can any of you help

[tjoh84]

hi people im new here just a quick one about my engine in my locost super seven rep. i want to stay with a x flow engine i think as want to keep cost down.

first thing i want to know is that some one told me that i could have my 1300 x flow bourd out to a 1600 is this true

second is it worth doing or should i just buy a 1600 x flow lump

third can i use my 1300 gear box and what would be pros and cons if so

and last thing how hard is it to convert to a cosworth turbo lump ans where can i buy mounts ect

thanks terry

[Snake the Sniper]

I wouldn't bother tuning the 1300, just whack a 1600 in, or since you're asking about a cossie engine, I assume you know of going spare/cheap? If so, and you can afford it, it may be a better/faster route. It would mean new box, exhaust, inlet, pretty much everything in the engine bay to be honest. Oh, and quite possibly a new prop. However, for the price of a good cossie set up, you could fit a bike engine, and come over to the dark side of kit cars!
Pop over to the locost site, and have a word there, as they'll know more about the exact costs involved.

[tjoh84]

hiya what is the locost site sorry new to this thanks for the advise also would you fit a 16oo x flow to a 1300 gear box what prob would it cause if i did

[LocoBlade]

If you have a book chassis and therefore have a Mk2 Escort live axle, I wouldnt bother thinking too much about a Cossie turbo engine as the rear axle will struggle to cope with that even in standard tune. To get around that you'd need to change the rear axle etc which isnt beond the bounds of possibility, but as you're asking about things like engine mounts Im assuming you aren't that experienced in fabrication work (apologies if this is incorrect, no offence intended ) and so are likely to need to pay someone to do it for you, which will be expensive.

[LocoBlade]

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk

[tjoh84]

hiya yea you right i do have a mk2 escort live axel and not very good at frabrication lol thanks for you help


also can i fit the 1600 engine to my 1300 box

Edited by tjoh84 on Saturday 8th September 11:18

[grahambell]

Firstly, no you can't get a 1300 bored out to 1600. They have the same bore already, the 1600 has a longer stroke in a taller block.

Secondly, don't bother with the 1300 gearbox. The 1100/1300 gearbox with the integral bellhousing isn't very strong.

Thirdly, forget about trying to fit a Cosworth engine. It will actually bolt on to the Crossflow engine mounts, but it's all the other stuff that'll cause the problems. Like wiring up the electrics for the engine management, rigging up a swirl pot and high pressure fuel pump to feed the fuel injection, trying to fit the turbo and induction system stuff under the bonnet etc.

Probably be possible, but not really a job for a novice, which it sounds like you are. Better to stick with something fairly straightforward like fitting a tuned 1600 and build up some experience from it.

[Ozzie Dave]

This may sound crazy but here we use a lot of toyotas , have a look at their 1600 and mate it to a 5 speed, lightish , cheap and practical to fit . also you may not need to do much alterations

[Snake the Sniper]

I would agree with Graham to be honest. I'd suggest fitting a standard 1600 and gearbox to get a bit of a feel for these things first. As said, fitting the cossie could end up being a bit expensive, and may mean other mods which I hadn't thought of earlier. A stock 1600 will give a good power increase, and then can be tuned over time so you can see how tuning these things works and see what's a good idea and what isn't. A good suspension set up will be worth a fair bit of power too, so I'd get someone to have a look at that side of things for you.

[tjoh84]

hiya thanks for this it a big help i think your right no point bitting off more than i can chew i think i will just buy a 1600 lump a box and fit that is there any thing else i will need to get for this. aloso thanks dave for the other option think i will stick with ford for now like the others say to learn a bit first thanks terry

Edited by tjoh84 on Saturday 8th September 12:04

[grahambell]

1600 crossflow is straight swap for 1300 and should take all existing mountings, hoses etc.

As far as gearbox goes, depends what gearbox you use. Type-9 5-speed can be used, but it'll be longer than your present gearbox so you'll need a new propshaft, the mounting points are different so you'll need to make a new gearbox crossmember, and the gear lever's a bit further back so you'll need a new/longer hole.

However, if you use a 4-speed from a 1600/2-litre Cortina/Capri I think (though not 100% certain) it's a straight swap.

In each case the speedo drive gears in the box might be the wrong ratio for your car. Depends on what speedo drive gears are in the box (colour coded) your diff ratio and back wheel/tyre size.

You can get speedos recalibrated, or you can change the drive gears in the box if necessary.

[tjoh84]

thanks for that thats a big help time to start saving as spent all my pennie on the car lol

[r1ot]

I know you want to keep the X-Flow but, have you not considered using a more modern zetec engine. The 1800 16V engine out of the Mondeo is a good option as there are thousands of them languishing in breaker yards most could be picked up for less than £100. They should bolt straight on to the gearbox. Don't worry about using the fuel injection if you used a pre 1993 engine you could use carbs. Motorcycle carbs can be picked up relatively cheaply and can be adapted to fit the engine and would be a lot cheaper than a set of Webbers.

Cost for cost you might find fitting the mondeo engine might cost the same as finding and fitting a X flow. With a hell of a lot more performance to boot!

Just another option....

edited to add.

Found this on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-8-16v-mondeo-engine-and-ge...

not that expensive, try local breakers

Edited by r1ot on Tuesday 11th September 22:53

[tjoh84]

thanks for that thats was what i wanted to do but looks expensive