Ideas wanted: Rebuild 2.0 Pinto or upgrade?

[Leeday]

Hi all.

Am looking for suggestions --- my 2.0 Pinto 1989 mk3 swb 120 has now reached 100,000 miles and showing signs of wear oil seals leaking, bit of blue smoke, sluggish
Now considering it is my works van and toy... 4 captain seats, tv, freeview, dvd player....gadgets galore, but is also at its max GVW of 2600kg and it sometimes tows a trailer (nobody needs mention GTW as I know ), should I rebuild the 2.0 Pinto (205 block) and tune it whilst its apart... (re-bore, new cam, etc, etc) and get the twin choke weber serviced and rebuilt or......
put another engine in.... 2.8, 2.9, 3.0?
I do want more power out of it.... pulling power and speedy power, but also want to keep the current (AL4 I think) autobox.
Will be taking a week off work to complete this so have 9 days to do it (5 work days and 2 weekends).
Definitely want to stick to petrol power and and carburettor (so no diesel or fuel injection ideas, unless someone can supply wiring info on installing fuel injected engine).
Please reply with as many ideas and opinions as possible..... all will be appreciated

Cheers.

[Leeday]

[Mr RVM]

REBUILD THE PINTO

[karl]

REBUILD THE PINTO

Cost you less as well

[bortaf]

I'd replace it with a known good one, £150 will get a get you a decent car engine which will be more lively in a van not used to carry it's full weight all the time, the same £150 would just about cover the machine work needed to do a decent rebuild on a pinto.
Pinto EFi (if you can find one! ) are fairly easy, just get the whole loom and it's 3 wires to get it running (IF you use a granada as the donor, sierra loom is a bit more complicated) but the fuel pump and pick up will need some fabrication.
Any V6 will require expensive and rare SVO parts or a fair bit of home fab to get in, the 8V twin cam (again preferably from a granada) will pep it up a lot (more than an EFi pinto would ) but again the fuel pump will need sorting and you'll need to change the gearbox or at the very least the bellhousing (for a hard to find sierra 1.8 diesel one).
It really depends on how easy you want it to be? anything except a pinto will require exhaust and cooling mods as well

[Leeday]

Thanks guys.....and thanks bortaf for the detailed reply

Any one else got any input?

[robbie.cee]

ESSEX

[robbie.cee]

RIDICULOUS amounts of torque

[Leeday]

So that`s 3 in favour of the Pinto rebuild,
and 1 in favour of the V6 Essex.

Thought there would be more than 4 members who would have an opinion

[jonochap]

Personally, i like my pinto now, but it has taken a long time to fiddle with and get to a place where it works. Any engine change would need the same. People seem to rave about the isuzu 1.7, maybe thats a viable replacement? If it was me i would just want it working, the threads where people have fettling problems seem to outweigh the ones who dont and at least its an engine you know...

But! As all these things, the choice is yours

[AlanN]

I'm all in favour of a V6 but what MPG you getting now?
I'm only getting 21 - 22MPG with my cologne C3 auto, but I can't remember the final ratio of the C3, 1:1 maybe, Im hoping that will be 25 - 27MPG (if I ever get around to fitting the A4LD) final ration is 0.75:1, better than a MT75 of 0.82, you can use your original box, but you will need to find a Granada MK3/Sierra Bellhousing to fit the cologne, I dont know what torque converter I have, as the gearbox specialist replaced it. Engine mounts can be moded to siut with a little welding and you have all the wiring, just need to extent some of it Capri down pipes, will clear box, just a matter of connecting to old system
Personally, Id go cologne, easier to find bits, Oh, you will need a DOHC or V6 radiator, thats the hard bit to find

[Marty.H]

Rebuild the pinto.

Good power can be had from one but swap the head out for an injection head as it has bigger ports. Get the head sliced as much as you dare go to get comp up. Remove the vacuum advance on the dizzy and lock it up. You will also need a set of stubby spark plugs if you slice it as much as I use to as standard plugs hit pistons once heavily skimmed.

With any high lift cam you will generally need to get spring seats machined or they end up coil bound. Adjustable vernier. Get valves re-shaped and re profiled and 3 angle valve seats cut. Replace ends/mains and rings just get bores honed out to bust glaze.

Run in on mineral oil stops premature glazing of bores before rings have bed in.

Fit a 32/36 twin choke webber but use throttle linkages from a 3L carb they cog driven and open both butterflies on first and second at same time on standard linkage second butterfly is progressive a lot more snappy on 3L linkage.


Lots can be done to a pinto and they a very robust engine use to run one in my lightning rod

[BROWNYS V6]

having had a pinto and a v6 in my mk3, im affraid to say if it was mine it would have to be the v6
i just think a pinto in a transit is a bit wheezy and under powered, but then the v6 is a guzzler
as you say its a workhorse and a daily so tell me to shut up and go with bortaf's idea of a car pinto
good luck with whatever you decide and keep us posted with plenty of pics

[Leeday]

Wow..
That`s more like it... knew there were more members who could apply input .
One of my concerns was the mpg.. the 2.0 pinto v`s the V6 would normally be more economical giving more mpg (in a car), but in a van weighing in at 2.4 ton I was guessing the 2.0 pinto has to work harder to shift the weight, the V6 would not work so hard, so in (my) theory the V6 could work out to be more economical.
I like the idea of the V6 ......... you just can`t beat a v`s smoothness, balance and pure Grunt
The mpg at the moment on the pinto is low, can be down to 15-16 mpg, but then I do seem to have my foot to the floor, trying to get the 100,000 mile pinto with 2nd hand (unserviced) 32/36 DGAV carbs going and up some steep hills.... sometimes the pinto is roaring, carbs are sucking in air and the van is doing 25mph up a steep hill .......... people hear me coming and expect to see me fly by at 70mph by the sound of the engine

[AlanN]

Maybe try and find a MK3 V6efi, better fuel economy than carbs and low compression too, for better pulling power. find an ole ambulance and youve got the ecu, mounts etc., the flywheel and adapter plate can be sold on to help pay for it ££££