Ford Sierra engine swap (cvh to pinto)

[kieren75]

hi i'm new to this website but been recommended by several people so thought give it ago. I am converting my sierra cvh to a pinto, have fully rebuilt the new engine and am very close to dropping it in, just wandered if any one else has done this before and if there are certain things i need to be careful off eg)things need to be changed, that may have not considered yet. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Justin S]

what is the benefits of fitting the pinto? You have put a heavier engine in the car. Pinto is different in its loom, such as distributor, possible alternator position , exhaust the opposite side and induction the opposite side. Engine mounts may be different, clutch actuation might be OK, as bell housings are the same and clutch maybe the same.

[Paul.B]

Probably not what you wanted to hear but I would have thought a Zetec would have been a more natural upgrade?

[Liquid Knight]

If the jelly mold has the 1.6 CVH then so RS Turbo bits would be a marked improvement. I wouldn't go Pinto due to the engine being obselete and Webber 45's would cost more to buy and have set up properly than a complete square block Zetec on bike carb's.

[S47]

Pinto is NOT a good Idea, better to sell your pinto engine on ebay,[maybe for big bucks] and buy a 2 litre DOHC sierra, and fit that engine, much more torquey and powerful & better on fuel than the pinto.
If you buy a complete car you'll have the bits to fit the DOHC into your shell
There was a post on just this subject a coupla month's ago, I suggest you look it up.

[Liquid Knight]

The DOHC Sierra engine is just as bad as the Pinto and a lot less tunable.

[Justin S]

Personally if it was me, I would look at a Zetec on carbs. Easier to install, as the exhaust on the right side, alternator etc. Carbs make life easier as just plumb in a fuel line. Then you would have a standard engine with 165 bhp , which cost big money and time to try and extract from the boat anchor pinto. DOHC engines were rough and best left holding nets down on trawlers. They were designed to be better than the pinto and erradicate the pinto cam wiping out senario. Thing is no one wants them as there are better engines out there, such as the Zetec.

[Liquid Knight]

for the price of a race tuned Pinto you can buy a 302 cI V8 and make an XR8. I'd keep the standard badges on the back though.

[S47]

Zetec is a great engine, depends on how much you wanta spend, though zetec was designed for injection, fitting carbs to a zetec is sacrilledge IMO.
Standard injected 2 litre DOHC with decent exhaust makes a true 130BHP, a figure few pinto's ever achieve, whatever your tuner tells you
Guess you pays your money etc.