I just wanted to say 'hello' to the Pinto faithful after some months of hibernation...and, yes, I admit, the occasional second thought.
My first car was a '72 2000 auto with all the options (how I miss her, she was given me by my Mother) which I sold in the mid-80's for...well, nevermind, let's just say something which wasn't a Pinto.
Almost a year ago, I purchased a powder blue '73 (2000/4-speed, original CA plates, etc.) in remarkably good condition, with the hopes of rekindling a relationship with another Pinto. The drive back from Los Angeles to the SF Bay Area, however, put the final nail into the engine's coffin (wishful thinking takes one only so far on a hot summer day); it got worse and worse and ended up expelling most all of the oil through the breather cap over the (final) 25 miles on Hwy 5 before expiring entirely. Ended up spending the night in a bad motel and towing her 200 miles back to my home, after refusing an offer from the tow truck driver for a bus ticket in exchange for the car!
That was last summer. Fast forward to last week: after seven months in the shop, I'm pleased to say that Betsy has a newly rebuilt engine, new brakes, some rear-end work, and some other smaller items have received attention as well. I have to admit to having some second thoughts during the long wait but it took only one drive to renew the affair. Needless to say I'm smitten (again).
So, I just wanted to thank everyone for their contributions to the site and the Pinto community. I don't want to name names, but y'all have been supportive and helpful (Pintony, Skratch)...point is, anyone can say thanks, and now it's my turn.
Thanks!
:)
Hi...
Congratulation`s on your patience and determination on the little pony...I hope it bring`s you many year`s of enjoyment...and welcome back to the herd! :lol: RIGHT ON!
Rex (73pintogeek)
We are all like one happy family here. i started out on this website in its earliest days.. i was 11 that was 10 years ago and with out this website i woudnt of kept the car. this site is what made my pinto experience a sickness. its my personal duty to make others "sick" as well lol thanks for the update.. i updated my progress on my pinto in my projects section
OH! YEA! RIGHT!!!!!
Like you did not know this was coming...
Pinto.....
Photos??????
Pronto!!!!!!
Pinto_Girl Lets see it!!!!!!!!
Okay, Okay, I'm trying to figure out how to get the digital camera working again.
I've got old photos of her when I bought her, but...well...I think she's looking better now. So I'll have to ask you to wait a bit longer.
I can give some more details on I've had done so far, though. As y'all know, the engine was no longer able to do what an engine does (i.e., propel the car and not destroy itself in the process)...and I'm so glad that I decided to have the 2 liter rebuilt stock. It took a while, but I was even able to find someone to rebuild it and offer a 12-month, 12,000 mile warranty. I'm not very good mechanically so this sort of thing is important to me--don't laugh if you're able to do all this stuff yourself!!
Also, the brakes were gone through entirely; replaced most of the steel and all of the rubber hoses, new master cylinder, rotors, etc.
Then it was on to the rear end; the axle bearings were shot but that seemed to be the only problem (so far). Manual trans. also seems to be in reasonable shape, as is the clutch.
Also new shocks front and rear, and leaf springs (was sagging in back), and a rebuilt steering rack.
For safety, I asked my mechanic to go over all of the lights; the tail lamps were not very bright but ensuring a good ground seemed to take care of most of the problems. The car does have the fuel tank shield which was part of the recall, but I'd still rather not be rear ended if I can avoid it.
A set of gauges were also installed. Mine are made by AutoMeter and the three for oil water and volts are in a single unit and fit nicely into the top part of the center console, without damaging anything original. Even leaves room below for storing CD cases or whatnot. Still trying to figure out where best to locate a tachometer, though. I can drive her fine without one but am curious how badly wound out she is on the freeway.
Finally a new set of whitewall tires (Firestone 175-80-13's seem to fill the wheelwells) replaced too-small bargain tires of uncertain age.
The interior still needs some work, but she's really coming together already and has made a few believers from Pinto skeptics. She's really, well, spunky, and has no problem cruising with traffic, or faster.
My neighbors think I'm a little crazy...but I'm not sure the Pinto has anything to do with it!!
:-)
Hello Pinto_Girl,
If you can still find any stations that have leaded fuel you need to buy a few tanks now and then as to help out with the valve seats on your NEW 2.0 engine.
Sorry I could not help you with any of your NEW goodies.
Glad you found someone who could help.
Your Pony sounds like it has realy got some kicking left to do!!!! ;D
Are you bring your Pinto to the Knotts Berry Farm show in april?
If so I can get my own photos of your Pinto. ;D
From Pintony
Thanks for the advice! I was assuming that the valve seats(?) were okay with unleaded.
Oh gosh...I'm afraid to drive her to SoCal so soon after the rebuild. I feel like a long trip on such a fresh engine wouldn't be good. Isn't it better to vary the speed/rpm/throttle when it's still being broken in? Besides, right now the last trip is still a little fresh in my memory! The image of motor oil weeping from under the hood is one I'll prob'ly never forget.
Funny how none of the idiot lights ever came on! (except when I turn the key)
Still working on pictures of the car, will post soon. She's also going back into the shop for a 500-mile checkup; they'll do an oil/filter change, as well as make a few other additions.
I was able to find a small diameter tachometer which matches the other instruments I had installed; this is going in too. I'm really curious how badly wound out she is on the freeway.
The one thing which has me wondering is that the steering doesn't quite want to 'self-center' when I'm coming out of a turn. It's really subtle but noticable if you're aware of it. I've had new tires installed but no alignment done...wondering if it might be that, or hopefully not something out of adjustment or wrong with the rack and pinion assembly itself.
Does this problem sound familiar?
One other question: how long to go between valve lash(?) adjustments? I've heard 3000 miles...wondering how you know it's time.
Hello Pinto_Girl,
I hope valve adjustment is not every 3000 miles.
I'll have to pull over and do an adjustment 1/2 way home from the Knotts Berry Farm show. ;D
I think you need to add a zero. More like 30,000.
If you have 500 miles already you are fine for the trip to S. Ca.
From Pintony
yup 500 miles is fine but change the oil before you go. as far as mounting the tach, a hose clamp around the steering column works as good as any thing. the tach should have come with the bracket, mine even came with the hose clamp.
Darn it; now I'll need to come up with another way to get out of going!
Seriously, I guess I'm a little afraid since it was that trip that blew her up in the first place. I know that makes no sense. What's more of a problem is getting time off of work for such a trip. What are the dates when I'd want to be down there? I have an office job and don't think I can spare much time during the week; that might be a problem. Want to be able to afford lots more Pinto goodies...can't without work.
I found another tach, this one is lots smaller so we might have more options where to put it. No offense, but I'm looking for an installation that's a bit cleaner than hose-clamping it to the steering column. I think I might like it to be a little less obvious, too.
Any thoughts on why the steering doesn't quite want to return to center on its own after a turn? I get the feeling there's a bushing or something down there which collapses a bit on harder cornering and casuses a shift in the suspension geometry.
If I were you I would try getting the front end aligned and see if that stops it. If you must change the bushings out racer walsh has stock bushing kits for the front ends.
Pinto_Girl,
I have just read your thread and I applaud you for making the effort to have your Pinto fixed back up. Yes there are a good number of guys on this site that can work on their own Pintos saving them a few bucks. So I double applaud your effort to rekindle your love for this Pinto. Hopefully down the road a bit when the big FordPinto meet happens you will have the confidence and the vacation time to attend. Treat Betsy well and Besty will be there for you. Oh...and a reminder.....Post some pics!!!!!
High_Horse
yes need some pics. whatever your gonna do, take your time ,do it right the first time,do it you r way, so ther ll be no regrets down the road. we should get every pinto member to do alittle bio in aseparate section,? or do we have one already? i find them interesting since not too many owners livethat close to my area. :( pintok
Thanks for the support! Not having a ton of mechanical skills doesn't make it any easier for me. That said, it's LOTS better paying someone to do things right (hopefully!) than, say, asking a boyfriend to help. Since my ex couldn't even figure out how to operate a roll of duct tape, that really *wasn't* an option.
The good news is, the engine (and the whole car for that matter) is really loosening up and running great! I've rubbed out the paint and cleaned up the interior, and she's looking great, too.
The bad news is, I had it aligned but the steering is still funky. When I make a turn and let the steering wheel return to center, it's like the steering gear meets resistance just at a certain point; the drag isn't consistent. Like something's bent, perhaps...?
but what's weird is that it only happens under harder cornering.
I hope it's not the rack; have heard they're really difficult to find.
Oh, and something interesting happened last weekend: there was a car show near my house and I drove my Pinto...lots of people were pointing and saying, oh wow, a Pinto...haven't seen one of those in years...! This was one of those car shows with really old cars from the 20's and 30's, too.
Anyhow, on the way back from the show, the little nipple on the carb which the fuel hose attaches to, just kind of fell out while I was on the expressway, spraying the hot engine with fuel in the process! I 'dead-sticked' her into a gas station, grabbed my stuff (including $100 of groceries) and got out for a few minutes. But, when the smoke subsided, I went back under the hood and, with a spot of help from the gas station convenience store clerk (in the form of a roll of electrical tape) got her running again.
So my mechanic is working on this, but has not a clue about the steering and what's going on. I really need to figure out what's wrong with the steering. It's not unsafe, just kind of...weird. And it's the one aspect of the car which really prevents it from being as flingable as I recall my last Pinto to be.
Any thoughts?
I don't know for sure if it is the rack, but I found a site the other day called rockauto.com they have a new rack and pinion for your car if that is the problem they also have many other odds and ins it looks like a good site. Good luck diagnosing the problem and I hope you have lots of fun with your pinto.
Did your mechanic look at the "rag joint" that connects the steering column to the rack and pinion?
One other note. On one of my road pintos one time, i decided to completely redo all front end bushings. The one that holds the lower control arm wouldn't come out, and after awhile of trying all sorts of things, eventually it wore a hole thru the side of the bracket the control arm bolts to. and I had to weld a big washer on it, before i put the new bushing in. it worked great for awhile, until my friends drunken weld broke. Then it acted all kinds of weird. Just a thought. is your car purple with an orange interior??