Sierra pinto 165 block

[C0RKTINA 105]

as you probably know the 165 is the same external dimensions (ie height) as a 2 litre block, but with narrower bores. 

 

Has anyone any thoughts on boring it out to 1.8 or even 2 litre?   would this be possible?  

 

I have one sitting spare , and the head (unleaded of course). 

 

 

[sheffieldcortinacentre 740]

I've no idea what they can be taken out to, you'd probably have to talk to some engine reconditioning places.

[C0RKTINA 105]

but it's not a silly question? 

[sheffieldcortinacentre 740]

Didn't say it was ,just that I've never done it.

Far as I know both the bore & stroke differed on the original versions between capacities 

I thought it was the 1.8/2.0 that shared deck heights on the later versions.

 Unlike the Kent ( 1.5/1.6 had a taller block than the small capacity  engines)& Essex engines were the stroke varied the capacity bore remained the same across there respective ranges.

When it comes to engines I've always gone with the idea that rebuild costs will be similar  for an engine in a range ( sohc in this case) so as their the same physical size/weight start with the biggest capacity.

 

Ie if a i.6 is 75 hp & a 2.0 100hp & it costs say £100 to get 25 hp increase out of both then it'll cost £200 to get the same power from the 1.6 as the 2.0 (125hp).

Obviously there's alot more to it than this as the end product will be that both engines will have different characteristics with the same peak power.

[C0RKTINA 105]

it's not easy to source a 2 litre anymore, and expensive, so I wondered if it was a possibility to use a 165 block. The block is the same as the 2 litre only with narrower bores. It's the same height, for instance, whch i know as it arrived with a 2.0 cam belt cover and got me all excited until i found the 165 cast into the block, which confirmed it wasnt a 2 litre, sadly.

 

On the existing engine, Ive uprated the carb and im also toying with uprating the exhaust , which might be enough improvement for what I want. There's not much point in using the 165 engine without uprating it in some way, it's probably not worth the expense to do it.

 

I bought the Sierra engine for the unleaded head and recovered most of the cost selling the carb and mainfolds, so ive more or less got a free head, held in reserve if ever i need it. 

[Johncon36 0]

On 2/28/2026 at 8:41 PM, C0RKTINA said:

as you probably know the 165 is the same external dimensions (ie height) as a 2 litre block, but with narrower bores. 

 

Has anyone any thoughts on boring it out to 1.8 or even 2 litre?   would this be possible?  

 

I have one sitting spare , and the head (unleaded of course). 

 

 

Pardon my ignorance but if the 165 block is the same height as the 205 why doesn't it use the longer 2.0 belt. ?? 🤔🤔👍👍

[STEVE440 12]

I know this is going to conflict with what most people think but the 1.8 Pinto is a very underrated engine, back in the late 80's I had one in a Sierra that I picked up cheap at an auction. I put a Weber on it instead of the original carb that Ford had fitted and it would keep up with a 2.0 in the real world and used less fuel.  

[sierra3dr 53]

On 3/13/2026 at 7:53 PM, STEVE440 said:

I know this is going to conflict with what most people think but the 1.8 Pinto is a very underrated engine, back in the late 80's I had one in a Sierra that I picked up cheap at an auction. I put a Weber on it instead of the original carb that Ford had fitted and it would keep up with a 2.0 in the real world and used less fuel.  

It is the heads that are not great to improve performance

[sierra3dr 53]

On 2/28/2026 at 8:41 PM, C0RKTINA said:

as you probably know the 165 is the same external dimensions (ie height) as a 2 litre block, but with narrower bores. 

 

Has anyone any thoughts on boring it out to 1.8 or even 2 litre?   would this be possible?  

 

I have one sitting spare , and the head (unleaded of course). 

 

 

I remember reading once about that it is possible

[C0RKTINA 105]

On 3/15/2026 at 2:51 PM, sierra3dr said:

I remember reading once about that it is possible

thanks,,,,but i gave it away :-)

[C0RKTINA 105]

On 3/13/2026 at 6:15 PM, Johncon36 said:

Pardon my ignorance but if the 165 block is the same height as the 205 why doesn't it use the longer 2.0 belt. ?? 🤔🤔👍👍

because it's not the same height as the Cortina Pinto...it's the same height as the 2 litre. It does use the same belt as the 2 litre afaik and the cam belt cover actually had 2.0 stamped on it.