Duratec V6... Has it ever been done?

[Blu3R]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum and from searching I can't find a definitive answer to whether the V6 Duratec will work in an S. I've always had a soft spot for the S but would dearly like to know whether anyone has fitted a Duratec and what pitfalls they encountered.

Thanks,
Rob

[Blu3R]

Brilliant, thanks. I tried the search but came up with nothing useful.

[Blu3R]

mk1fan said:

Gearbox and final drive were the other two issues.

Will a cosworth T5 fit without major modification? Again I've searched and not found much in the way of definitive answers.

[Blu3R]

Thank you all for the help and advice so far, Damian's car looks fantastic and I'm sure I'll be bending his ear if he doesn't mind and if this gets off the ground

v8s4me said:

Damian's brilliant conversion proves it can be done, and deliver an improvement on the old V6. But just out of interest, why do you want to do it? If it is for the technical challenge then fine, but if it is just about more power then buying a V8S will give you similar power and more torque and probably work out cheaper in the long run. Good luck which ever way you go

My reasons are that I've always had a soft spot for the S after driving a friend's car many years ago. This was rekindled while at Bespoke's open day earlier this year and increased when seeing the car with the MX5 roof fitted.
I have a particular interest in this engine which will become apparent if you see what I currently own in my profile. Granted the Duratec is not normally something that would be chosen but I believe the space available will allow the creation of at least a turbo or preferably twin turbo setup and should allow a very easily achievable 420bhp/420lbft which is considered a fairly mild tune.

Main considerations are:
Overall packaging into the bay (engine ancillaries, manifolds & exhaust pipework, intercooler/chargecooler, etc)
Gearbox (choice, strength & fitment)
Inlet plumbing (Ford inlet & TB would face the bulkhead)
Suitability of brakes and suspension.

[Blu3R]

v8s4me said:

I see where you're coming from. You can get tried and tested turbo and supercharger kits for the V8 which would give you similar figures, without as many technical challenges, but then I guess you know that already. I'd still contend the V8S would be a better starting point because you'll already have rear discs, a wider track and an LSD as standard and wouldn't have so may other problems to solve. Anyway, it'll be a fascinating project to follow which ever way you go.

BTW, the 'S' at Bespoke with the MX5 roof is a V8S, and it's in MY garage

Ha! Brilliant! Your car looked fantastic and it was nice to meet you, even if it was briefly. My car was the blue one dumped by the entrance because I arrived late as per usual.
In honestly I didn't know there were such differences between the V8 and V6 models - I know very little about them at all in fact. Maybe I should start with a V8 to convert? I'm hoping the whole project won't be too costly and I suspect turboing a V8 would be similar in cost to the Duratec route. I'd be aiming for under £10k total including buying a car.

[Blu3R]

Alan Whitaker said:

How about a custom inlet, front mounted.



Alan

Looks amazing but maybe you missed the bit about budget

[Blu3R]

For reference my current Noble with approximately 400bhp/410lbft does around 150-180 miles on £50 of VPower. How does that compare to the standard V6 or V8?

[Blu3R]

Hi Damian, thanks for the info and suggestions regarding gearbox and diff choice. Exactly how much modification is required to fit these? Are we talking repositioning brackets or major reworking of the chassis?
With regard to management I suspect I'll run either an MBE which would come from someone upgrading their standard Noble kit or use something readily available like megasquirt. The advantage of an MBE is there's a loom available and everything will be plug and play. Also for the power I intend to run I'll be able to use the standard small turbos fitted to Nobles so again I can use stuff that owners intend to upgrade.
I know a couple of guys who have pretty much everything I'd need engine wise, what I would need is a box, diff, prop etc which should all be relatively cheap to acquire.
Using this configuration will give me more than enough power and torque but should I lose my mind completely there are a few Nobles over 600bhp and a couple over 700 now