Hey guys, got an issue
1980 Ford Pinto 2.3. Carb & engine from 1977 Pinto. Things were fine before, pump twice & fire up. Now I pump twice & she just cranks & cranks & cranks. I pump 2-3 times more & she will eventually start. Noticed it doesn't step up to a higher idle first thing either.
Once up to temp it fires right up & runs perfect.
I dropped the engine in from the 77 after cleaning & painting it & using the same carb that was from the 77.
The electric choke isn't hooked up but is there. Connection is for the 77 Pinto versus 80 wiring & need to swap choke coils.
Any suggestions as to what to adjust on the car?
Ok, I poured over my 77/2.3(way back when) for near 2 months trying to solve some minor issues, including the one you have/had. This is a Colonge, German engine & it tends to be very picky.
The vacuum sys has to be near perfect, the timing is only a point or so forgiving(running slightly advanced is better), when the owner's manual talks about oil viscities per temps they need to be taken seriously. I couldn't tell if the fuel pump was only weak or the lines run w/ too much resistance(I installed an Electric Fuel Pump back by the tank eventually & plated off the manual fuel pump port in the block). Vapor-lock seemed to be a problem prior to the Electric Fuel Pump. Also, the vacuum advance can be lightened some so the vac-pressures don't have to be as high, if you're running the std/manual distributor.
Cold starts just seem to be a bit of an issue on the lil'Ford 4 cyl engines(like the carb drains back to level after it sits for awhile, another thing installing an electric fuel pump solved- turning it on manually(wired w/a switch) allowed fuel pressures to build up a bit before actually cranking the engine over.
Cold starts can always be a bit of an issue if you live in an area where it snows/freezes, something a block-heater will always help, along w/ lower degree'ed coolant-temp regulator being a good idea. Turn off the interior heater/fan when you park as that can act as a 'second radiator' for the cooling sys & take longer to warm the engine on start-ups. Another thing that helps once you get the engine to start, run for 1 min & shut it off let it set for 2 mins- allowing the engine temp to spread into the cooling passages more evenly warming the whole engine faster.
IHTH
Michael