Forum > Your Pintos/Bobcats & Racers
1976 Wagon with 308.000 miles!
mikerich1972:
Yep, I drive my wagon every day. We've had the car since 1988, when I got T-boned in my other Pinto wagon. I bought the first one in about January, 1988. It had some serious piston slap going on in the tired 2.3. I used to wait at least 2 minutes for warm-up to let the pistons quit swapping holes before pulling out of the driveway!
This second Pinto now has 308.000 confirmed miles. I'm not sure it's the original engine, though. The odometer read 97k when I got it, and drove it about 36 miles round trip to work daily. We live in Washington state, and routinely drive it into Montana and Idaho for vacations. You should've seen some of the stares we got on I-90 headed East into Montana across Lolo Pass last October! Then there's the comments we get from folks around town who can't believe thier eyes; all worth it!
I retired in 2003, and took the first opportunity to build a spare 2.3 L. I still have the spare waiting for the day the original breathes its last... that was 30,000 miles ago, and no end in sight! It still runs at 30-32 MPG highway, so who's complaining?
I contacted Ford Motor Company about a year ago, concerning this high-mileage Pinto. I didn't hear anything back, so e-mailed three different departments within Ford! I received two "thanks but no thanks" responses to my offer of commercial exposure. You would think they would be interested in their little "disposable" car being so reliable!! I guess they're too busy figuring out how to send more jobs overseas and save a buck...
Pintony:
:welcome: mikerich1972,
Does your Pinto happen to be one made in Canada that the odometer rolls on Kilometers instead of miles?
Just a question... Not trying to be a wise guy...
30-32 would be phenomenal mpg for a 2.3.
Most Pinto owners do not even know there is a difference between the two odometers.
From Pintony
mikerich1972:
No, it's definitely a US made, mile-measuring Pinto! I have, many times, verified the MPG, gear ratios, and tire calculations for this car. In fact, I have done modifications to the engine that have netted me up to 37.502 MPG!! (And this was last February, with about 300K miles!).
I have been working on several ideas that I think may have merit in reducing gasoline consumption. The latest is hard to quantify right now, but I'm still working on it. The poor car should feel like a lab rat by now!
By the way, if any of you Pinto guys want to know a secret to easily boost HP and MPG that was inspired by some old-school racing guys, just e-amil me. This will work on almost ny engine, although Chevy's are more sensitive. Please write "PCV MODS" in the subject line. I'll e-mail you my instructions for increasing MPG by up to 17% !!! This is not a joke. I have been doing this for a long time, with no adverse affects on the high-mileage engine. I also have a magazine article highlighting this same basic idea that proves up to 14.5 HP increase with a Pontiac 455 CI. My experience can only prove the MPG increase of up to 17% on the 2.3L.
Send your requests to: GDSNCNTRL@VERIZON.NET ( be sure to put "PCV MODS"
Mike Richardson
77turbopinto:
--- Quote from: mikerich1972 on March 26, 2008, 09:17:54 PM ---By the way, if any of you Pinto guys want to know a secret to easily boost HP and MPG that was inspired by some old-school racing guys, just e-amil me. This will work on almost ny engine, although Chevy's are more sensitive. Please write "PCV MODS" in the subject line. I'll e-mail you my instructions for increasing MPG by up to 17% !!! This is not a joke. I have been doing this for a long time, with no adverse affects on the high-mileage engine. I also have a magazine article highlighting this same basic idea that proves up to 14.5 HP increase with a Pontiac 455 CI. My experience can only prove the MPG increase of up to 17% on the 2.3L.
--- End quote ---
Are you taking about disconnecting the PCV system and just venting it? I know racers do that to lower the intake air temps.
Bill
Farmboy:
:welcome:, great, another pinto-freak in the great state of Washington
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