Pinto head

Pinto engine Heads

The Pinto cylinder head is based on the Ford Ohc engine introduced back in 1970.The newer injected heads are different to the original heads.If you want to use carburetor on these heads then some modifications will have to be made. With a used Ford cylinder head. First carefully clean and remove all traces of coke, oil and dirt. All old bearings are removed,check all threads for depth and condition.
Waterways should be checked for cleanliness then pressure test to make sure the heads are not cracked.The inlet port on the injection cylinder heads are a lot higher than the standard cylinder head because of the shape required to site the injectors on a road car, so its best to clean out the bottom of the port with a die grinder to allow a new alloy stuffer to blend in and locate without thin edges.
The valve guide holes and valve seats should then be machined at precise angles and locations.The inlet manifold stud holes are now filled in and re-drilled and tapped to 0.2" further up the cylinder head.
This enables the non injected two litre inlet manifold gasket and manifold shape to fit the modified parts. The combustion chambers should now be polished, balanced and blended into the new valve seats. The exhaust ports are gas flowed out to relieve restriction around the valve guide area and the top front area of the port at the head face.
A professional modified Pinto head can flow lots of air with bigger valves the standard 140 cfm can be raised to over 190 cfm. The inlet port is large as standard and only needs enlarging if you decide to use the biggest valves. The shape of the short side bend is critical though if good high lift flow is to be achieved. However getting minor changes in the desired shape wrong can lose bhp rather than gain it.
Getting race heads properly modified is important if you want good power from a Pinto head. Spend a good proportion of your budget on getting the heads modified properly.
Standard valves are 42mm inlet and 36mm exhaust. The standard exhaust valve is big enough and there is little point in fitting larger ones. Considerably bigger inlet valves can beudget on getting the head modified properly.Standard valves are 42mm inlet and 36mm exhaust. The standard exhaust valve is big enough and there is little point in fitting larger ones. Considerably bigger inlet valves can be fitted if you so desire. These cylender heads can be found on a few Ford used cars for sale such as Capri, Escort Rs2000, Transits and Seieras but a few so it should be easy to find a head from a scrapped cars for sale.