I have seen a SR20det conversion and boy did it go. I would do that and it would be cheap. You can get a front cut from any jap import joint and comes with everything you need. Great on fuel, mountains of aftermarket crap to buy and massive power potential.

the SR20 is to tall to fit the engine bay properly. That doesn't seem to stop some people though.

its a very common conversion nowdays. That or Cosworth. turbo the pinto for some unreliable fun.

are you for real?

You do realise that you can build an entire engine from new bullet proof aftermarket parts.
every thing from alloy blocks and heads to roller cam kits and everything in between.


Even on the cheap a stock block, sohc cam crank with datsun rods and VW or Subaru pistons the things will do 8000rpm all day every day. Knowing what cam to buy and how to set it up properly will solve all of the 'common ' cam issues.

Any engine is only as reliable as the idiot that builds it.

^^^^so true there are more knobs out there than there should be.

Aha yea I just got back on my seat...
As if the RS500 Sierra was unreliable.. Sheesh one of the stronger motors around..
There was a roller kit for cam.. But a turbo motors doesn't require a massive cam or extreme heavy valve springs. The std springs need replacing, springs that take better coil bind, thinner wire springs.. If you could get the RS500 head ?? your laughing..
Get the right cam, spring, follower combination it will last heaps..
A VF29 Mitsi turbo as used in STI WRX would do the job.. I would convert to efi also..

to spend the money on putting a YB cosworth head on a pinto, you'd be better off just buying a complete YB engine.
The problem with the pinto bottom end is the rods don't like revs. but with spool imports doing a set now for $550 it not an issue. The stock crank is fine even at 8500rpm and 500hp. On the head/cam side of things most engine builders don't understand what needs to be done to have the correct rocker geometry.
Incorrect setup is the single biggest cause of failure.

are you for real the crank in a pinto is s**t a cossy crank maybe good for 500 bhp but no way a crank out of a std pinto is good for that. i'v had many cosworths back in the uk and i did a few turbo conversions to the pinto motors to i only ever used cossy rods and pistons and good 205 blocks with matching numbers beside the dizzy mount. the lower the number the better.they are good and strong as you say and i love them turbo'd or natro thrown together or poorly mapped they will blow up in no time at all . big dollas for any half decent yb motor out here you will do better with the sr 20 so it won't break the bank if it blows up.