Pinto To Zetec

[Guest Alan_builder]

sorry no pics, the anti roll bar is fine with the pinto sump, but the vx must be taller, and so has to sit lower, the front of the sump is only about two inches deep but we still had to do a remodelling job and shape it round the anti roll bar.

Don't know how tall the zetec is, or how deep the sump or whether it would be an issue with a zetec at all, there are issues with fitting both, both will give good power, but the vx has the edge, a newish zetec on TB's and emerald ECU will give 175bhp after a lot of mapping whereas worn vauxhalls are still giving 170-175 on carbs with very little messing about.

Only problem is they are all 20 years old now and good ones are getting very hard to find.

 

I doo like the VX engine, but the price down here is £150+ more than Zetec 2L and £350 more than a 1.7 Zetec.

 

I am sure I will go injection and MegaSquirt the thing for about £160 as I will build it myself. I know a new version is due so may be the older ones will decrease in price. I am still in the research phase but I believe by using a wide band Lambda sensor the MS will go a long way to tuning its self once a basic map is input for the Zeete.

 

Alan

[Knock-on]

Hi Alan

 

Zetec wont be in for a couple of weeks.

 

Going to rebuild the scuttle first but it WILL be in by Detling. You know what I'm like with timescales

[Knock-on]

Where has February gone. WHERE!!!

 

Haven't got too much further as keep getting distracted but here is where I am.

 

 

The Megajolt kit from Trigger Wheels

 

 

The old Zeta ripped out and ready to be worked on

 

 

Stripping the ancillaries off

 

 

Getting grease monkey (aka Timbo) working with the wire brush. Kieron in the background collapsed after the night before

 

 

Getting the engine bay ready to be tidied up, painted and rewired

 

 

Not too much else is done yet but as soon as the engines painted, can start reassembling.

[Guest The Modfather]

Would that be a '65 Mustang in the first pic?

[Knock-on]

I afraid I don't have a clue about American cars. I know it's a '60's GT350 but can't say more than that. We have a few in the workshop that are either being raced or renovated.

 

What's more of interest to me is the glimpse of the 1L screamer F3 in the 4th photo That should be testing at Silverstone on Saturday if it's not snowing.

[Knock-on]

Anyone familiar with the saga over my missing camera lead will be relived to know it's back. However, I've lost the pigging camera now. :s

 

As soon as I mate them both up (assuming I don't misplace the Laptop), will get some new pics up.

 

So, where are we? Not too far down the road really but most of the crappy stuff is finished.

 

First thing was to chop the cross member behind the distributor as I wasn't going to mess about lengthening props and wanted to keep the engine back as much as possible. This I did half way between the first and second bend and chopped it off on the near side. I then welded about 3 inches onto the bar I had cut off and welded back in. Fiddly little job but works OK.

 

Engine is now back in on some Citroen subframe rubber mounts and home-made engine mounts. Hangs a bit low on the sump but will sort that out in the near future. Engine is about 10mm below bonnet.

 

If anyone interested in mating the gearbox to the engine, the process was as follows.

 

Remove all clutch / flywheel and clean.

 

Fit spigot bearing into Engine. This is tight and needs tapping in with a socket. Don't go mad as it don't need to sit flush as long as it clears splines. Quick measure from face plate should suffice but I banged mine half way down.

 

Stick flywheel on. I didn't get a chance to lighten this so will be taking the engine out soon one of these days as I fitted without a bell-house cover. Tighten to 112Nm (83lb)

 

I chucked a new clutch and plate on off a Blacktop which was slightly smaller on diameter than the Silvertop so it wobbled around a bit.. Located the clutch with a locating spline tool and bolted clutch on to about 25Nm

 

Now the interesting bit. After measuring the point of contact for the shaft to clutch release, it was about 18mm more than the Pinto. This can be done by spending £40 odd quid on a new release bearing or by remembering the Hoody mantra: "If a Job's worth doing properly, then you can usually bodge it". Here's how I done it.

 

Give the clutch arm a wiggle and pull and it un-clicks allowing removal from the bell housing. Chop off the arm about 3 inches up from the opposite end where the cable goes and re-weld with a 13-14mm dogleg. The metal is crap but weld-able. Then stick some triangular braces in the sides for strength and after levering the clips out a touch on the release bearing so it clips in, pop it back.

 

This then ensures you take up the slack before you hit the clutch pedal.

 

Slot the engine into the gearbox with a bit of a wiggle and waggle and Bobs you're Auntie.

 

I have a Escort Silvertop water pump (Impeller goes the other way) which I am fitting this weekend to make the belts easier with a new Cam Belt and set of HT leads and then chuck the Carbs on. Then it's time to connect the new floor mounted pedal box and start the wiring.

[Knock-on]

Quick update.

 

Why, oh why, oh why do these "good" ideas pop into my head.

 

This all started off as a simple wishbone conversion about July last year. The bloody thing only passed SVA on St Georges day but I just couldn't leave alone. OK, the sliding Pillock was awful and the conversion had to be done but the Pinto was a storming little runner and didn't need replacing did it?

 

So, the sliding Pillock conversion has now expanded into changing the rear suspension setup, converting the front to double wishbones with 300lb GAZ shocks, remounting and raising the sierra steering rack, removing the Pinto and replacing with a 2.0 Silvertop zetec, put in new clutch release bearing and modified clutch arm, chopping chassis cross bar and rewelding to accept Zetec and water housing, putting on some ZX9 carbs and Pipercross filter, cutting hole in bonnet for carbs, buying zero pedal set, abandoning zero pedal set and going for twin cylinder floor mounted pedal box with dashboard bias controller, ripping out scuttle and firewall and obviously painting and usual bits and bobs.

 

Still to do is weld and fit the exhaust, make up alternator bracket and connect up serpentine belt, connect up fuel lines and nice shiny new 2PSI pump for bike carbs, refit the cooling system and radiator and rewire the whole engine bay. Also need to redo a new scuttle and firewall as well as fit a radio and new alarm.

 

I think I've broken the back of the worst of it but need to do some family things for the next month which is a pity as about 4 more weekends would break the back of it.

 

Once it's all done and back on the road, all I need to do is fit the Hood and change the crappy, scratched bodywork but that might wait till the winter.