1978 Ford Pinto Pony, what turbo diesel to install?

[Ford Man]

I'm not sure whether the 2.3L in the Pinto's were non interference engines or not. I do know that some of the engines in the first few years of the Escort were interference engines, but were later changed and I think all the 1.9L and 2.0L Escort engines are non interference. I think it was the 1.6L Escort that was interference. I know the 1.9L in my '88 Escort Pony is non interference, because I've had the timing belt come apart on it twice in 513K miles. My suggestion would be change the timing belt. With this being a bare bones car it should be a pretty simple job with no accessories to get in the way so it can probably be changed in a couple hours and probably under $15. for the belt. Of course I've done it a few times on my '88 Escort, but I have it down to where I can do it in about 2 hours start to finish without rushing through it. If the car has been sitting for 20 years and the timing belt is 32 years old and hasn't been in a climate controlled environment it has probably rotted and cracked. The older Escorts timing belt change interval was supposed to be 60K, but I usually let it ride until about 100K. The water pump bearing seized on my Escort which caused the timing belt to shear some of the teeth off. I think the timing belt change interval on the latter model Escorts was raised to 100K. If the Pinto is in as good shape as it appears to be I wouldn't use it for an everyday car but try to keep it in good shape with low mileage. I saw the first Pinto I'd seen on the road in years only a couple weeks ago. I'd also give it an oil change before firing it up and with all the advancements in oil over the last 30+ years the little engine will probably last a long time.

[vacationtime247]

It's been of mix of both inside and outside storage. I'm sure the timing belts probably bad and should be changed.
KaBOOM! Flub-flub-flub. That was my day today. Recognize that sound? It's my tire exploding, with no spare in the Escort. Yea, it came out to save on gas along with the jack > : ( But, a friend came and saved the day. Got a couple of used 13 inch tires for $50 with one mounted and balanced. Used were 185/80/13 originals were 175/70/13. The other tire to get mounted on later. Front drivers blew, shredded. Guess I'll put the slightly larger tires in the back. It was a free car, an Escort and I'm not putting more $ into it than I have to. But, had to bite the bullet and fix it in a pinch.
Glad that the 1.9 SEFI timing belt in the '91 Escort is a non-interference! Broke on my wife and of course she doesn't know why it's not running. So, of course she tries to start it back up. *Whew*
VT247

Originally Posted by Ford Man

I'm not sure whether the 2.3L in the Pinto's were non interference engines or not. I do know that some of the engines in the first few years of the Escort were interference engines, but were later changed and I think all the 1.9L and 2.0L Escort engines are non interference. I think it was the 1.6L Escort that was interference. I know the 1.9L in my '88 Escort Pony is non interference, because I've had the timing belt come apart on it twice in 513K miles. My suggestion would be change the timing belt. With this being a bare bones car it should be a pretty simple job with no accessories to get in the way so it can probably be changed in a couple hours and probably under $15. for the belt. Of course I've done it a few times on my '88 Escort, but I have it down to where I can do it in about 2 hours start to finish without rushing through it. If the car has been sitting for 20 years and the timing belt is 32 years old and hasn't been in a climate controlled environment it has probably rotted and cracked. The older Escorts timing belt change interval was supposed to be 60K, but I usually let it ride until about 100K. The water pump bearing seized on my Escort which caused the timing belt to shear some of the teeth off. I think the timing belt change interval on the latter model Escorts was raised to 100K. If the Pinto is in as good shape as it appears to be I wouldn't use it for an everyday car but try to keep it in good shape with low mileage. I saw the first Pinto I'd seen on the road in years only a couple weeks ago. I'd also give it an oil change before firing it up and with all the advancements in oil over the last 30+ years the little engine will probably last a long time.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by vacationtime247

Used were 185/80/13 originals were 175/70/13.
Guess I'll put the slightly larger tires in the back.

They'll just be rolling along there.

According to Tire Size Calculator - tire & wheel plus sizing the new ones are over 8 % larger (which is a lot).

You could use them on the front (it's a FWD car right ?) to bring down the engine revs at any speed, if you think the engine/tranny can take it.
The odometer and speedo will also read low by the same amount.
Worth a try I'd say.

[vacationtime247]

Looks like I'm going to have to put the new (used) tires on the front. The back ones are not in good shape. But, was wondering, wouldn't the increased air flow under the car offset any savings from lower revs? The front will be higher than the back now. Yes, it is a FWD. Later, I'll add some tires in back to make them all even sized.
VT247

Originally Posted by euromodder

They'll just be rolling along there.

According to Tire Size Calculator - tire & wheel plus sizing the new ones are over 8 % larger (which is a lot).

You could use them on the front (it's a FWD car right ?) to bring down the engine revs at any speed, if you think the engine/tranny can take it.
The odometer and speedo will also read low by the same amount.
Worth a try I'd say.

[comptiger5000]

It depends on the vehicle and its current gearing. In my case, putting slightly larger tires all around helped very slightly on the highway, as I'm somewhat overgeared.

[Ford Man]

I'm not sure on a 2nd generation Escort whether the larger tires will fit on the back or not. I know some of the Escorts have limited space and will rub the strut spring assembly. My '88's original size tire was 165/80/13 and I can use 185/75/14's front or back. Running them on the front makes the speedometer/odometer run about 5.5% slow.