Hi All!

[OldSchoolEconomy]

Hi everyone.
New user here, found this site and thought it looked interesting.
Also may learn a thing or two about driving a bit more economically.

My cars are-
1972 Cortina Estate. 2.0 OHC 4spd manual Petrol Carb
1982 F100 SWB 351 4spd manual Petrol/Propane carb
1973 Cortina Sedan 250 six cyl 5 spd manual petrol carb.

Not your usual 'eco' cars, I know, but I'm sure there is room for improvement!

Hope to be involved on these forums into the future, to learn, and to teach.

Cheers,
Allen
Adelaide, Australia

[UltArc]

Welcome, [I] look forward to following your developments.

100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com is the cheapest and most effective way to get started

[jedi_sol]

welcome! as you get familiar with the site, you'll notice that a lot of us dont have "eco" cars. We simply make the best out of what we've got.

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by jedi_sol

welcome! as you get familiar with the site, you'll notice that a lot of us dont have "eco" cars. We simply make the best out of what we've got.

Very true. However I wouldn't phrase it that way, rather we have what we want AND mod smart, while driving smarter.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Some old beaters can be actually better, if you consider the adaptability of their platform (not just the engine) to alternative fuels and improved drivelines while remaining practical. I bet you wouldn't be satisfied with a huge LPG tank in the boot of, let's say, a Yaris.

[Arragonis]

For US Viewers a 2.0 OHC Cortina = 2.0 OHC Pinto in the rest of the world.

No we didn't like the Pinto either, so we built them so they didn't catch fire so much.

[OldSchoolEconomy]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

For US Viewers a 2.0 OHC Cortina = 2.0 OHC Pinto in the rest of the world.

No we didn't like the Pinto either, so we built them so they didn't catch fire so much.

Didn't like the looks of the Pinto either! Hence the sexy, sexy coke bottle lines of the Cortina! Similar to a '68-'69 Camaro.

[War_Wagon]

Y'all have obviously never driven a Pinto with a 351 Windsor V8 swap in it. Now that's a fun time! Especially when the rear hatch starts to leak in the rain because the body is so twisted out of shape. But as for the stock Pinto motors, didn't they crack cylinder heads on a regular basis? I remember that the sleeved Chevy Vega blocks failed horribly, but the Pintos were actually not too bad except for the cylinder head thing, weren't they?

Either way, welcome to the site!

[OldSchoolEconomy]

Got the old girl running again, burned an exhaust valve out, and then used a head that was just out of tolerance on the face, so went through about four head gaskets in three weeks. Pushed her in the shed, and got on with other things.
Change jobs, and decided to get another head and get her going again.
So far, getting approx 13% better economy than when new, although its very hard to find accurate data on the fuel economy of a car this old when it was new!

As for the heads, they are (usually) pretty bullet proof, only ever had the one with any sort of structural issue.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site.