Topic: TECH TIPS

[dick1172762]

If your like me and the "pintosopher" and have Weber DCOE carbs on your Pinto, you'll really like this post.   http://www.classicrallyclub.com.au/docs/Tips_tuning_Weber_carburettors_DVAndrews.pdf

[dick1172762]

Beware of the 2" drop spindles for Pintos and Mustang II. While they do lower your car while keeping the ride the same, the lower ball joint will almost touch the ground with 13" (stock dia) wheels. Better way to lower your Pinto is by cutting the coil springs 1/3 to 1/2 coils off the bottom of the spring. Then you can still use 13" wheels and ride ok. Newer springs will require more removed but don't get carried away and cut too much. I've used a cut off wheel and a cutting torch. Both work ok with the torch easyer and faster. How ever you do it make sure you get it re-aligned. Your on your own at the rear as Racer Walsh no longer sells the 1" lowering blocks. Not to hard to make and Speedway sell some too.

[dick1172762]

If you have de-smoged your Pinto and would like a better looking air cleaner try this mod. Remove all the material on the air cleaner that is outside the diameter of the filter itself. Easy to do with tin snips. On the aluminum air cleaners there is a line marked/stamped in the aluminum to show you where to cut. When your finished you will a much better looking and filtering air cleaner. It'll look like a hot rod and clean up the under hood clutter.

[dick1172762]

When your wondering about fit and clearance of a new (to you) set of wheels, wonder no more. YOU MUST have 3 3/4" (3.750) or LESS of back space to clear the control arms / springs. A 13" x 7" wheel with zero offset will fit perfect with a 1/8" (.125) spacer. A 13" to 16" wheel with this back space will clear everything on MY Pinto. On your Pinto? Do your own measurement. NO FWD wheels with 2" (2.000) spacers please. We can not afford to lose members. When using 1" to 2" spacers most do not under stand the extra load being placed on the outer wheel bearing. This post is only shown here to tell members what I (dick1172762) used on MY Pinto. I am NOT telling you to use my measurement to buy wheels. Let the buyer beware.

[Cookieboystoys]

If you have de-smoged your Pinto and would like a better looking air cleaner try this mod. Remove all the material on the air cleaner that is outside the diameter of the filter itself. Easy to do with tin snips. On the aluminum air cleaners there is a line marked/stamped in the aluminum to show you where to cut. When your finished you will a much better looking and filtering air cleaner. It'll look like a hot rod and clean up the under hood clutter.

I've done it and looks decent

[dick1172762]

One picture is worth a thousand words or so I'm told. Thanks cookieboy. Did you gain 50 HP? Hope so.

[Cookieboystoys]

Did you gain 50 HP?

50HP! are you kidding? was at least 100HP for that little mod

[dick1172762]

A Ronco smoke eater would give you that much back in the 60's. If you do remember Ronco your older than dirt. I know I am.

[dick1172762]

Here's one for all you west coast Pintos. There is a hill climb group in the North West that puts on hill climbs. Our own Pintosopher and EP73 Pinto have raced with them in the past. Looks like a lot of fun with a reasonable cost and car prep.  http://www.nhahillclimb.org  Pintoautocross er! Have you tried this. Its all around you in the great NW. Try it. You'll like it.

[74 PintoWagon]

That looks like it would be a blast.

[dick1172762]

Tired of looking at that old rust covered master cylinder? Well then paint it! I use VHT satin black, but you can use any color VHT has as long as its caliper paint. You must get the master cylinder as clean as NEW. Repeat clean as NEW. Start with a new one if possible or sand blast it. First paint it with several coats per VHT instructions, then let it air dry for 24 hours. REMOVE all rubber parts. Then bake it for 1 hour at 250 deg. That's it and the caliper paint is fluid proof if you don't let it sit on the cylinder for a long time. Remember CLEAN AS NEW FIRST!!!! After you get it as clean as possible, put the cover/lid on it, plug the holes, place in wife's dish washer, and take her out on the town. Remember that this worked for me. Try it on your cylinder at your own risk.

[dick1172762]

Need to rekey your door locks. Here's how with pictures.    http://www.mustangiitech.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=166:rekeying-ford-locks&catid=57:interior&itemid=127   Do this at your own risk. Care full as parts are small and easy to break or loose.

[dick1172762]

Say your going to install a new header on your Pinto. Mfg told you its good for a least 100 more HP. So when you pull off that old rust covered stock manifold you see 3 holes at each exhaust port in the head, but the header will only cover up 2 of them. Easy fix. Just plug the extra holes up. There are several ways. One is to tap the holes, then install set screws. Another is to drive a metal dowel into the hole till it stops. Hole is made with a curve at the end so you can't go too far. Another way is with a small plug like the engine has to seal off the oil and or water from leaking out of the motor. Parts houses have them in all various sizes. Just hammer them in and your set. Which header is best for a 2300 Pinto? All depend's on what you want from your car. Ranger tubing header for cheap and easy to hook up. Ranger/mustang cast iron header for LONG life but heavy. Hooker comp header for a hot rod(hard to find). Which is the best? I think the Ranger/Mustang cast iron is the best if you don't worry about the weight. Sure is pretty too. And it will out live both you and your Pinto.

[dick1172762]

If you have an autocross / road racer / hill climb Pinto with an electric fuel pump and the stock pump too, and worry about too much fuel pressure, you should too. 4 lbs max for a Weber DCOE or a 5200 32/36 Weber-Holley. Only one you need more pressure for is a Holley 2 or 4 barrel carb. Then you need 6 lbs MAX. When you buy an electric pump get the one that's low pressure. 4 psi max for the Webers. If your worried about too much pressure with both pumps on at the same time, just get your self a vacuum switch that turns on the pump at or near zero vacuum. That really the only time you need it. Rest of the time the stock pump is plenty. Get the switch off of E-gay or a large electrical parts house.

[dick1172762]

Any time you use an electric fuel pump you should get a shut off switch in case you are in a fender bender. Get them out of 90's Fords in the trunk. Most of the time their real easy to find as they have to be turned back on if your in one of those benders. Their on the side of the trunk most times. Well worth the few bucks they bring at the Vega yards /"Uh sorry, the junk yards."

[dick1172762]

Ever had a problem with lite sockets sticking when you tried to remove the bulbs? Easy fix is to use Vasoline (spelling?) on the part of the bulb that plugs into the sockets. The vasoline will be there 10 years from now because it doesn't bleed off like oils or grease. It does conduct electric too. This will work on any kind of plug or twist electric connection from head lights to tail lights. Mopars have this trick done to everything that leaves the factory.

[dick1172762]

Want to be the smartest kid with a Pinto? Well this web site can help.  http://www.yarchive.net/home.html   Here's enough info to last a lifetime. Use it wisely.

[dick1172762]

If your like me, after you stake an electrical connector, you will solder the joint too. Right? Well it will take 3 hands to do the job. One to hold the solder iron. one to hold the solder, and one to hold the connector still so you can solder the joint. Where will you get a third hand? Just get your self a small soldering / wood burning iron at a craft store. There used to burn designed into wood. The tip is about 1/8" (.125) in dia, and tapers up to aprox 1/4" (.250). Simply heat the iron up, then slip the small end into the spade / connector and solder away, as now the iron takes the place of two hands. The craft solder iron gets plenty hot to solder too. I use solder that's made for onboard ships and salt water. Solder leaves the connector looking like a pro did it. Have no idea where I got the solder as the roll is about 20 years old. No acid core solder PLEASE. Use only solid core solder.

[dick1172762]

Want your stock front seats to be a little more comfortable. Easy way is to remove two or all four plastic bumpers that you can get to when you fold the seat forward. This really helps if your tall too. Take all of them out and you'll look cool in your low rider.

[dick1172762]

If you really want to have a 2 1/2" or 3" exhaust system under your Pinto, first look at your new 2 1/2" or 3" muffler. If its a glass pack, look at the core diameter for a shock. The core will only have a 2" diameter regardless of the diameter at the inlet/outlet of the muffler. Hard to tell on a turbo muffler but I have never seen a glass pack with the core bigger than 2". If you know of one please tell me and the club members. This is the reason why all the mini stock racers use a racing muffler instead of a glass pack. A big exhaust on the street will cost you power unless you drive around at max rpm all the time. Reason is the exhaust gas will travel slower than it would with a 2" pipe and the speed of the exhaust is what aids the scavenge of the exhaust and in turn the horse power. Bigger is not always better. On the street go 2" and enjoy your ride.

[dick1172762]

When I could not pass a smog check, I used to do the following .Turn the idle mixture screw in till the motor starts to run ruff, then back out 1/4 turn, If its still ruff turn it out one more 1/4 turn. Next get two cans of Heat or Heet and put them in your gas  tank. Next remove the air cleaner element from the air cleaner and go for a smog check. This is what I did and I'm not telling you to do this. What you do with your car is up to you and only you. I'm just saying it worked for me.

[dick1172762]

Are you autocross racers having a hard time keeping yours tires sticky? Well I've tried all kinds of tire treatment's with some success but most are high $$. Try "No Touch Tire Care" at NAPA, Autozone, etc,etc. Just clean up the tread, then scuff up the surface, and spray the tires tread area. Seam's to work as good as the high $$ stuff with much less cost. None of the tire treatment's will make the tires sticky as new, but it will help. With the high $$ stuff, you would coat the tread over and over till it remains shiny. About 3 or 4 coats. If your car is an autocross car only, get the tires off the ground between races.

[dick1172762]

If your autocross Pinto is a racer only, with no street driving, add negative camber to the front tires. About 2 1/2 deg for slicks or R rated street tires. Helps a bunch in the turns. As the tire's ware, reverse  sides with the tires on the rims. Allway's keep the tires rotating in the same direction. If you run Goodyear slicks allway's mount them with the x ray marking to the left in the front and to the right in the rear. This is for rear wheel drive cars only. Get it LOW near the ground. The car is built so you can not go too low without major chassis work. Lower the car till the tie rods are parallel to the ground. A little toe out helps the car turn too.

[dick1172762]

Do you hate pulling your intake or exhaust manifolds off to work on the head or manifolds. First thing that will make the job easyer will be using studs in the head. That'll make align of the manifold and / or gaskets so much easyer and faster. Next is using anti seize on both sides of the exhaust and intake gaskets. You can't get too much on the gaskets as it'll drip / run off when you start up your engine. One thing I've forgot is to try "PAM spray" on the intake gasket. Might even work on both gaskets. Best thing I have used is fiberglass mold release. With it I have used head gaskets over at the race track. Things like this is what all drag racers learn from day one of their racing days. I have seen drag racers rebuild all kinds of problems in the staging lanes at the drags. "The days not over till the rods hit the ground". Just remember that the easyer you make your car to be worked on, the quicker you'll be on your way after you end up on the side of the road in a cloud of smoke.

[dick1172762]

Lots of people tell me they would like to run racing fuel in their wiss bang 1200 but with the cost up to $10 or more per gal, all they do is talk. Do what I do and you will not go broke. I use a 55 gal drum to start, then I pour in 5 gal's of toluene, then I fill up the drum with the best gas I can find. 100 octane lo lead av gas at the airport if you've got a friend with a FAA tail number. 130 or 145 octane if you know the Pope. If that doesn't work, use super duper high test pump gas with out alkie. What other way can you go now days? Just make sure you get it from a hi traffic station so its not years old. Toluene is 125 octane so when mixed with the pump gas you'll end up with APROX 100+ octane. This is what I do. I'm not telling you to do this, just that it works for ME. And please make sure the drum is CLEAN! before you start. Want to know how you find the best pump gas? Get your self a hydrometer for checking specific gravities of liquids. Any gas over 750 specific gravities is really GOOD.

[dick1172762]

Say you've removed your distributor to do what ever people remove a distributor for and you can not get the rotor to align back up. Easy fix is to place the distributor back in the engine but do not use the hold down clamp. Now turn the rotor backwards one gear tooth at a time till you get the rotor align where you want. Go a tooth too far and you'll have to go all the way around again. As your doing this the distributor will rise up a small amount as it passes each tooth on the drive gear which is ok. Told you it was easy. If you've got a Vega, use a hammer.

[turbopinto72]

Beware of the 2" drop spindles for Pintos and Mustang II. While they do lower your car while keeping the ride the same, the lower ball joint will almost touch the ground with 13" (stock dia) wheels. Better way to lower your Pinto is by cutting the coil springs 1/3 to 1/2 coils off the bottom of the spring. Then you can still use 13" wheels and ride ok. Newer springs will require more removed but don't get carried away and cut too much. I've used a cut off wheel and a cutting torch. Both work ok with the torch easyer and faster. How ever you do it make sure you get it re-aligned. Your on your own at the rear as Racer Walsh no longer sells the 1" lowering blocks. Not to hard to make and Speedway sell some too.

I need a little over 2 inch drop in my 72. I was thinking about cutting the front coils 1 full  coil. Do you have any experience with how much drop 1 full coil would be ?
Thanks
Brad

[dick1172762]

Like to spend money? Who doesn't, so get out the Summit catalog buy, buy, buy, Redline products. Why you ask? It really good stuff for your car. The one I use the most is the tranie lube called MTL. Put this in your 4 speed and it'll shift like it got hot butter for a lube. Don't use it in a T5 as its too thick because a T5's uses atf in place of gear lube. No problem as Redline has a lube just for type of tranies that T5's are. You'll thank me each and ever time you shift gears. Another lube I use is their wheel bearing grease. Good stuff. I put some in a pan on the wife's stove and turned up the heat. The lube stayed the same no matter how hot it got. Didn't even smoke! Didn't I say its good stuff.

[dick1172762]

Ever tow your Pinto behind your 35 ft motor home? If your going from Texas to Washington please remove the Pinto's drive shaft. Why you ask? Because the cluster gear rotation is what slings the gear lube all over the inside of the tranie. Tow it and the cluster gear doesn't rotate, so no lube inside the tranie. Bad thing to say the least. I've seen the tranie's lock up in as little as 30 miles, and I've seen people go cross country with the drive shaft installed with no problem. Are you willing to chance it?

[dick1172762]

BRAD! One coil is way too much. Car would be on the bump stops. 1/2 coil is the most I'd go at first. 1/4 coil if the springs are real old. You can always cut more, but you can't put it back on. Take it easy please. Just remember that a little goes a LONG ways. BTW Speedway has rear lowering mini stock springs at about $100 each or close. You can de-arch your springs at some spring mfg. Lay the spring on its side and draw a line from the center of one bushing to the center of the other bushing. Then measure from the line down to the spring. That is your free arch. You want 3" of free arch and that what you would tell a shop. In front, lower it till the tie rods are parallel to the ground. Make sure the shocks don't bottom out  when the Pinto is low. This is what I do for Pinto race cars. BTW I was born in Diego and went to Hover Hi  many years ago. Hope this helps~~~Dick