extended the life of the header. Later, I had a specialist at my Tuner employment cut out the tight #4 welded seam and 3 inches of tubing, then welded (Tig) a new less abrupt bend to the #4 tube to the Collector. Since the Battery was relocated, All was good and Someday, a serious header will replace this.
 He is Correct in saying the English have all the hard work done on making the 2.0 EAO scream with HP. My Drool Factor increased 10 fold when informed about this. I can dehydrate in no time just watching the EAO powered Escort mk 1&2 in hillclimb video. :P
 If you are a video fan, I just uploaded my 72 at the PCCA video gallery and 3 views of my Moderate 2.0 EAO  searching for a redline. That is with a standard Clutch/ flywheel. A year later I went back to the same hill with Half rotating weight and thought I was racing a big bore 4 Motorcycle engine, and was snapping the tires loose on apex to exit :D

 It's all better when the high is on Inertia ,and acceleration :)
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #105 on: March 01, 2017, 10:03:18 AM »
How did I learn all of this stuff? Well it started a long time ago in a far off land in El Paso, Texas. I had just joined the USAF and I was stationed with several hot roders from la la land. In 1953 I went to work part time at the only hot rod shop in El Paso. I did the engine balancing and general flunkey work. 53 and 54 I was on the pit crew for the shop's race cars in the Mexican road race. In three years we never finished even one race. In 1958 I was transferred to Charleston, SC. Nascar land! Went to work for a new team racing Oldsmobile 88's. Stayed there building engines till 1962 when I went to work for a team racing year old 61 Fords. Same job building engines and I was the one that put on the decals and lettering on the race cars. I also had to trim the leading edge of the decals to a 45 deg angle. Nascar racers worry about drag very much. 1963 I went to work with Zantop airlines as a mechanic in Salt Lake City. 1964 off to the salt flats with my 427 63 Ford. 20 mph slow at 145 mph. Oh well it was fun though. 1965 moved to Dallas, Tx to work for Texas Instruments. Started drag racing. At that time there were 10 strips with in 100 mile radius of Dallas. Built my first road race car (1969 Boss 302 Mustang).Stayed there for 20 years till I went to work for Rockwell International in Denver. Worked there on the H bomb for 11 years. At the same time I was road racing my 72 Pinto that I had started in 1975. Then a 80 Pinto. Then a 83  RX-7. This went on till 1995 when I sold my 72 Pinto. Moved back to Dallas then and went autocrossing with another RX-7 and another 80 Pinto that I still have. 2001 moved to Arkansas to work for Pratt & Whitney but that went down the tube after 9-11. Went back to Dallas to work at Bell Helicopter when I was 77 years old. I worked in the Metrology Lab. Stayed there till I retired in 2013. So much for the ole story of companys not hiring senior over 50. Now I'm back in Arkansas at 82, retired, and still working on my Pinto. So you see, I had 65 years to gather up those tech tips.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #106 on: March 01, 2017, 11:16:34 AM »
How did I learn all of this stuff? Well it started a long time ago in a far off land in El Paso, Texas. I had just joined the USAF and I was stationed with several hot roders from la la land. In 1953 I went to work part time at the only hot rod shop in El Paso. I did the engine balancing and general flunkey work. 53 and 54 I was on the pit crew for the shop's race cars in the Mexican road race. In three years we never finished even one race. In 1958 I was transferred to Charleston, SC. Nascar land! Went to work for a new team racing Oldsmobile 88's. Stayed there building engines till 1962 when I went to work for a team racing year old 61 Fords. Same job building engines and I was the one that put on the decals and lettering on the race cars. I also had to trim the leading edge of the decals to a 45 deg angle. Nascar racers worry about drag very much. 1963 I went to work with Zantop airlines as a mechanic in Salt Lake City. 1964 off to the salt flats with my 427 63 Ford. 20 mph slow at 145 mph. Oh well it was fun though. 1965 moved to Dallas, Tx to work for Texas Instruments. Started drag racing. At that time there were 10 strips with in 100 mile radius of Dallas. Built my first road race car (1969 Boss 302 Mustang).Stayed there for 20 years till I went to work for Rockwell International in Denver. Worked there on the H bomb for 11 years. At the same time I was road racing my 72 Pinto that I had started in 1975. Then a 80 Pinto. Then a 83  RX-7. This went on till 1995 when I sold my 72 Pinto. Moved back to Dallas then and went autocrossing with another RX-7 and another 80 Pinto that I still have. 2001 moved to Arkansas to work for Pratt & Whitney but that went down the tube after 9-11. Went back to Dallas to work at Bell Helicopter when I was 77 years old. I worked in the Metrology Lab. Stayed there till I retired in 2013. So much for the ole story of companys not hiring senior over 50. Now I'm back in Arkansas at 82, retired, and still working on my Pinto. So you see, I had 65 years to gather up those tech tips.
I now must bow to the eastern horizon, for that is where all the classic Motorhead knowledge has moved, GRM/Classic Motorsports magazine,and now The story of the sage elder of Pinto master and his many apprenticeship s. For my history pales in comparison, and I feel positively adolescent in my Knowledge. My Automotive complexion has yet to clear up, and the solution is engaging the sport again. :o
Yes, it is possible to study and become a master of Pintosophy.. Not a religion , nothing less than a life quest for non conformity and rational thought. What Horse did you ride in on?

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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #107 on: March 02, 2017, 12:34:27 PM »
I enjoyed reading your bio, Dick. What an interesting career and racing experiences you have had. Too bad that many members of the younger generation do not have your work ethic. I now understand the source of your tech tips on how to modify/ improve a Pinto's performance. As pinto_one can attest, I have no mechanical ability as he is always willing to write step-by-step instructions for me on how to do minor repairs on my Pinto. I may never use the tech tips you share, but I do enjoy reading them, even if I don't always understand them!
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #108 on: March 02, 2017, 04:27:07 PM »
Ford use to run an ad back in the early 70's that 90% (I think) of the maintenance on a Pinto could be done with a dime. In my 82 years, I must say the Pinto is far and away the easiest car to work on ever made. I think Pinto-one will agree on this statement.
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Offline dick1172762

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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #109 on: March 03, 2017, 10:55:20 AM »
Think you need a hotter spark in your Pinto? Maybe yes / maybe no! Factory Ford ignition now days are pretty good but only if in good shape. What goes bad you ask? Plug wires are the most often poor or really bad item bar none. How do you know you ask. One way is to start you engine up outside on a dark night. I've seen plug wires light up like X-mas lights. If your plug wires came on your Pinto, they are JUNK by now. In the good ole days we used solid core plug wires made by Packard 440. But NOT today! Will not work with todays ignition at all. For street or racing you need good wires like MSD sells. As big in diameter as you can find. 8MM or bigger! What else do you need? A really good coil like a Ford E-coil. I get these out of a junk yard and have never seen one go bad. 4 cylinder or 460 V-8 are all the same. Stock car racers use them almost 100% of the time because their cheap and work oh so good. Next on a race car or hoped up street car, you need a MSD module box like the 6AL or 6T. NO 7 box's please as there not made for long running trip on the street. Drag racing only. I have seen the MSD box's run a engine with the ground electrode on the plugs burnt off. Just never grab one that's live. It'll roll your socks down. BTW no 16 volt car battery's as the MSD's go up in smoke with them. With these 3 items you should be set to do any thing that's legal with a Pinto. These mods are what I've done for the past 40 or years that MSD has been mfg them. Good stuff! Good people! BTW what you do with this tech tip is up to you. I'm only telling you what I've done in the past.
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Offline one2.34me

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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #110 on: March 03, 2017, 01:55:51 PM »
Thanks Dick for all these tech tips and tricks you are taking the time to write down. This thread is "bookmarked" and greatly appreciated! You are passing out 65 years of what we called "tribal knowledge" on the floor. Priceless!

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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #111 on: March 03, 2017, 03:45:33 PM »
Well Jack, at 82 I need to write it all down before I can't. I have RA and do all of my typing with one finger, so I'm very slow. How's your Pinto doing these days? Our weather is crazy this winter. It's 30 one day and 60 the next all winter. Better than up in the north east with their once a year snow (all winter). Got the door seal's and the window wipes finished. Not too much to go now. I think one good week would finish it. (I hope). Did you change intake manifolds yet? Hope that works out for you. You'll need it out at the springs diceing it out with the Datsun 510's. That and a big bumper to use for a push bar. More later.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #112 on: March 03, 2017, 06:27:59 PM »
Sorry to hear about your RA Dick. The Pinto's doing good. Looks like an old beater, but runs great. I drive it often. I like driving it as much as my '13 ST. There's been some rain out here, way too much for some areas. It's a brisk 80 today in Southern LaLa Land. I have an Ace 1" spacer for the stock manifold, and a 1" Racer Walsh spacer/adapter for the efi manifold, which doesn't completely cover the efi's plenum and sets the carb more over the aft runners than the fronts. I'm considering the Ace 5001 adapter on ebay. Reading your tips, I realize whatever I do, the stock intake it won't outdo the efi one. Love those 510's, such cool little cars! Hope you your FoPi is on the road real soon! Take care Dick.

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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #113 on: March 04, 2017, 10:24:44 AM »
Want better spark with your Pinto RACE car? Fine tune your distributor's rotor by filing down the electrode on the tip of the rotor. File it down at a 45 deg angle on each side of the tip till its only 1/16" wide. Make sure you file an equal amount off each side of the tip. Make SURE you don't file the 1/16" wide tip. What this does is make it easy'r for the spark to jump over to the cap. Will not give you 100 HP more, but ever little bit helps. This is only good on a race car due to short life of the rotor.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #114 on: March 04, 2017, 04:53:17 PM »
Someone told me that they always wanted to time their distributor's rotor in. Well here's how. With an old distributor cap drill a hole as big as you can in the top of the cap between the coil post and the number 1 wire post. You want this hole to be dead center on a line between the two post and again as big as you can make it. Now take  the rotor and paint a white line 1/16" wide between the center of the rotor and the rotor tip. Now install the cap with wires and the rotor on your engine. Now you should be able to look down the hole you drilled on the cap and see the white line on the rotor as it passes by when the engine is rotated. Now start your engine and with a timeing light look down the hole and see where the white line is. In a perfect world it will be dead center in the hole you drilled. If not you will need to work with the slot in the cap to align the cap to the rotor. Be VERY careful when drilling the hole as its very brittle.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #115 on: March 09, 2017, 05:26:44 PM »
Want your Pinto autocrosser to be a little quicker next Sunday at the local track? Mount the battery in the trunk. Easy enough with parts off pf E-gay. A battery hold down mount/tray. 15 ft or so of #2 or larger welding cable. Various cable ends. I mounted my sealed battery in the spare tire hole pointing in the same direction as stock, and never crossways please. Then you'll need to run the cable forward inside or under the car. When inside the car I run the cable inside poly hose to insulate the cable a little more. I hook the ground cable to one of the seat belt bolts under the back seat. If you do this right, it will start ever bit as good as stock. I an not telling you to do this! Only that this is the way I would do it if and only if I was doing this mod. Use a sealed battery to get rid of fumes in side the car. Then go kick some Vegas asp.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #116 on: March 09, 2017, 06:50:04 PM »
How do you hop up a 2.0L pinto engine? First move to England or get a real good friend over there. Why? Because the 2.0L was not used over here after 74, but was used in England to a few years ago. The Brits wrote the book on 2.0L Fords and make and sell all the good stuff in the world. Aluminum heads for a start. The stock 2.0L head is a real piece of German junk! Why? Because the intake ports are the worst ever cast that is known by man. They go straight into the head and then make a 90deg turn to the valve seats. Not too bad for a turbo but pure junk for an engine with carbs. It can be fixed but only with VERY high $$$$ to spend. The intake ports need to be moved upward almost 1 inch! That's 1 inch! Racer Walsh had a welder back in the early 70"s that could make the mod if you had the money. $1000+ in 1973 dollars. If you do, some how move the ports then the intake manifold will not fit. The intake manifold will need to be relocated. Everything else for the hop up can be bought over here or in England and maybe Germany. Bryan Walsh has a very fast 2.0L Pinto and may very well have one of those heads. Easy to tell as the intake manifold will be up near the valve cover. I do not know if the English aluminum head has the ports moved but it would be really dumb if they didn't. Now you know how to get that 200 horse power on the street.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #117 on: March 10, 2017, 12:31:30 PM »
2300 Ford go fast parts at 4m.net / classified / mini stock. This is the kind of parts required to go really FAST with a Pinto.
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #118 on: March 10, 2017, 12:55:28 PM »
I've read several articles about being able to run Ranger/Mustang roller cam rocker arms on a stock non roller cam. On paper it looks like this would give you a hotter cam than the Ranger/Mustang roller cam. Has any body tried this mod? Any body willing to try it? If it does work it would be cheaper than changing the cam to. I do know we used to do this all the time with the 2.0L engines. At that time you could get 2.0L roller rocker arms from Racer Walsh. These rocker arms worked very good on both stock and race cams even though the cams were for non roller rocker arms. Only problem on a 2.0L was the roller rocker were heavy and cost you about 500 rpm above 7000 rpm. We ran them anyway in long races that were several hours long. Any takers on this mod??
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Re: TECH TIPS
« Reply #119 on: March 19, 2017, 04:09:19 PM »
This is in relation to tip #118. Got this addition to the above tip from a friend at Ford R&D department. "There are cases where you can run a roller follower on a cam not designed for a roller follower. A prime example is the 2.0L Pinto engine. The Pinto isn't really a flat tappet design because the stock followers are curved. So are the 2.3L followers. Loads are about as high on these cams as rollers, which is one reason the 2.3L engines had so much cam problems in the early years. You can put roller followers on the stock 2.3L cam and they will work just fine." This is what Ford says. I have no idea if this mod works on a 2.3L cam, but it sure sounds like it does. Do this mod at your own risk. I know I will try it.
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