Pinto engine conversion

[CPDSarge]

I know this may be a sore spot among some in the "A" community, but I'm trying to get an "A" with a pinto engine started that belonged to a good friend that passed several years ago. Does anyone know of a wiring diagram for the pinto to "A" conversion. Any and all leads appreciated.

[J Franklin]

Use the Pinto wiring diagram. Treat the A as a pinto. The conversions I have known only use the pinto engine and all else model A.

[Randy in ca]

Is the vehicle a Shay reproduction or original Ford with Pinto engine?

[CPDSarge]

Its a Model A with a pinto conversion

[GeneBob]

Assuming it also has a 12 volt conversion, it should be easy to track to a Pinto wiring diagram. If it is 6 volt positive ground, you will have to do some serious adjustments.

[BradinFAT]

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I have done 36 Pinto conversions and if you need some information, please feel free to PM me.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by BradinFAT

I have done 36 Pinto conversions and if you need some information, please feel free to PM me.

Just curious, did you do the wide keyway mod to the cam gears on those engines?

[Synchro909]

I had to google to see what Ford Pinto was. I found out OK, It was butt ugly but someone must have thought they were OK.

[updraught]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

I had to google to see what Ford Pinto was. I found out OK, It was butt ugly but someone must have thought they were OK.

It's like a Cortina, but ugly and dangerous.
"The Pinto, a subcompact car made by Ford Motor Company, became infamous in the 1970s for bursting into flames if its gas tank was ruptured in a collision. The lawsuits brought by injured people and their survivors uncovered how the company rushed the Pinto through production and onto the market."
"In 1975-76, the Pinto averaged 310 fatalities a year."

The Cortina was a bit underpowered, so our Ford engineers here decided, in their wisdom, to put the Ford Falcon 6cyl in it during the horse power days. It was a bit light in the back and became known as a burn out car. It balanced up better when home mechanics put in a V8.

[GeneBob]

I had a Pinto and thought it was a great car. It was the Model A of the early 1970's. I always wanted to put a V8 in it but could never afford to do it since I was in college.
After the media frenzy died down, it was found that the Pinto was no more likely to kill its passengers than any other car in its size class. Of course, that does not mean we don't like a good source of jokes about a car.
BTW, I have not seen any updates from the OP on whether he has made any progress.

[BradinFAT]

No, try to keep them the way Ford built them. Several I have put adjustable cam gears on and advance the stock cam about 5 to 7 degrees which makes a little difference. Have several engines with 80,000 miles on them and still going strong.

[jack backer]

Had a friend in the Navy turbocharge a 71 runabout, ran it on propane..even with cold fuel it was a fast little car.

[rotorwrench]

The Ford LIMA 4-cylinder OHC engine was used in more vehicles than the Pinto but all of them were relatively simple with clean air stuff removed. Here is the states, most were 2.0L or 2.3L depending on year of manufacture. The 2.0L was only used the first four years and the 2.3L from 74 on. There are a lot of different changes made over the years. In the early years they had a distributor but they were made clear up into the fuel injected era so a person needs to know how it is equipped to answer any questions about it.

If it's an early one then the distributor, starter, and alternator is all that was there of main importance. Clean air stuff could be removed and any two stage carb that could be fit so it would not have to have clean air electricals attached. If it's a late one then it could have all sorts of stuff attached.

If it's basic then it only has the basic needs. Air, fuel, and ignition to run. A starter would need a relay to operate it like many other Ford engines of the era. Ignition could be points or electronic but if it's points then it needs a connetion to a coil and the coil needs a connection to the ignition switch. An alternator could be a 1-wire if there is no warning light in the cab.

On customs, there is not much more that I can add. Find out what the engine casting numbers say and see whether it has a distributor and what it's connected to. See if the carb is OEM Ford or some aftermarket Weber or the likes. See if it is gravity flow from the fuel tank or whether it has an engine pump or electric type. If it's modern with OEM fuel injection then it will be a nightmare for a novice. They have to have a computer and all the sensors or they won't work.

The Lima engine that I had was in an old Ford Courier pickup. It worked well but the previous owner ran it on LP gas for a long time and wore the top end out before reaching 100K miles. I had to replace a cam drive belt at around 65K miles. They like to wear out and they won't run if the teeth get stripped and the timing gets off. A compression check should be done to unsure it will at least have enough to start.

This is a good info link. https://itstillruns.com/information-...e-8562186.html

[john charlton]

The pinto engine was fitted to the English Cortina ,capri and transits millions of them and were very reliable even after high mileage . The good news was when the cam belt broke the valves did not hit the pistons at least not on my brothers 2.3 litre 1974 station waggon .The clue was when the engine cranked over the distributor did not revolve

John in sunny afternoon Suffolk County England .

[Lannis]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

The Lima engine that I had was in an old Ford Courier pickup. It worked well but the previous owner ran it on LP gas for a long time and wore the top end out before reaching 100K miles.

This is a good info link. https://itstillruns.com/information-...e-8562186.html

The LP gas thing jumped out at me, because in my experience with Morgan +8 8-cylinder cars with LP fuel (they were imported that way in 1970 to pass emissions), they had a reputation for running much cleaner than gasoline powered ones ... you could take the heads off of a 100,000 mile car and the combustion chambers were sparkly clean. What would there be about LP powered engines that would wear out the top ends prematurely?

(I have a 4/4 now ...)

Lannis

[Lannis]

Originally Posted by john charlton

The pinto engine was fitted to the English Cortina ,capri and transits millions of them and were very reliable even after high mileage . The good news was when the cam belt broke the valves did not hit the pistons at least not on my brothers 2.3 litre 1974 station waggon .The clue was when the engine cranked over the distributor did not revolve

John in sunny afternoon Suffolk County England .

My '71 Pinto had the 1600cc "Cortina" engine. Peppy little car with a low, MG-like seating position. I enjoyed it while I had it...

Lannis

[Lannis]

Originally Posted by BradinFAT

I have done 36 Pinto conversions and if you need some information, please feel free to PM me.

I'm new to Model A's.

Is the Pinto engine conversion done because of the lack of stock Model A blocks and engines for rebuilding, or because it improves performance?

I would have thought that the "A" performance limiter would be the brakes and chassis as much as the engine?

Lannis

[BradinFAT]

In the 70's you could buy a low milage Pinto engine for $25 to $50 at the wrecking yards. A bunch of old guys with lots of time worked to get the Pinto engine to mate up to the Model A trans, plus there were no modifications to the body or frame. The engines were built in Germany and the quality of materials was very good. The engine is not a powerhouse, (around 80hp) but cruises very good, along with 25 to 29mpg.

[Randy in ca]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

I had to google to see what Ford Pinto was. I found out OK, It was butt ugly but someone must have thought they were OK.

There were about 2.5 million of them sold in the 70's. I read somewhere that not long ago it was estimated there are only about 10,000 still around.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by BradinFAT

No, try to keep them the way Ford built them. Several I have put adjustable cam gears on and advance the stock cam about 5 to 7 degrees which makes a little difference. Have several engines with 80,000 miles on them and still going strong.

The cam gear mod. RETARDS the cam 9 degrees. It will get you .2 of a second better in the quarter mile with a stock engine. It will gain you 1 mile per gallon better gas mileage.
It can be done at home with nothing more than a square file.