richardm6994

Hi, Someone on ebay is selling a split 48 Dellorto DHLA carb set-up for a Pinto..........and the start price is £1400!!!!! Am I missing something???? (probably being thick lol) but why bother with split carbs set-up at twice the price of what a pair of twin 45's would cost???? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPLIT-48-DELLORTO-DHLAs-FORD-PINTO-OHC-ULTIMATE-ROAD-RALLY-DAVE-BROOKS-/200681434692?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2eb98bae44

Cheers guys. I kinda had a feeling it would be the case of 1-use only for the same reasons you've pointed out, but I thought with the gasket being stainless steel it may just make a double-use if I had to take the head off for any reason in the future (as I said before, I hope not!!!)

hi guys, simple question.........can a cometic MLS head gasket be reused? I've got a new one which i'm gonna be putting on, but it cost a fortune and I'm wondering if it can be reused if I ever have to take the head off (lets hope not tho!) I've seen mixed responses to this in other forums but would like to hear from anyone who has done this. cheers

This forum has turned out to be a gold mine of knowledge...........thanks everyone! One question which has been bugging me............how many times can you use (torque-up) an ARP head stud kit on a ford Pinto engine? Mine has been torqued-up (head on and off) a few time so far without problems and they are about to be used again..........is this okay?

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies. Basically, because of the pitting on the block face the machinist thinks that approx 20-30 thou needs to be machined to get the face back to a smooth face. Currently, my pistons are about 10 thou above the block at TDC and I have a 40 thou gasket, therefore I envisage that the new gasket I'll need to return me back to the origanal CR will need to be 60-70 thou thick..............hense the multi-layer cometic gasket which Burton's have suggested (not suprising at £100 a go!) Oh, and to make things more complicated, the block is bored out to 94.5mm, therefore standard-bore head gaskets (92mm) are no good. As I said before, because I'm spending a lot on this gasket and they've specify a surface finish of 50 microinches, I want to make sur ethat the job is done correct.

Hi, I'm going to be using a cometic MLS Head Gasket (I need a specific thickness due to block & head machining to remove pitting) and would like your feedback on these gaskets as they are v.expensive! The block and head will both be freshly machined surfaces, but the gasket specifies a surface finish of 50 microinches or finer.........how do I know if the faces have achieved this!!!! Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I know this may sound stupid, but is it possible to double up on head gaskets? A bit like having a decompression plate but without the plate

Hi all, please don't laugh too loud but I made a bit of a school boy mistake and could do with some advice.... A year or so ago I had to replace big ends and pistons because of a huge engine failure at Donnington Park (long story.....). Anyway, when putting the cylinder head back on, I noticed some pitting between the bores and the water holes..........and here come the school boy mistake.............I used a gasket compound hoping this would seal the pitting instead of getting the block re-ground (this stuff was suppose to work on pitted faces). As expected (looking back), the head gasket failed yesterday as my radiator pressured up and water everywhere! (not fun with an aero screen at 40mph!) Did a compression test and found the folowing; cylinder 1 - 210psi cylinder 2 - 230psi cylinder 3 - 100psi cylinder 4 - 210psi Now here's where I need the advice......I've taken the head off and found that the gasket has blown through from the bore to the water jacket on cylinders 2 & 4.........cylinder 3 doesn't seem to have blown through at all?!?!?! I've check the piston ring sealing (holdng fluid in the bores) and all the valves look okay......so why was cylinder 3 down on compression and not 2 & 4??? Also, I'm going to talk to the machine shop tomorrow but I'm a bit worried about not having enough metal left on the block thus leaving the deck too low after grinding??? How would I overcome this problem if it is the case? I've though about machining the block and then using a decompression plate to make back the thickness but I really have no idea (I don't even know if this will be a problem) Any help would be greatly appreciated........and the sarcasm to a minimum because I already know what a fool I've been.....

hi Jason. Many thanks for your response. The twin 48s have been choked to 40 so I guess bike carbs choked to 39 will be very similar in engine power, but with the advantage of the faster pick up which is what others have been telling me. Thanks again for the advice

hey jason, what differences did you find?

Thank you for your replys. I agree about the fuel mixtures being correct etc... but what I've been told about bike carbs is that you get better throttle response etc.... My gut feeling is to stick with what I've got, however why do bike carbs seem to becoming ever more popular given there isn't really any cost advantage?

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but I'm certain old school when it comes to RH's. I'm running a 2.1 pinto which I built from new components approx 6 years ago as a seperate project after I'd finished the exmo. There isn't much that hasn't been done to the engine.......big valves with bronze guides, ported, Kent FR32 cam, combustion chambers equalised, bottom end balanced etc...etc... I realise that the money I've spent on this engine, I could have bought a duratech or a V8........ but being honest because the expense has been in little chuncks of money over the years it doesn't hit the pocket quite as hard! Okay, back to my question.........I'm in the process of installing a megajolt system and I'm being told by people that I should ditch the twin Weber 48 set-up I'm currently running and install a set of bike carbs? I'm sure I could sell the 48's and get enough money to buy a bike-carb set up so this isn't about cost, it's more about wether or not it's worth the effort???

Hi, I tried doing this on my exmo without any joy, however at the time I didn't spend too much effort figuring out a method as I knew I'd be taking the engine out for a rebuild anyway. To date, my engine has been in and out of the car quite a few time and thinking about your question.........a sump change without taking the engine out should be possible.......... The best chance of success is to first take all bolts out of your sump, leaving 1 or 2 bolts remaining. Then unbolt your engine mounts and also your exhaust manifold. Then jack the engine up (on the bell housing) as far as high as it will go. Finally remove the remaining 1 or 2 bolts and then your sump should come free. The critcal part is making sure you can jack the engine high enough so that the sump clears the engine bay floor, but also clears the internals of the engine (crank bearings, big ends etc...) I hope this give a bit of inspiration........good luck