kent to pinto swap

Sterling · 20-05-2008, 08:26 PM

who has done this swap? im having trouble with my starter motor and/or ignition

i have the solenoid engagement wire going to a jumper lead to the + of the battery when i want to start the motor, and it starts, but heres my problem,

when i disconnect the jump lead, the engine conks out

the solenoid sometimes sticks on after i disconnect it...

a diagram of what the rear contacts on the solenoid go to woud be great

all appreciated

peachey80 · 21-05-2008, 08:40 AM

G'day mate,
Do you have your alternator wired up ?

Sterling · 21-05-2008, 06:16 PM

no its mounted, but not wired up

that shouldnt affect anything else should it?

johno9184 · 21-05-2008, 07:10 PM

cos your alternator is not wired its not giving any power to your electronics. there for its getting the power from the jumper leads, and when u disconect it, it kills your engine.

Sterling · 21-05-2008, 07:59 PM

i only have 1 jump lead, for the solenoid, the battery is still conneced. shouldnt it be able to run?

outback_ute · 21-05-2008, 08:18 PM

What is powering the spark plugs when you remove the jumper lead? If the battery had enough juice it would also start the engine.

johno9184 · 21-05-2008, 08:21 PM

there should be a positive lead running straight from your battery to the positive side of your solenoid. this should be connected all the time. the other 2 wires on your solenoid should run to your ignition which inturn throw the solenoid in and out.

Sterling · 21-05-2008, 09:13 PM

yeh i still have the 1.6 solenoid in, ill remove that first

johno9184 · 21-05-2008, 09:21 PM

that would be the best bet. i swaped mine straight over from the 1.6 solenoid to the 2ltr starter and it all works perfect

Sterling · 21-05-2008, 10:12 PM

sweet ill see how i go

Sterling · 22-05-2008, 05:17 PM

removed it engine starts fine, starter doesnt stick

thanks!

4descort · 27-05-2008, 08:56 PM

Yes I had the same mistake - I didn't realise the solenoids for starter motor were different from kent to pinto. I had HEAPS of trouble with the starter motor sticking on, even while the engine was running...an auto leccy laughed at me and told me I simply had the wrong solenoid on...because I didn't even think to convert.

Well I hope your conversion goes well...I did mine in 7 days (working about 3-4 hours each night) and my brother was ****ed most of the time. Took a lot of planning and heartache but worth every bit.

How did you go cutting the radiator panel to fit the pinto in?

Sterling · 27-05-2008, 10:22 PM

didnt, to be honest.. the mechanical fan is removed and the radiator is like 2cm from the water pump pulley.. leaves lots of room infront for thermo fan.

but man is the car fun..when its good n hot its got so much power

i love it..

i put my foot down in 1st while rolling on dry ashfalt and it started to slide...jumped to 5000rpms almost instantly....hehe

4descort · 01-06-2008, 11:18 AM

Sterling,

Can you send us a pic of your front radiator section...I'd really like to know how you got it all in without cutting the panel...i had to cut mine top and bottom for the radiator to even fit!
It is a mkII esky eh? Good work, I know how you feel - 1600 to 2L very nice move.

Any work done to the engine? (you may have told us this already, but I'm quite new to the forum...)

Regards,
4descort

Sterling · 02-06-2008, 10:13 PM

ill get the pic in a few days, im not a home right now, the engine is stock but extractors, and yeh, no fan just thermo fan infront and yes its a mk2 lol

heres a video i recently did this might help.. u can see the top radiator surround was cut and bent back, because i thought i would need to remove it but a friend said i didnt need to so i put the engine in and it fits, the top surround will be bent back when i get around to it and welded back, just another thing to get to to get a roadworthy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63GlJWfZktQ

Sterling · 02-06-2008, 10:16 PM

another question, how did u fit the radiator in? when i was looking at the surround if it was cut out, isnt there a little lip with wires across going underneath the radiator? the 1600 radiator sat infront of that, and if i shoved it forward, it looked like it would have to sit ontop of the wires and such, then it would sit to high up wouldnt it? im intrested to see how ur radiator work went aswell..

4descort · 08-06-2008, 09:26 PM

Sterling,

I researched the kent to pinto project for mine for about 2 years, and everyone told me I had to cut it out...I really don't like cutting out of my body frame but hey, i thought it had to be done. Firstly, I cut the front (up the top) panel, which meant the radiator could fit in with plenty of room to make way for the engine ...without installing the radiator to check the fit, we put the engine and gear box in, manifolds, electrical everything...the last system to go in was the radiator.

And yes, you're right...if you cut the top, you also have to cut a nice chunk out the bottom exactly where all those wires are. So, we put the radiator in and it stuck above the bonnet line by about 15 cm!!!! :@! So we were forced to cut the bottom section out, the curved part, with an angle grinder (done by my drunk brother with a cast on his broken leg...) to fit the radiator in.

So what happened to those wires?

I simply got some black wire tubing, organised them and ran them just on the edge, using the cut out section as a base to wrap wire ties around to attach the tubing to the body...when done evenly it come out very neat and clean. I then got some tougher black piping and slit it to make a 'C' shape and ran that around the edge of the top panel, so there are no sharp edges...

Let me know how things pan out,
I originally wrote this reply with pictures to be attached but they are way to big too upload and i don't have the time right now to upload. If you want I can send you the pics over email if you pm me.

Lionel

Sterling · 09-06-2008, 05:23 PM

wow i never new there was that much work in moving the radiator forward.