Ford Essex V6 advice!
Discussion
I am about to get an engine reconditioning and the garage have come back with some possible options I could add to this, some of which I simply don't know. Can anyone help explain in simple terms, what effect the following will have on the engine?
Performance Camshaft profile
Gas flow Inlet Manifold and match to ports in Heads
Roller tipped rockers
Uprated valve springs
Any light shed on the above will be appreciated greatly!
Performance Camshaft profile
Gas flow Inlet Manifold and match to ports in Heads
Roller tipped rockers
Uprated valve springs
Any light shed on the above will be appreciated greatly!
DAKOTAstorm said:
I am about to get an engine reconditioning and the garage have come back with some possible options I could add to this, some of which I simply don't know. Can anyone help explain in simple terms, what effect the following will have on the engine?
Performance Camshaft profile
Gas flow Inlet Manifold and match to ports in Heads
Roller tipped rockers
Uprated valve springs
Any light shed on the above will be appreciated greatly!
The Essex is not what would normally be regarded as a performance engine but is still perfectly workable in the right setting.Performance Camshaft profile
Gas flow Inlet Manifold and match to ports in Heads
Roller tipped rockers
Uprated valve springs
Any light shed on the above will be appreciated greatly!
However there are far better engines you could spend your money on than trying to tune the Essex.
If all you want it to do is carry on its normal duties then a nice refresh is all it needs and none of the above are required.
Steve
Give Paul a ring at Finch Motorsport , he has a vast experience with the V6 Essex.....
http://www.finchmotorsport.co.uk/
you need to get an idea as to the extra cost for doing these over them just reconditioning... if you camshaft needs a regrind and its same money to go for the upgrade design and your rockers need replacing anyhow and its only £50 more etc etc then its worth doing IMO.
If its all 1k on top and your not really looking for extra performance then probably not worth it.
If its all 1k on top and your not really looking for extra performance then probably not worth it.
My advice would be to think carefully about what you want from the car before you modify it from standard. Usually a standard cam and standard inlet manifold is designed at great expense to give a good compromise between performance, drivability and economy. If you start fitting higher lift longer duration cams and re- profiling the manifold you may gain more power but often at the expense of drivability. I am not that familiar with the Ford V6 but the few I have driven were smooth and had reasonable low end torque but not a lot of top end power. If you seek more power by moving the peak torque up the rev range with a lumpy cam it may become horrible to drive at lower RPM which is fine if it is a race car but not so good for burbling to the pub on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Would have thought the valve springs and roller rockers would only be required if needed by the new cam profile, it would be a fairly radical cam that needed roller rockers.
In simplistic terms the Cam defines where the engine will deliver peak torque, a full on race cam will aim to deliver more torque higher up the rev range because power is Torque x RPM / 5252. A more sensible good mannered road cam would develop torque lower down so you get a nice smooth tick over and smooth power delivery, what is sometimes called Fast Road cam is somewhere in-between.
If you look on one of the cam manufacturers web sites (Kent Cams ) for example they usually state the RPM range where different grinds of cam produce power and usually what springs and valve gear are required. You may find some listed for your engine.
Would have thought the valve springs and roller rockers would only be required if needed by the new cam profile, it would be a fairly radical cam that needed roller rockers.
In simplistic terms the Cam defines where the engine will deliver peak torque, a full on race cam will aim to deliver more torque higher up the rev range because power is Torque x RPM / 5252. A more sensible good mannered road cam would develop torque lower down so you get a nice smooth tick over and smooth power delivery, what is sometimes called Fast Road cam is somewhere in-between.
If you look on one of the cam manufacturers web sites (Kent Cams ) for example they usually state the RPM range where different grinds of cam produce power and usually what springs and valve gear are required. You may find some listed for your engine.
to get around 200 bhp from the essex lump is going to run you thousands sell it and buy a 24v cosworth if you want to keep a ford v6 go boa make sure to steer clear of the bob as wiring is a nightmare although there are guys making looms etc now a days for it
in my own words if you go essex v6 avoid specialised engines , i will post my story on them soon enough
in my own words if you go essex v6 avoid specialised engines , i will post my story on them soon enough
Thanks for all the links and advice, in the end budget determined the build, heads being too pricey a lot of stuff was not needed as the standard stuff was deemed to be able to cope, the engine is getting a full recondition with the majority of moving parts replaced for better and the Gas flow Inlet Manifold and match to ports in Heads with a lightened fly wheel are the options I chose to make the engine breathe and rev more freely. The engine is for a TVR 3000M and is the original, which is why I didn't want to replace it with something more powerful or japanese! thanks guys!
DAKOTAstorm said:
Thanks for all the links and advice, in the end budget determined the build, heads being too pricey a lot of stuff was not needed as the standard stuff was deemed to be able to cope, the engine is getting a full recondition with the majority of moving parts replaced for better and the Gas flow Inlet Manifold and match to ports in Heads with a lightened fly wheel are the options I chose to make the engine breathe and rev more freely. The engine is for a TVR 3000M and is the original, which is why I didn't want to replace it with something more powerful or japanese! thanks guys!
The absolute worst two things you could have chosen to do.The inlet manifold is pretty grim but you can't reach the bits that matter with porting tools and matching manifold ports to head ports is a waste of time. The airflow doesn't care if there's a step as long as it's in the right direction.
The flywheel on this engine is externally balanced so if any material is removed the whole engine will need rebalancing. Also a low revving V engine is not sensitive to flywheel mass in the first place. See the recent thread on flywheel weight.
Sensible things to do would be a fast road cam if the stock one needs replacing anyway, 3 angle seats and backcut valves and a good bump in compression ratio.
I'm surprised Peter Burgess hasn't chipped in to this thread. I think he's played with this engine a bit in the past and knows what works and what doesn't.
I didn't chip in as the original poster seemed to have decided what path to take and was asking for comments about his choices. He also seems to have discounted heads as too pricey.
Yes we have worked on a fair few heads and found they like the large inlet and ex valve combo (gp1?)such as you can purchase from Paul Ivey (REC). I know the weak points seem to be the big ends and the timing gears. The plus point is they sound wicked with around 200 bhp and loud exhaust/s
Peter
Yes we have worked on a fair few heads and found they like the large inlet and ex valve combo (gp1?)such as you can purchase from Paul Ivey (REC). I know the weak points seem to be the big ends and the timing gears. The plus point is they sound wicked with around 200 bhp and loud exhaust/s
Peter
As has been said, do NOT lighten the flywheel, as it is part of the engine balance, so it will also need the crank doing together by someone that knows what they're doing with this V6. Gas flowing the inlet is reasonably simple and so worth doing, matching to the head not so much unless you do go with a set of heads.
Flowed heads with bigger valves make a huge difference and with a good cam, exhaust maifold and system will get you to 200ish bhp. Bigger carb too.
If you need a new cam, you may as well get a performance one, which may need stronger springs. The roller rockers are nice and usually have a different ratio, so can give more lift, but are hugely expensive and not worth it unless you're going balls out.
A steel timing wheel is also worth doing and also fit a new drive rod thing for the oil pump.
Flowed heads with bigger valves make a huge difference and with a good cam, exhaust maifold and system will get you to 200ish bhp. Bigger carb too.
If you need a new cam, you may as well get a performance one, which may need stronger springs. The roller rockers are nice and usually have a different ratio, so can give more lift, but are hugely expensive and not worth it unless you're going balls out.
A steel timing wheel is also worth doing and also fit a new drive rod thing for the oil pump.
If you want to know what to do with Essex V6 AND TVR's you will not go wrong with Ian Daniels
http://www.iain-daniels-classic-motorsport.co.uk/
Great guy and has had a hand in many of the recent Historic/Swinging 60's Class and Championship winners
Experienced with road- race Essex engines and TVR/Scimitar etc Chassis and suspension
If you scroll down the motosport section you will see Charles Barters championship winning TVR 3000M
http://www.iain-daniels-classic-motorsport.co.uk/
Great guy and has had a hand in many of the recent Historic/Swinging 60's Class and Championship winners
Experienced with road- race Essex engines and TVR/Scimitar etc Chassis and suspension
If you scroll down the motosport section you will see Charles Barters championship winning TVR 3000M
Edited by carlt5 on Monday 3rd December 14:20
t, friendly helpful bloke, and preps a great car and engine.
PeterBurgess said:
I didn't chip in as the original poster seemed to have decided what path to take and was asking for comments about his choices. He also seems to have discounted heads as too pricey.
Yes we have worked on a fair few heads and found they like the large inlet and ex valve combo (gp1?)such as you can purchase from Paul Ivey (REC). I know the weak points seem to be the big ends and the timing gears. The plus point is they sound wicked with around 200 bhp and loud exhaust/s
Peter
Always had a soft spot for this engine (loads of low down grunt) the big end failure is not helped by those top heavy old pistons neither Yes we have worked on a fair few heads and found they like the large inlet and ex valve combo (gp1?)such as you can purchase from Paul Ivey (REC). I know the weak points seem to be the big ends and the timing gears. The plus point is they sound wicked with around 200 bhp and loud exhaust/s
Peter
and b/end failure can be greatly reduced with a more sensible/realistic rev ceiling as I remember 
and yes they did sound fantastic for a six especially through a Janspeed system back in the day 
Edited by Sardonicus on Wednesday 5th December 14:31
jamie k said:
to get around 200 bhp from the essex lump is going to run you thousands sell it and buy a 24v cosworth if you want to keep a ford v6 go boa make sure to steer clear of the bob as wiring is a nightmare although there are guys making looms etc now a days for it
in my own words if you go essex v6 avoid specialised engines , i will post my story on them soon enough
Post the specialised engines bit soon please, I was planning on a rebuild from them in the new year ouch.in my own words if you go essex v6 avoid specialised engines , i will post my story on them soon enough
Perceval0 said:
Good day i would just like to know if its possible to turbo a standard essex 3.0 v6 because of the low compression of the engine and hollow piston heads? And how much is the engine capable of handling.
It's an engine, so yes it can be turbocharged.And "hollow piston heads" ???
How much etc etc...will largely depend on the level of engine control you have, and the competence of the builder/tuner !
jamie k said:
to get around 200 bhp from the essex lump is going to run you thousands sell it and buy a 24v cosworth if you want to keep a ford v6 go boa make sure to steer clear of the bob as wiring is a nightmare although there are guys making looms etc now a days for it
in my own words if you go essex v6 avoid specialised engines , i will post my story on them soon enough
Top lurking sir!in my own words if you go essex v6 avoid specialised engines , i will post my story on them soon enough
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