1.8 Pinto Tuning.

[Guest Kennedy48]

Iv got a 1.8 pinto in my hood. Standard engine. Got bike carbs for winter upgrade but what can I do to a 1.8 to make it little better. Nothing massive and expensive. Don't want to swop for 2L as wedding plans and house deposit is draining my money. Is a 1.8 worth doing up or do I really need a 2L thrown in.

 

Cheers

Luke

[Snapperpaul]

This has been talked about a lot

The money you would spend on tuning a 1.8 would cost more than buying a 2.0L

 

The bike carbs you have will fit the 2.0L, that's a saving, sump starter, water pump etc all fit

I would save for a decent injection 2.0l, add your bike carbs and get 115bhp over the 80 of a 1.8

 

To get a 1.8 to 115bhp would mean a cam kit and some head work ( bigger inlet valves and work on the inlet port short side turn

 

Now there are two types of 1.6 and 1.8 Pinto the Eco versions have different crank and bore, the original ones are only different in the bore and combustion chamber volume if you have the early 1.8 the standard 2.0L cam may give a bit more lift but you must fit the matched followers and spirings, a Thiner head gasket increases compression ratio which helps.

 

The thinner head gasket will cost around £30

The standard 2.0l cam could be free but you will still need a cam spray bar £10

You'll need a vernier cam sprocket to dial the new cam timing in, £65.

That'll give you perhaps 10bhp (90bhp)

In my opinion that's £105 towards a 2.0L with 115bhp.

As the injection head on a 2.0L has been cast better than all other Pintos you start from a better position and can get over 130bhp with just a cam, vernier and a gasket.

It is a "no brainer" and more cost effective

[speedtripledan]

Having spent fortunes tuning kits, my advice would be buy a car with a better engine from the start every penny you spend tuning / improving your car is dead money! 1.8 is not worth spending on a standard 2.0l inj would be the best upgrade, just my opinion...

[richardm6994]

Dan, I agree with you up to a point. From my point of view, this is a hobby which means that my mind set is that the money I spend on the car I will never see again because I have no plans of selling the car. The amount I have spent on my exmo, I could have built something soooo much better....but this expenditure has been over 10+ years and I have enjoyed working on the car in this time.

 

What I do agree with you on is being wise when spending money on your engine. Since day-1 I have always wanted a v8 engine, but instead of saving up for one I kept throwing money at my pinto engine.....which I have sold at a huge loss!

 

My advice would be to enjoy the car with the engine you've got....and save up for the engine you want (Zetec, v8, pinto etc....).

[theduck]

I'm in a similar boat, but with a 1.6. I've decided I will probably go ahead with my tuning plans as its bolt on bolt off parts that can be used on another (read 2.0) pinto later on when I eventually turn the boost up too high...

[Guest karif2800]

Hi, I've finished the bodywork on my exmo and next week the car will be at home wit the hood fitted and the new painting. I'm thinking about a little tuning of my engine. I've a 1.8l pinto 185 block. I know that is better fit a 205 block but, here in Italy, is not easy to find an engine and the engine number is registered on the documents so insurance don't pay if I swap the engine, so for me is a need tuning the 1.8l engine.

I'd like a soft tuning with head work a new cam but without new carburettors etc.

I know that the cr of the 185 block is very low. So could be a good idea skimming the head to increase the cr and porting inlet/exhaust? D I need new valves? Bigger valves is a need? For the camshaft I've read that is better a complte kit. A 285 degrees cam with vernier pulley is good for a soft tuning?

Other suggestion for tuning? If, in the future I'd also like to swap the carbs this kind of tuning is ok? About carbs is it possible to fit a xflow manifold with a plate to suit twin hs6? I like su carbs.

Thank you for answer

[Snapperpaul]

Pinto's like compression and depending on available fuel octane I would recommend 10 to 1

The cam will work better with this compression

 

Bigger inlet valve would be good with port throat opened to fit

 

Blend inlet short side turn to a smooth finish not the hard step it has

 

Pinto ports are huge, don't open them any more

 

3 angle valve seats make a difference

 

A set of 4 bike carbs will be better than SU's

 

285 duration cam is about as far as you want to go with a 1.8 road car

 

Other cam options are the Kent Cams FR30 and FR34 less duration than the 285 so less cammy but good lift and work well on standard engines

[Guest karif2800]

Thank you for answer. The best resource to buy pinto components is burton or there are others on line shops? Inlet valve to fit is the 45,5? If I understand I've to left the exhaust valve standard or I've to fit the 38,1? Vaves are 1 or 3 grooves? These mods could be supported by the standard carb or the new carbs are a absolute need? Thank you very much for answer

[Snapperpaul]

For road use and with 285 cam standard exhaust valves are ok

Pinto rods are limited to 7000rpm occasional 7500

 

44.5 to 45.5 inlets are fine you'll get extra bhp with 3 angle valve seats and waisted valve stems but no need to go mad, it's not a race engine

 

Also look at Turbosports forum for great information on Pinto engines

[Guest karif2800]

Head and cams mods could be supported by the standard weber carb or the bike carbs conversione is an absolute need?

[Guest karif2800]

Before starting tuning I'd like to know why the engine would not revs more the 4.500 rpm. On 1st gear I'm able to achive 5k rpm but on the other gears is not possible cross 4-4,5k The 32/36 carb was fully rebuilt. Could be an electric problem or insufficient fuel pressure. What I've to check? Thank you for answer

[Longboarder]

I agree the engine should rev to 6000 in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. You should also get over 5000 in 4th. So a basic engine health check is needed. I would do compression check on all four cylinders. You say carbs were rebuilt and are webber two venturi 32/36 (DGAV?). I would open them and check float height setting. (The jets might not be right for your engine. Can you get the car to a garage that can set up carburettors and fit new jets?) Ignition checks. Need to know what ignition system you have. Does it have a small ignition module with six wires and distributor with vacuum advance on it (inductive)? Or does it have fat distributor and big silver ecu like box with vacuum pipe to the 'ECU' (ESC11)? Or some other?

 

32/36 carb will work well with 285 cam but the carb may need re-jetting to suit. No absolute need to change to bike carbs if the engine is not going to make more than 120 bhp.

 

Nigel

[Guest karif2800]

Thank you for answer.. I've checked the compressione ans is ok in all four cylinders. I'll try to check the jets but the carb was setted by a specilist, with parts change and I don't know if this could be the problem. The ignition is with an inductive type without boxes etc. Only distributor and coil no other parts. I was thinking about the camshaft or other valves trouble but the car seem running good with no smoke, so I can't understand the problem with revs. Weber is 32/36 with auto choke

[Bob Tucker]

if the engine runs smoothly, with no misfires, the most likley reason for revs limited to 4K is wrong ignition timing.

Check for full advance above 3500 rpm at around 37 degrees before top dead centre.

Or blocked exhaust......

Insufficient fuel pressure would cause a misfire....

wrong mixture would probably cause a misfire, but check plug colour.....http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_support/spark_plugs/faqs/faqread.asp

the 32/36 is a good carb & will be fine for anything up to about 140BHP....no need for anything else on a 1.8

[Guest karif2800]

The exhaust is new, I've changed the RH one with a repackable one by demon tweeks. Could be any other problem form exhaust manifold to the silencer? The exhaust manifold is the RH first type and seems in good condition. The engine is very smoot up to 4k rpm, after this point seems unable to achive more rpm. I'll try to check the ignition and after I'll start with modifications cuase I don't like to start any mods if the engine does not run properly before