RevKev

If I remember my stuff from school days Watts = volts x amps so a 5watt filament bulb will draw about 0.5 amps on a 12 volt circuit and that should be about 6 ohms resistance. So if you want to buy a load resistor off eBay then look for a 6 ohms load resistor it should be one of those golden aluminium case types. Cost about £5. You'll still need to wire the LED in parallel.

Hi If he engine is low on power it is either going lean (not enough fuel) or going very rich (too much fuel). Have a look at your spark plugs... are they black and sooty which might be a sign of the engine being too rich. Is the float sticking? If it is sticking it could allow the foat chamber to overfill and push too much fuel into the engine. It is more likely that the engine is running lean and losing power. Is the fuel pump failing - maybe a failing pump diaphragm or maybe a choked up fuel filter. The other possibility is an air leak in the inlet manifold gasket or between the carb and manifold. It may not show up at low revs but once the engine is revving and pulling more air any leaks after the carb will upset the mixture. If you have taken the carb off to re-jet it are you sure it is seated properly and the gasket is OK. Check the simple things first and don't spend money on parts until you are sure you have found the problem. Not claiming to be an expert but have a system for checking things and ruling out any potential issues. Kevin

Hi I belive Burton have a table on their website of Ford Pinto engine codes that confirms date of manufacture etc. It might be useful to you to identify the engine. Kevin

Hi I ended up using a push bike brake cable and filing down the barrel end to fit into the bike carb. Just a bit tedious to do but it works. Sierra pedal has far too much travel for the bike carb set up so you might need to re-drill the pedal closer to the pivot to reduce the amount of travel. Find a way of putting stops on the pedal travel too so you don't over stress the carbs when your size 10's are mashing into the carpet. I also found that the spring return on the bike carbs is not enough to lift the weight of the pedal so put some extra springs on the pedal to return it. It does take time to set all this up but that's what kit cars are about ... finding solutions to problems and once it's done you'll be chuffed and if it breaks you'll know exactly how to fix it. Kevin

Hi. thanks to you all for your help and advice. Seems the best plan is to fit the windscreen after the IVA. Rev Kev

Hi One of the issues about picking up abondoned projects is that some stuff might be out of date. I'm wondering if this might be the case with the windscreen glass for my RH 2B. The glass is marked BS857/2 1967 which I believe is a British Standard that is still in use but the IVA manual referrs to E 43R. Is my windscreen glass for the bin or is it still OK for IVA with these older markings? All advice welcome! Rev Kev

Hi I'm running similar carbs on my 2l Pinto. These tubes are breathers to the float chanbers and need to be open to the atmosphere. They were originally fitted to the air box so I think you are Ok if you are building an air box to connect them up. Just as a side note... if you ever getting a stuck float petrol will pour out of these tubes. This is better than it getting forced past the main needle straight into the manifold. So there can be a plus to not connecting them to the air box. If you are unsure how well theses carbs have been serviced or looked after leave them unconnected to the air box until you feel happy with them. Kevin

Hi Iain I'm up in sunny East Kilbride. My Mrs comes from Moffat. Small world eh? I'm working on a RH 2B from an abandoned project. Progress is slow but at least it progresses. Not sure I'm in a position to offer spanner time but you're welcome to keep in touch. There is a Scottish Kit Car Club but I've never joined it. This is the place to be if you are looking for helpful advice. Kevin

Hi I have one of these as well. Having removed the PCV valve the elbow will allow you to connect to an oil catch can. What you need is the rubber grommet that fits to the crankcase section in your picture and then the elbow is a push fit into the grommet. No need to remove the crankcase section as it has a little baffle inside that helps prevent oil splashing up. It is also a tapered fitting which the straight sections on the elbow will not seat into. See if there is a grommet on your old PCV valve that you can rescue or failing that try Burton. Of course someone with more knowledge might say I'm totally wrong but that's what I've got on my set up. If I stand to be corrected then both of us have learned something new!!!! Kevin

Hi I have the same set up and use individual cone air filters purchased from eBay. Basically dirt bike air filters. i'm not saying they are the best and would love to put on a Pipercross set up but money doesn't allow at the moment. I'll attach a picture later.

Hi If you stil have that Array allow I could be interested in it. Can you send pictures if its still in your possession? Yours Kevin

Perhaps a relay in your electrical system between key and starter solenoid that is sticking.

So... I believe the trick is to go by the dip stick level not the quantity. Too much oil is just as bad as too little. The dip stick may be shortened to go along with the lowered sump. So the Max level is still correct in relation to big end bearings not splashing about in oil as they rotate. So fill it little by little and take a note of how much you have put in then you'll know for next time.

http://www.super7thheaven.co.uk/size-radiator-need-car/ HI In the same position as yourself building a 2B. It seems many use the rad from a 1litre Polo and going by the calculations on the above link its about right. It helps to install at an angle / reclined to improve airflow contact with the cooling fins and if you can fit shrouds to channel air flow through the rad rather than letting air bypass it that will help too. A big heater for the cockpit doesn't go wrong either. Kevin

Yes I do!!! Discs are in place

Hi Guys So you know what it's like when you pick up someone else's half finished project... not everything is as it should be. I'm currently building up the front end of my 2B and to save some work bought the front wing supports from GBS to fit the original Array alloys with an ET15 offset. Now that I'm actually fitting the wheels the tyre rubs agains the wing support but only just. I suspect the tyre size is a little over ambitious at a 205/50 R15. What was originally intended for the 2B was it a 195/50 or 195 /45? A smaller tyre size seems the easiest solution and as what's currently on the rims is 20 years old I'd probably need to scrap them anyway. Any good advice is welcome Kevin

The pipe on top pf the carbs is a breather from the float chambers. Don't block it off or back pressure will stop the chamber from filling. If fuel was coming out that pipe you have a float that is sticking causing the float chamber to flood (and the engine too) and fuel overflow from the breather. These carbs are really very simple devices and work very well. Make sure you have the correct fuel jet size in them. For a 2 litre you are looking at a 1.5mm jet. Check DanST Engineering as they sell all the jets and have lots of info on fitting bike carbs to Pintos and other engines. I still use the original bike fuel pump on mine. I expect it to give up at some point but it still seems to keep up with fuel demand. Balancing the carbs really only checks that each cylinder has the same air flow into it so in theory each cylinder offers the same power output. If you have two cylinders running rich it is more likely because of the sticking float(s) If you have to change mixture settings on these bike carbs it is done by adjusting the needle setting on the sliders in the venturi. Actually adjusting the needle doesn't change the fuel as all you are doing is raising or lowering the start position of the slider increasing or decreasing the air flow. The needle always sits at rest at its lowest point because it is returned to that point by the spring in the vacuum chamber under the black top cap. The vacuum which operates the slider comes from the air flow through the carb itself. The rear of the slider is chamfered to create a low pressure area behind it sucking air out of the vacuum chamber so raising the needle. It can be worth checking the rubber diaphragms - they are very thin and even a pin hole can make a difference. A loss of vacuum however would make a cylinder run lean as the needle wont lift as far as it should or perhaps not at all. If your manifold has a vacuum connection is is likely to be from just one runner which is fine for the brake servo, but not so good for running your distributor vacuum advance. It pulses too much to give a smooth response. A vacuum advance would typically have been connected to an inlet manifold plenum chamber where the vacuum is more consistent across all four cylinders. I use a centrifugal (spring) advance distributor on my Pinto which requires no vacuum and Mikuni (Yahama R1) bike carbs with original bike fuel pump. Lastly I might say that these alloy inlet manifolds benefit from a chunky gasket like 1mm thick, again DanST Engineering can probably supply. Air leaks at the manifold cause all kinds of problems with mixture! Hope the above helps Kevin

Other possibility is a sticking thermostat. Cheap and simple to replace.

OK. So I know you have cleaned the carbs but it is possible that the needle valve is not sealing properly when the float is at it highest point. Fuel gets forced past the needle valve which floods the engine. Maybe a service on the carbs rather than just a clean up job might help. Just a thought Kevin

Hi Assuming that your Pinto ran nicely before you left it in the garage for a few years I can see no reason why your ignition timing would change just sitting in the garage. But it's quite possible that connections get corroded so check them. Quite possible that the copper tracks in the starter motor have corroded and bench testing will help get them cleaned up just by running the motor. I also consider that the starter on your Pinto draws 100 + amps when staring and a 22ah battery just can't sustain that for any length of time or perhaps even deliver that at all. Wherever your Pinto originated from it was attached to a 70ah battery. I can say that the project I'm working on now also has a Pinto and the starter on that failed after sitting for 15 years in a garage. Even after refurb it was useless. A new geared starter does the job nicely on a 40ah battery. Kevin

Hi So I have a 2l pinto SOHC with shortened sump but still the original unmodified dipstick. The dipstick is not much more than a length of expansion wire (like you might use for holding up net curtains) with the indicator bar wedged into the oilly end!! Total length from underside of plastic fitting at top of dipstick (or top of dipstick tube) 452 mm Full mark at 420 mm Low mark at 443 so 27mm between high and low marks Hope that helps Kevin

Glad to read your post as basically I'm in the same situation as yourself. I'm new to kit cars and have taken on the task of completing an abandoned project. Perhaps trying to fulfil a childhood dream I put R1 bike carbs on my 2.0 pinto (Dec 1988 production) with inlet manifold from DanST engineering and 1.5mm main jets in the carbs. Scrapped the electronic dizzy for a new vacuum less one and once I had the static timing set at about 15* she fired up no problems after sitting in a shed for 15 years or so. It seems to be a good set up and though I have a lot of work to do before I get anywhere near an IVA test I think you could do a lot worse than go for the bike carb mod. You learn a lot as you go along and I can say that the lads on this forum are just brilliant at helping out! Kevin

Hi Once again indebted to your greater wisdom!!! Thank you! After much searching I've managed to find a refurb kit for the 54mm callipers. And yes... drums on the rear Kevin

Hi, Hoping I can tap into the knowledge base of the RHOcar community So I''m doing a refurb the front brake callipers of my Robin Hood 2B which when I brought it I understood to be based on a Ford Sierra 2.0l GLSi manufactured Dec 1988. Needless to say the brake refurb kit I got has the wrong size pistons (they're too big). The callipers on my 2b have a 54 mm piston which seems to suggest they are Escort callipers. Where the callipers interchangeable between Escort and Sierra? Is it possible that Escort callipers are on the front end of my 2B or did some Sierras have a 54 mm piston? All I'm looking to do is order the right refurb kit! Any advice is gratefully received Kevin

Brilliant!!! I have narrow seats in the 2B!! That's one thing that's gone right!!! Thanks for the info. At least I know the direction of travel now. Kevin