MattBone Posted July 24, 2002 Posted July 24, 2002 I'm searching for some pearls of wisdom from a Pinto guru... The time to put my money where my mouth is and part with some readies and put a Westie in my life! Are pinto engined cars as good / better than xflows or CVHs??? They seem to be a good price and there are a few Vulcan engined cars around at the mo... Basically I want a road-only car which looks good, sounds even better and has the ability to turn passengers white... Is a pinto the way to go??? I also have as much technical know-how as my dog's left testicle, so am hopeing to get a car/engine that I can learn how to get greased up and play with some nuts... Any comments or hellp would be greatfully received. Quote
Mark Stanton Posted July 24, 2002 Posted July 24, 2002 and cue 8 valve Robbo to ........................................................................ Robbo where are you ............................. Quote
Bob Green Posted July 24, 2002 Posted July 24, 2002 Hi Matt I have a 2 ltr Pinto in my SE with 150 bhp at the flywheel. I list the work I have done, minus general servicing, by year on the engine. Further to that, my partner is very white after a run to the pub. 1997 Nothing 1998 Nothing 1999 Nothing 2000 Nothing 2001 Nothing 2002 Lumenition ignition as I could not buy points on that particular Saturday. Terrible, isn't it! Kind regards Bob Quote
kennedyj Posted July 25, 2002 Posted July 25, 2002 I have had a 165 BHP Pinto for the past 4 years and it has been utterly reliable (except for the first cam I bought which wore out in 200 miles - its case hardening was defective). Pintos are strong, cheap and easy to source and repair, relatively cheap to tune if you don't want more than 160-170 BHP and have bags of low/mid-range grunt. The down side is that they are heavy - very heavy, and bulky. The weight affects the road holding ability - I have been blown away by some well driven 150 BHP crossflows on the bendy bits. But is is all relative, compared to the average "sports car", beemer, porker... it still goes around corners as if on rails and it takes something fairly special to stay with it on a straight line sprint up to about 80-90 If you just want a fun car for the road a Pinto based car is good value, if you have competitive aspirations look at a crossflow based car (which normally cost more, all else being equal) or one of the 16 valve models. -JohnK Quote
kennedyj Posted July 25, 2002 Posted July 25, 2002 Oopps...forgot to mention... Steer clear of any Pinto of less than 2 litres or with a four-speed box. Make sure it has a shallow sump, a cut-and-shut tin one, or preferably an alloy RS2000 one. -JohnK. Quote
chrisbin Posted July 25, 2002 Posted July 25, 2002 Matt You are in the same position that I was !! I had all the same debates - thought I'd decided what I wanted, then found a car that looked great and everything went in the air again!! FWIW My premise was a car that I could have in the garage, not tying up too much money, that I could reliably jump in and drive whenever the opportunity arose - road use only, bar the possibility of track days in future. They are all quick and stick like glue compared to anything else, and equally they all sound great!! So, the opinions I developed were: 1. X-flows - I decided that they are getting a little long in the tooth now, and appear to need a bit more TLC than I am qualified to give. I also had concerns about running in an "unleaded world". 2. Pinto - again, getting on a bit and unleaded concerns. Engines are heavy and don't really like revving much. However, cars are comparatively cheap compared to 16valvers, and are very torquey. 3. CVH - more modern unit, and light. Cheap to run. But usually not that powerful - 150bhp seems to be tops and those cars are usually expensive. Also bad reputation for timing belt failiure and resulting engine damage. 4. Vx or Zetec (I know, combining both in same point will cause upset..) The ideal choice, but since they are usually newer cars, result in being more expensive. Both units are quick and revvy (VX more so), while giving more flexibility than BEC's. So there we are - a beginner's opinions on engine choices. developed with much help from postings on here. I will now stand back and wait to be shot down in flames for my very simplistic up-sum.... Matt - whichever one you buy you will enjoy! But there are plenty out there so don't get too impatient! Oh, and be prepared to find things that need fixing, however well looked after it appears to be. I'll get me coat.... Quote
MattBone Posted July 25, 2002 Author Posted July 25, 2002 Mmmm, thanks guys! I think I'll give Vulacan a call and hve a chat with them as well! I'm really in for torque and noise from a car that looks the dogs - doo-dahs - if any of you know of a pinto that's well sorted let me know... (if it's for sale that is! Thanks! Quote
chrisbin Posted July 25, 2002 Posted July 25, 2002 Is that one Terry N. had still for sale? Looked nice! Cheers Chris PS I take it that the Seights didn't work out??? Quote
westy Posted July 25, 2002 Posted July 25, 2002 or buy cvh and convert to vx power as project no.1 Quote
chrisbin Posted July 25, 2002 Posted July 25, 2002 Matt For Pinto power try: http://www.ilsuk.clara.co.uk/Nigel.htm Looks great, dunno wot price! Good Luck! Quote
MattBone Posted July 26, 2002 Author Posted July 26, 2002 Chris, Went for a spin in a SEiGHT last night - the car was immaculate... Wasn't blown away by it at all... and my money wasn't burning a hole in my pocket! So having lusted after an SEiGHT for the last 5 years - now finding myself in the position to go out and put my money where my mouth is has left me feeling a little disillusioned about the whole Westfield thing! Mmmm.... Quote
Blatman Posted July 26, 2002 Posted July 26, 2002 Sounds like the Seight owner wasn't trying................ Quote
chrisbin Posted July 26, 2002 Posted July 26, 2002 You sure it was a Seight.... Last weekend I took out my mate who has a Boxster S in my Zetec job and he couldn't believe the performance, handling and noise!! I reckon it was a CVH with a Seight bonnet... Of course, I suppose if your "other" car is a Diablo... Quote
MattBone Posted July 26, 2002 Author Posted July 26, 2002 Don't get me wrong... It wasn't that the SEiGHT didn't go like the clappers... The noise wasn't as thunderous as say a TVR... and all in all it didn't make my wobbley bit's go hard! So is there any point in blowing the better side of £11K on a car that doesn't do it for me??? - Probably not! I'm sure that there are some fantastic cars out there - but I haven't seen one yet! The search goes on! Quote
Stueyboy Posted July 26, 2002 Posted July 26, 2002 Have to say that I think the engine noise from a pinto is luverly. Got a zetec myself and when I saw them side by side, I was amazed by how much further back the zetec engine is positioned in comparison to the pinto and X-flow. ho hum Stu Quote
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