2l petrol engines? advice please

[andyandyvan]

hello! my partner and i are attracted to a cute mk2 camper we have seen on ebay

its 1981 reg with 87,000 on the clock, 2l pinto petrol engine.

How long to these engines last?

I'm generally interested as there's a few of these older petrol engine camper conversions around.

on the one hand there might be a much loved bargain to be had. but on the other hand i am concerned that buying an old van like this may be looking for trouble??

what should i look out for when considering these?

also, can these engines handle a long drive down to south of spain and back? or are they really better suited to uk 'weekend' sue?

any advice happily taken. thanks, andy

[captain hook]

Last Pinto I had was in a Mk2 Transit Minibus.

I sold it at 243,000 miles

1 new camshaft kit....

4 new water-pumps....

And the rest just service items

Just look over the van for RUST

[lenster999]

I've had a 2.0 mk5 for the best part of a year, the only issue that i have with the petrol is that when you're cruising on the motorway the fuel consumption rises along with the engine noise, but i still wouldn't swap it for a dirty oil burner!!

[bortaf]

I've had a 2.0 mk5 for the best part of a year, the only issue that i have with the petrol is that when you're cruising on the motorway the fuel consumption rises along with the engine noise, but i still wouldn't swap it for a dirty oil burner!!

Isn't that a DOHC in a Mk5 ?? not a pinto ?

Not very refined but a safe engine (no worrys about timing belts snaping and destroying the engine) you might get mid 20's mpg wise, i dod from my 2.0 Mk2 after a carb rebuild ! they are quite rough sounding higher up the rev range but tough as old boots