Pinto or Zetec (Capri needs a new engine)?
Discussion
Well, after seeing the "Shed of the week" this week and reading all the comments, I thought I would come and ask all you wonderful PHer's for a bit more advice.
A good mate of mine bought an '87 1600 Capri Laser in September from Ebay for peanuts, the bodywork is a little crappy but he is doing a cracking job of straightening it, getting rid of the tin worm and respraying it. Soon it will be time to sort out the engine, which is smokey, has low oil pressure and is pretty gutless.
I suggested that we throw away the crappy engine and either substitute it for a 2.0 litre Pinto or 2.0 litre Zetec. What I want to know is do any of you have any experience with either conversion?
I know the Pinto will be a lot cheaper as its pretty much a straight swap, but I like the idea of a Zetec for the tunability and tractability of the engine. What exactly would you need for a Zetec swap (special engine mounts, cooling, etc)? How much more/less tunable is the Pinto compared to the Zetec?
At the moment it's a case of costing everything, then we will get all the parts needed (including uprated brakes/suspension) then it will be a case of doing everything in one go.
What do you all think...?
A good mate of mine bought an '87 1600 Capri Laser in September from Ebay for peanuts, the bodywork is a little crappy but he is doing a cracking job of straightening it, getting rid of the tin worm and respraying it. Soon it will be time to sort out the engine, which is smokey, has low oil pressure and is pretty gutless.
I suggested that we throw away the crappy engine and either substitute it for a 2.0 litre Pinto or 2.0 litre Zetec. What I want to know is do any of you have any experience with either conversion?
I know the Pinto will be a lot cheaper as its pretty much a straight swap, but I like the idea of a Zetec for the tunability and tractability of the engine. What exactly would you need for a Zetec swap (special engine mounts, cooling, etc)? How much more/less tunable is the Pinto compared to the Zetec?
At the moment it's a case of costing everything, then we will get all the parts needed (including uprated brakes/suspension) then it will be a case of doing everything in one go.
What do you all think...?
Another engine to consider for ease of fitment is the 2 litre twin cam from the late Sierra/Scorpio.
The Zetec will need to gearbox/clutch matched correctly and a fair amount of modification to connect everything up.
A friend of mine has put a Zetec in a Mk1 Escort and it is no easy task, check Classic Ford February for the 1300E/Zetec article
The Zetec will need to gearbox/clutch matched correctly and a fair amount of modification to connect everything up.
A friend of mine has put a Zetec in a Mk1 Escort and it is no easy task, check Classic Ford February for the 1300E/Zetec article
As a Sierra 2.0 DOHC owner, I would say don't go for the Sierra DOHC option. It isn't that much better than the Pinto unit and doesn't really have the tweakability. If you are considering going as far as fitting the Zetec with all it's electronics then I would say go for a 2.8/2.9 V6 instead, or 3.0 Essex if you can find a decent one. A high tech Zetec just seems kinda wrong in a classic machine like that.
I like the Zetec for the fact its a nice tunable engine, I was going to bin the ECU and all the electrickery in favour of a couple of side draught twin choke Webbers.
There was an article in Practical Classics a couple of years back on fitting modern powerplants into classic cars and the Zetec seemed a popular way forward with a lot of old Fords (and Lotus Elans) as it shares the same bolt pattern for the gearbox, is cheap, easily available and there are lots of aftermarket goodies around.
I hadn't considered the Ford Twincam, but I would feel bad not putting a proper Cosworth one in!
Given a big enough budget I would slap in a 6.0 LS2, but can't afford that!
There was an article in Practical Classics a couple of years back on fitting modern powerplants into classic cars and the Zetec seemed a popular way forward with a lot of old Fords (and Lotus Elans) as it shares the same bolt pattern for the gearbox, is cheap, easily available and there are lots of aftermarket goodies around.
I hadn't considered the Ford Twincam, but I would feel bad not putting a proper Cosworth one in!
Given a big enough budget I would slap in a 6.0 LS2, but can't afford that!
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