Pinto OEM-EFI Info

Before I start with the process I would like to make a disclaimer. I have this system on my car and the way that I have done it is not the only way, other people have used different variations and it has worked just as well. A special thanks should go out to Roger Merritt who was the one that provided most of the installation details for me.

What you will need: -------------------

All of the parts that are used for the conversion are sourced from a JE Camira, with the exception of the inlet manifold. You will need the following items as a minimum:-

Computer: (it must be the AMXY chip, I had the AKLY in mine to start and it didn't run as well).
Loom: This must be as complete as possible with all plugs attached.
Camira Throttle body: (If you want a bigger TB then the V6 and V8 TB are compatible).
Camira dizzy
Camira Fuel pump
Map sensor
MAT Sensor
$350 for all of the above stuff + the coil and O2 sensor

Sierra Inlet Manifold $200

In addition to these parts, the Camira coil will make the wiring job somewhat easier, and you could also get the oxygen sensor if you want to run it.

Step 1. -------

The first thing that I did in this process was the Dizzy. Some people have just taken the hall effect sensor out of the Camira dizzy and put it in an Escort one.
What I did was get the top of the Camira dizzy grafted to the escort base. What this meant was that I continued to use the Camira dizzy cap. The rotor button and the loom also plugged straight in. I was also able to keep the igniter in the base of the dizzy (where it is meant to be), instead of having to bolt it to the firewall.
The cost for this modification here in Canberra was $180.

Step 2. -------

I then did the unpleasant task of running the fuel lines. I used 5/8" high-pressure hose that is meant for fuel injection. This stuff is quite expensive but if you want to get it through engineering you have to use it.
With a MK1 escort you don't need to run a surge tank because of the configuration of the fuel tank. In this case all you do is mount your Camira fuel pump and filter (using the bracket that you got with them) under the boot floor near the tank.
When I had done that I ran the fuel line down the chassis rail to the front of the car and up the firewall to where the manifold would be. You then have to run a return line back to the tank. I ran this back down the passenger side of the car back to the tank where I had a fitting put into the filler neck for the return.

Step 3. -------

Once the fuel lines have been done, then you will have to start looking at the inlet manifold.
The first thing is that there are some modifications that have to be done before you can put it on the engine. Before we get too carried away, there are a few holes in the manifold & TB to be plugged. These holes are to do with the idle control.
First the manifold. When you have pulled off the sierra TB and idle control there will be two holes in the manifold. The first [hole] will be on the side [of the manifold]. The second [hole] will be on the front near were the TB bolts on. The hole on the side can be fixed by cutting a blanking plate and bolting it to the manifold. Make sure that you put a smear of Ultra-Copper underneath it before you bolt it down. The second hole at the front I just blocked with some bog. :)
While you have the bog mixed up, there are two holes that you have to block in the TB. They are on the inside of the TB, one either side of the butterfly. Block these with the bog also. Once the bog is set just sand the bog to get a smooth finish. An alternative to bog is metal-mend or liquid-metal but I didn't have any and I was in a hurry.

Step 4. -------

Once you have plugged all the nasty holes then you can do the rest of the mods to the manifold. First of all there is the MAT (manifold air temp) sensor. There is a plug on the manifold on the plenum, and if you pull it out, the MAT sensor will screw in.
Unfortunately the nose of the sensor is too big so, you will have to drill out the manifold with a 10 mm drill. This will allow the sensor to screw right in. Make sure you do this as I snapped my first sensor off because I didn't do this.
The next mod is the water temperature sensor. This goes where the water flows out of the head near the centre of the manifold. You may need adapters (I can't really remember).
The next thing is modifying the Camira throttle body to go on the sierra manifold. All you have to do is enlarge the holes by about 2-3mm so that the bolts will fit through because the bolt pattern on the manifold is slightly larger than the holes on the TB.

Step 5. -------

Now you can start fitting the various parts, like the dizzy, manifold, coil and map sensor. Where the coil and MAP sensor go are entirely up to you, but you have to get them in the engine bay so that you can work out the loom.
With the manifold you cannot use a standard Escort inlet manifold gasket because the sierra one has the tear-drop ports and if you do [use the Escort gasket] you will leave an air gap at the top of each inlet port. I just used some Ultra Copper for this.

Step 6. -------

The next thing to do is decide where in the car you are going to put the computer. All I did was to use a hole saw to cut a hole in the fire wall near where the glove box is and just put the computer in the glove box, as it makes it easy to accees. The choice is entirely up to you.
The next issue to deal with is the fact that the loom came from a front wheel drive car, so you may have to move things and lengthen wires etc, but if you do it one [wire??] at a time, then it is quite easy.

Step 7. -------

Now comes the stage where you start to plug everything together.
Because you have used the factory loom (and parts), then you can just fit plug to socket and away you go. [You can't go wrong] because no two plugs are the same (except for the injectors and they don't matter anyway).
There will be two plugs on the TB:- one for the TPS, and the other for the IAC. Don't hook up the IAC plug, just tape it up.
When you have done this, there are only 4 wires that you need to hook up to you car to get the thing running.
(1) There will be a heap of black wires. These are your "earth", so just bolt them to the block.
(2) There will be some orange wires. These are the power from the battery.
(3) There will be a pink and black [stripe??] wire. This is for the ignition turn on.
(4) And there is a large diameter brown wire that is for the fuel pump.
If you are really keen, there is also a thin brown wire that is for the tacho.

Step 8. -------

Try to start the car.
If you are running the car on unleaded petrol then you can also put in the O2 sensor. This will enable the computer over time to trim the A/F ratio to better suit the cars requirements.

Conclusion: -----------

So how does it all run? If you have a standard car with extractors, then quite well when you consider that it came from a completely different car. If you look at it though, the specs of the [Camira] engine are not that different [to the specs of a Pinto].
Camira 2lt OHC 86kw
Pinto 2lt OHC 76kw
So when you look at it like that, there is not really that much difference. What I will endevour to do in the near future is tune my computer properly for the standard engine so that people have the correct program to start with. In the future it will also be running a 150 hp escort engine so I will be able to supply maps for that spec also.

Cheers Roger Merritt

I would appreciate some feedback on this article for other new tips to the newcomers. E-mail me below. Also, I'm looking for articles YOU write (Copyright infringement stuff) send me all you can, and we'll make this the premier buggy reference site!