Pinto Car Club of America

Shiny is Good! => General Pinto Talk => Topic started by: fairmont on July 28, 2004, 07:41:43 PM

Title: fuel milage
Post by: fairmont on July 28, 2004, 07:41:43 PM
hi pinto fans
i am new to the site and i have had alot of pintos in the past i am currently looking at a 74 pinto wagon can any one tell me what kind of milage thay get and how much gas thay hold


thank you
todd <fairmont> :)
Title: Re: fuel milage
Post by: Brando on August 04, 2004, 08:39:16 PM
My 78 wagon has a 13?14? gallon tank and got rougly 17mpg.
Title: Re: fuel milage
Post by: crazyhorse on August 11, 2004, 12:33:34 PM
My '74 runabout has a 12.5 gal tank & gets around 25MPG (mine's a 2.3L auto)
Title: Re: fuel milage
Post by: straw boss on August 11, 2004, 02:09:21 PM
Once I managed to put something like 13.2 gallons in my Pinto.  I was driving on fumes.  Now that the car has fuel injection, I don't let the tank get much lower than 1/8 tank or it will $uck air on a left hand corner.  If I drive conservatively and stay at the local 55mph limit, I can get 33-34 mpg in the summer on my 18 mile commute.
Title: Re: fuel milage
Post by: Handy on September 22, 2004, 07:12:33 AM
Hi Strawboss,

I'm a newbie here but have enjoyed reading the posts.  I have this week off so I'm looking a little closer. 

I've been considering an upgrade to EFI this winter as a project for my '76 runabout.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Did you pull your EFI off a Ranger or other?   I'm also wondering what electronics need to be salavaged at the same time.
Title: Re: fuel milage
Post by: straw boss on September 22, 2004, 09:40:44 AM
I really don't know what my intake came off of.  I found it in a junkyard in the back of a Chevy truck about 12 years ago.  My guess is it came off a Ranger, since part of the EGR valve was higher than the throttle body.  I don't think it would fit under a Mustang or Thunderbird hood.  I removed the valve and mounting boss and welded up the hole in the manifold.
In addition to that, I cut about 1/2 inch out of the upper intake, so the throttle body sits closer to the valve cover.  My hood clearance is still near zero.  I have a small outward dent in the hood from the intake to prove it.  New motor mounts seem to have kept the intake from contacting the hood since then.
If I were to do it again, I would look for an intake and valve cover from a '87-'88 Thunderbird turbo coupe.  The intake is lower, and the valve cover has a recessed area for throttle body clearance.
I did not use the stock Ford wiring or electronics, but that would be a good way to go.  I used an aftermarket ECU from Electromotive.