This is a little off topic, but close....
What do you attribute to the longevity of these little 2.3's? Reason I ask is I kept meticulous records of every tank of gas, 3000 mile oil changes on my new '74, and at 60,000 miles, I started another column of how many miles to the quart of oil. I started out at 600 miles to the quart and worked down to about 300 miles per quart at 110,000 miles.
Was it the 1974 engine, pre unleaded gas, and running unleaded gas? It did smoke a little after starting (valve guides?) and would smoke a bit on decelleration (pulling through rings?)
I am amazed to see some of you stating over 200,000 miles on the original engine. Were they smoking out the neighborhood?
At the time I was driving Pinto's (1973-about 1985), we were living with what we had. Today, almost 40 years later, we know the weaknesses of these engines and how to fix them.
I have a '79 driver with 39,000 miles on her. What would you do to that engine to ensure longevity? Don't use Pennzoil as I did in the day? Additives?
I would appreciate your thoughts,
Dave