The engine code of the low compression variant started with 'LA'. As the 1.3 L model, it used the Motorcraft 1V and, later, the Motorcraft VV carburetors.
1970–1982 Ford Taunus (engine codes JAA/JCA, JAC/JCC, JAR/JCR).The fuel was supplied by the Motorcraft single-barrel (1V) carburettor in the early models (until April 1979), and Motorcraft VV ("variable venturi") carburetor for the vehicles built after April 1979. lbf) depending on carburetor model had a compression ratio of 9.0:1 and the engine codes started with 'JC'.lbf) depending on carburetor model, had a compression ratio of 8.0:1 and the engine codes started with 'JA'.It was produced in two compression ratio versions: The smallest member of the family was the 1.3 L (1,294 cc) which had a 79.0 mm (3.11 in) bore and 66.0 mm (2.60 in) stroke. The only DOHC direct derivative of Pinto engine is the Cosworth YB 16-valve engine, powering Ford Sierra and Ford Escort RS Cosworth variants. The 16-valve version of the Ford DOHC unit is still used on the Ford Transit. Due to emission requirements, it was phased out towards the end of the 1980s to be replaced by the CVH engine and DOHC engine, the latter being (contrary to popular belief) a completely new design and not a twin-cam development of the Pinto unit. It was the first Ford engine to feature a belt-driven overhead camshaft (thus the name). The Pinto was manufactured in Cologne and was naturally fitted to many German cars such as the Taunus, including the 1293cc version also fitted to early Sierras. In Europe, the Pinto OHC was introduced in 1970 to replace the Essex V4 used in the Corsair as that range was subsumed into the Mk3 Cortina and Taunus V4 for the German Fords range (mainly the new Taunus TC). In Britain, it is commonly used in many kit cars and hot rods, especially in the 2 litre size.
It was used in many European Ford cars and was exported to the United States to be used in the Ford Pinto, a successful subcompact car of the 1970s, hence the name which is used most often for the unit. European Ford service literature refers to it as the Taunus In-Line engine (hence the TL codenames) and the Lima In-Line ( LL) The internal Ford codename for the unit was the T88-series engine. In Ford sales literature, it was referred to as the EAO or OHC engine and because it was designed to the metric system, it was sometimes called the "metric engine". Introduced by Ford in 1970, the Pinto was one of the first production engines to carry the cam on top of the head, driven by a toothed belt. The Ford Pinto engine was the unofficial but generic nickname for a four-cylinder internal combustion enginebuilt by Ford Europe.