Formula Ford Engine

[stifler]

Ok, so its basically a 1600 GT engine. But does anyone know where to get genuine Ford parts cheap?

I am looking for:
Gasket set
Main bearings
Big-end bearings
Pistonrings.
Valve guides and seals.
Possibly valves.

And can anyone recommend anywhere to get lightened pistons. I am going to ring Neil Bold Engines for a quote for the pistons as I believe that they do them. Any other suggestions appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[tr7v8]

A Ford dealer, they may be able to get some, the other place that comes to mind is Burtons or one of the FF engine prep people.

[Pumaracing]

What exactly do you think lightened pistons are going to do for you?

[stifler]

Pumaracing said:

What exactly do you think lightened pistons are going to do for you?

Less weight for less inertia I would have thought.

Probably a lot more fragile too.

I'm not trying to get the best ever engine, I just want it to have a chance of being there or there abouts.

Is there a reason that I shouldn't get lightened pistons? (Genuine question)

[stifler]

I'm not going to be racing the car, I will be doing sprints and hillclimbs. I don't want to pay alot of money for an engine build that I can do myself, just to get another 3HP.

I was going to replace the pistons as a matter of course, apparently they are the real weak point of the engine. I have seen the block of a mates engine that has had a piston let go, I figure it isn't worth the cost of a set of new pistons. And if I am buying a new set, I may as well get some lightened ones. I believe that you can lighten them by quite a lot in the regs.

But if anyone has any advice on anything that I will be doing, feel free to pass it on to me.

Every day is a school day!

[Justin S]

Cast pistons in a crossflow are crap.They are too heavy and they will not put up with sustained revs. The best way is to replace them with forged lightweight pistons. Accralite make them and also I had Arias pistons. Not cheap, but you can rev the nuts off them and they will be fine.The crank and bock are strong enough. I would do some research on what you want out of the engine before chucking loads into it.Is it in a formula car or something else?

[stifler]

Justin S said:

Cast pistons in a crossflow are crap.They are too heavy and they will not put up with sustained revs. The best way is to replace them with forged lightweight pistons. Accralite make them and also I had Arias pistons. Not cheap, but you can rev the nuts off them and they will be fine.The crank and bock are strong enough. I would do some research on what you want out of the engine before chucking loads into it.Is it in a formula car or something else?

Yep, it's in a formula ford. I have to have the engine running to the formula ford regs. Cast pistons only.

I want the engine to be legal and be close to competitive.

[Justin S]

you have no choice then, just ford ones or maybe hepolite with are just as poor.I guess with mileage and use being minimal, it won't be much aggro to change them once a year with an engine refresh.

[Boosted LS1]

I'd suggest you start by finding out what the stock pistons weigh. Then see if you can source a eutectic piston or similar with shorter gudgeon pins. That could get you a weight saving and more strength.

[Mr2Mike]

Boosted LS1 said:

I'd suggest you start by finding out what the stock pistons weigh. Then see if you can source a eutectic piston or similar with shorter gudgeon pins. That could get you a weight saving and more strength.

There is a minimum combined weight of 515 grams for piston, rings and pin in the FF regs.

Ivey Engines can supply forged pistons that comply to the FF regs.

[Pumaracing]

Saving a few grams on piston weight on a low revving standard engine isn't going to make any difference that you, the car or even an accurate engine dyno could spot. Finding extra power from blueprinting is mainly about finding more airflow from things like selection of cylinder heads on the flowbench, optimising valve lift etc. If money is tight just build a standard engine as best you can and leave it at that.

[stifler]

Pumaracing said:

Saving a few grams on piston weight on a low revving standard engine isn't going to make any difference that you, the car or even an accurate engine dyno could spot. Finding extra power from blueprinting is mainly about finding more airflow from things like selection of cylinder heads on the flowbench, optimising valve lift etc. If money is tight just build a standard engine as best you can and leave it at that.

Well, I bought the car complete with engine. I was told that it was not proffesionally built but was competitive.

I am not sure how long ago it was rebuilt and how many miles it has run.

The cylinder head is a Scholar head, so 'should' be pretty good. The rest of it is to FFord blueprinted spec. I would like to replace like for like, rather than replacing lightened parts for standard ones, unless budget dictates as you say. (Interested in the forged pistons above though.)

When I ran the engine at a test I did, I may have been a complete rookie and over-revved it twice. It was also quite underpowered (Datalogged against a mates car with the same ratios as mine)
The carb needs stripping, cleaning and rebuilding as the engine was mis-firing around right-handers (helpful around Castle Combe!).

If I have rebuilt it, at least I have peace of mind about the state of it.

Any advice still appreciated.