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Mike Egan’s Notes on F2000 Pinto Engine Building
10/21/2005

In the last 8 years I've built a few 2 L motors, successfully, I may add.
I have some notes somewhere with all the hints I discovered over time. I'm on the raod now, but Monday I may be able to find them and email them to you.
BAT has a catalog. In the margins of their catalog they have printed little rules to follow. Those rules are very close to what tha pro builders use as a rule of thumb baseline.
Refreshing a quality pro motor is a snap compared to pulling a pinto motor out of a junk yard pinto and building it up to pro specs. I've done both.
Blueprinting is your #1 effort. Be prepared to assemble the engine bottom end maybe 3 times, measuring, machining, reassembling, measuring again. If you have a race-prepped head, the valve work is fairly routine. Valve spring tension being important to test. Having a quality machinist available is very important for things like crank/rod fitment, cylinder wall finish, or sleeve replacement, sqare decks, piston deck height adjustment, ring gap adjustment, etc.
I always purchased the parts from BAT, or from a pro builder. Even bought a torque plate for properly honing the cylinders.
For years I would call Rollin Butler with questions, and he always seemed happy to help. He did say it would take me a lot of work to get to the point where I would be smart enough to ask a question he wouldn't answer.
One of the Pinto owners manuls is pretty good. Chilton or Hayes. The other is a waste of money. On the road I can't remember which

2.0 Liter Ford Pinto stuff

Redline…..…...6800 rpm

Bore = 3.575”
Stroke = 3.029”
Rod length = 4.990”
Wrist pin = .944”

1 inch = 2.54 cm.

Race Engine Clearances: (BAT catalog)
Main Bearings……………… .002”
Con rod bearings…………… .0015 - .002”
Con rod side clearance……. .015”
Camshaft bearings………… .0018 - .0026”
Piston to cyl. Wall………… .005”
Top Ring End Gap………… .015”
Crankshaft end float………. .0032 - .011”
Camshaft end float………… .0016 - .0047”
Wrist pin………………….. .0007 - .00153”
Intake valve stem………… .002”
Exhaust valve stem………. .0025”
Intake valve lash………….. .010” cold (.008 HOT) read more below
Exhaust valve lash……….. .012” cold (.010 HOT) read more below

Race Engine Torque Specs: (BAT catalog)
Head bolt…………………… 85 lbs./ft.
Main cap bolt………………. 75 lbs./ft.
Rod cap bolt…(Stock)….. 35 lbs./ft ? (45) Oliver is different
Flywheel bolt ……………… 50 lbs./ft. ? (75)
Pressure plate bolt…………. 15 lbs./ft.
Oil Sump bolt……………… 8 lbs./ft.
Rocker Cover bolt…………. 5 lbs./ft.
Front Cover Bolt…………… 13 lbs./ft.
Water Neck bolt…………… 15 lbs./ft.
Camshaft Sprocket Bolt…… 35 lbs./ft.
Crankshaft Pulley bolt…….. 28 lbs./ft.
Intake Manifold bolt………. 15 lbs./ft.
Exhaust manifold bolt ……. 15 lbs./ft.
Carb to manifold nut……… 15 lbs./ft.
Spark Plug………………… 20 lbs./ft.

Phone Numbers:

Cricket Farm Motors 864-277-1268 Rollin Butler (SC)
Quicksilver 301-698-9009 Sandy Shamlian (Maryland)
Elite 262-306-1977 Steve Knapp (Wisconsin)
Farley 816-431-3550 (Missouri)
Loyning 503-775-2999 (Oregon)
Ivey 503-255-1123 (Oregon)
BAT 941-355-0005 (Sarasota FL)

Block:
GCR says:
2.0 NE series
Nominal bore 90.84 mm
Nominal stroke 76.95mm
Casting # HM6015BA or HM6015B3

Holes in the stock block to make sure you put something (a plug) into:
Water temp – right side rear
Front hole next to #1 journal
Inside oil filter
Dip stick
Top of block breather (filter side)
Rear of block below freeze plug
Two ports around jack shaft

Butler says main bearing clearance = .002 - .003”
Quicksilver says main bearing clearance = .002

New head gasket = .054”, old = .052” Ford Motorsports “red”

Planing block will get you (per Kevin Roberts):
Plane .010” = 1.63cc/hole
Plane .020” = 3.26cc/hole

Head bolt torque………………………………85 lbs.
Pistons shall not protrude above the cylinder block surface @ TDC.
Main cap torque = 75 lb.

Pistons:
GCR says:
…shall be standard Ford production
Weighed with rings and pin, rod and bolts (no bearings)
p/n 80HM6102LA 1332.5 grams
p/n 85HM6102DA 1255 grams
p/n 21426 casting 21426 1255 grams
Piston p/n 21426, casting p/n 21426 (AE Hepolite)
oversize = std Grade “C” (90.83/90.82)
New Ford Forged Pistons p/n M-6102-B200 J&E
J&E Pistons p/n M-6102-B200

Wisco Pistons for 5.7 rods = #6119A3 .030” over

Butler says piston/wall clearance .0045” to .0055 max.
…..about pin high on the skirt.
Loyning says piston/wall clearance .005” max
Cast pistons are worthless.
Loyning says Moly top ring gap = .015”
Quicksilver says Moly top ring gap = .015”
Butler says Moly top ring gap = .015”

Old piston top ring = 5/64”
New piston top ring = 1/16”

Oil:

Sandy (QS) say use Valvoline 10/30 Synthetic if you have an oil cooler.
I use Mobil 1 15/50
Oil filter…………………Wix 51348? NAPA gold 1335, 1374 may be better

Cams:
Farley says cam timing 2 – 4 degrees retard.
Quicksilver says 3 degrees retard.

Max lift against cam angle with zero tappet clearance measured in mm:
Angle Opening Closing
0 10.442 10.442
45 3.86 3.86
90 0.20 0.01

Same for intake and exhaust.

Maximum valve lift against cam angle w/zero tappet clearance = 0.400 +/- .005”
New Crane cam is an allowable substitute.

Valve clearance: Intake .008” Exhaust .010” HOT
Adjust between cam and follower…..

Cam timing: what the 2.0 “straight up” intake valve centerline cam timing number should be…

The long straight tracks should shoot for a 114 – 115 degree centerline (more retarded) on the number one intake lobe.

- To increase torque on the short tracks the number should be reduced to 112 – 113.

Note: Retarding the cam by installing a 3-degree offset keys will not guarantee the cam is retarded 3 degrees. There are many factors/tolerances that can change the cam angle so it needs to be checked and corrected with the appropriate offset key. I say should because the offset keys themselves are not always exactly what they are marked. Check – adjust – and re-check.

Rods:
Oliver Rods = M-6200-C200
Butler Rod bearing clearance = .002”
Quicksilver rod bearing clearance = .0015 - .002”
Butler says old cast rods only good for 2000 miles.
Rod p/n M-6200-C200 is permitted (Oliver)
Rod bearing keepers face oil filter on block!!!!
Butler does 45lb. Rod torque
Old forged stock rods:
70HM-6205-B-A
knot sticks out side of pin end “+8BA”
“F” on side of casting

Head:
Cylinder head volume = 50cc min. (not including head gasket)
Head gasket = .9mm min. thick
Cylinder aperture = 92 mm
Max diameter of inlet port at manifold head face 39.5 mm.
Max dimensions of exhaust port at manifold face 35.5mm X 27 mm.
It is permissible to reshape inlet and exhaust port by removal of metal within limits.
Inlet valve 42.2mm
Exhaust valve 36.2mm
Valve stem 8.4mm
Butler uses yellow stripe valve springs (BAT).
Valve clearance: Intake .008” Exhaust .010” HOT
Adjust between cam and follower…..

OK. I called QS and asked what they do to set the valves cold.

When they set up the head on the bench, for the intakes, they use 0.010 on cylinders 1-3, and 0.009 on cyl # 4. For the exhausts they use 0.013 for # 1, and 0.012 for the rest. They might have to adjust one or two slightly hot after they're run in, but that gives them the desired 0.008 intake and 0.010 exhaust (hot).

So the 0.002 extra clearance, as I said before, seems about right for cold valve adjustments of a head mounted on a block.


Head bolt torque………………………………85 lbs.

Flywheel:
Min weight = 14.4 lb. w/ring
Butler says 85lb w/blue locktite.
ARP says No Washers under bolts! P/N 151-2801
Torque to 75lb. W/ARP moly lube.
Torque to 85lb w/ 30wt oil.
Tightening sequence:
1. 70 lb.
2. Rap with hammer
3. 70 lb.
4. 75 lb.

Titan Oil Pump:
The chamfer on each round pump gear goes down into the pump body spigot.

Crankshaft:
Min. weight = 27.5 lb.

Ignition systems:
Spark Plugs…………NGK AP8FS <AP9FS>? (NGK 2227?)
.028” w/points, bigger w/electronic ignition
Bosch – Pertronix #1843
Crane 3000-0021 (or 700-0021) and 700-2231
Points……… .013… dwell 48 – 50 degrees
Points really around .014 !!!!

Carb issues:

Is it dumping fuel at idle (too high float level) or…
During cornering (need to solder shut the secondary idle jet)? or…
Is it some other problem?

Dave W. says: Is the secondary idle jet still working (open)? If it is, solder it shut. Fuel will slosh in the carb and come out through this jet into the throttle plate area, causing a bog. This is exacerbated by higher float levels.

Barry Haynie said: An interesting twist to this phenomena I often experience is the motor shutting off under very hard straight line braking. This seems to be a float-level sensitive deal. By raising the level (icroscopically!) and testing and resetting etc I can get it to not do this.
Any comments on this or similar experiences?

Dave W. replied: Barry, since the float bowl is at the front of the carb, meaning that the jets are in the rear of the bowl, it sounds like you are uncovering the jets, causing a very lean mixture, stopping the engine. As you said, raising the float level would help this, but may cause fuel to slosh into unwanted places. QS does extensive baffling, etc. to prevent this.

From one of Keith's previous posts:

"I set the seam in the float, parallel with the carb top and have a 1/4" float drop. Remove the carb top; slowly turn it upside down until the float seats the needle. At that point (before it compresses the spring loaded ball) the float seam should be parallel with the carb top. Measuring (side view) the seam, in the middle of the float, I want the drop measurement to be 1/4" more, when I now turn the carb top back (as if re-assembling the carb). If the drop is too small, it slows down the fuel flow in the bowl. If too much, it can "hang" in some corners and cause the car to stumble. I hope this helps. Keith@Averill

Well... there you have it. 8 years of answers to the questions that weren't smart enough to go unanswered. Hope it helps.