My carb is crappin out. Has anyone had good results after a rebuild or should I get a new one. It is a '79 2.3 2bbl. Also, are these carbs all the same or is there a difference with auto vs manual or something? Thanks, David.
I just went through this with my 78. I ended up buying a carb from the local AutoZone, and found out it was also bad. Then I rebuilt the original carb that was on the car and everything is now running great. The rebuild was fairly easy, the hardest part was cleaning everything.
Whats a new carb cost anyway?
13 years ago when I got my dads 79 wagon out of storage the choke stuck something fierce. I played with it a while and then decided to rebuild it. After that, the choke worked properly but the car never ran the same again. It hesitated and died constantly. I thought I did not set the float properly so I bought another kit and went thru it again with no better luck. Something was wrong with that carb and I never could figure out what it was. I found another wagon in the local U-pull it that was t-boned and pulled the carb of it. It looked like a low mileage car as it was well taken care of. I installed that carb and all my problems went away. Now 13 years later, it still runs fine but hesitates a little when cold. Once this one dies, I will probably buy a new NOS carb and throw it on. I don't think I will go thru the hassle of a rebuild again. Good luck!
One of the main things i look at when making the decision to rebuild or find another carb is the butterfly shaft. Wiggle it, pull on it, jiggle it around. If it moves any way other than to open and close the butterflies it is pretty much junk. keep in mind though when holding butterflies all the way open it will move side to side a little wee bit. The steel butterfly shaft will wear away at the aluminum of the carb body, and the resulting slop is a major vacuum leak at the shaft.
p.s. I dont know if butterfly is the "correct terminology" but it works for me.
Even if you buy a rebuilt carb, check the throttle shaft. My brother just bought a rebuilt Thermo Quad by Holley (I thought they had a trusting name) only to find out the rebuilt carb shaft was so wasted it wouldn't even idle down, so we removed the base of the original carb with 100k miles and used it. Thanks Holley, great quality control for $260.00
All I know is the carb on the car I'm getting is so wasted that it wouldn't even run, let alone idle... It was rebuilt, but on the other hand the carb on my parts car has also been rebuilt & until the car was revving its last revs it started up first time right on the first pump of the pedal... With that in mind that carb is going on the Pinto I'm picking up... Seems to matter how it's rebuilt or something.
Where do you find the rebuild kit? I have a 5200 2v carb, took it off to clean and have not been able to find a kit anywhere. Found this site and joined hoping to help with this. Just picked up a VW bus with the conversion, trying to work out the kinks. Thanks in advane from a newbie to the site
Hello ZMeinvw,
Welcome to the Ford Pinto group!
You should find the 5200 carb kit at NAPA.
If you Id tag is missing take your carb with you to buy the kit.
From Pintony
Thanks, found one there, they had to order it, waiting on it now. Found another one at a place near me carb specialist, if any body needs any parts or carbs looks like they have a nice selection. www.carbspec.com
On a side note, I am thinking of going back with an upright in this one and selling the engine from it, any thoughts on what is a decent asking price for the engine?