cost of engine options in a locost / westfield?

[mattstead]

Hi, I know the topic of which engine to choose has been done to death, and in all honesty I'm lucky to have owned most of the usual suspects (except K series and 1600 VX, or cvh), so I'm aware of the merits of the pinto, zetec, or duratec, x flow, V8, Vauxhall XE, toyota MR2 and mazda MX5 units. But something I don't know, and can't find listed is how much each option costs to install.

Lots of people say you can pick up a decent zetec for a few hundred quid, and therefore reccomend that....but what's the real cost if you need a special sump, or adapter bellhousings, or an aftermarket ECU, as you do with some engines?

I'm going to complete and probably sell a currently unfinished Locost (with westfield SE body work - so no real tall engines) to fund my main project. So I need to consider which engine and box to fit. It needs to be capable, affordable and not going to put off any potential buyers.

I imagine I'd be best looking out for someone who is upgrading, or going for a bike conversion (I don't want to fit a bike engine), or even a cheap MX5 and buy a complete set up than a set of carbs here, a gearbox there etc.

So, if anyone has any examples of options and their real world installed costs?

Thanks.

[ColinM50]

I had a 2.0 Zetec fitted in my Sabre last year, the old 1.8 CVH died. Bought a written off Focus for £200. Modified the sump at no cost, bought a Raceline water manifold, £250 I think, then an Omex ECU (awful little thing, that was a big mistake) for £600 plus £450 to get it set up on a rolling road. Flywheel and starter motor came off the CVH but new clutch and thrust bearing came to around £100 and other odds and sods added say £150. Oh and fitting cost me £1K plus hire of a trailer £100 for a day and ..............so you add it all up, I don't want to know.

[singlecoil]

A zetec won't need a special bellhousing if you have a Ford type 9 or a MT75 gearbox. They can be made to run on the standard ECU quite easily, although some mods to the induction system may be required to get it all under the bonnet. Colin has given the costs, although if the Ford ECU is used some of those can be avoided.

[andypg]

i've just fitted a brand new blacktop zetec in my striker(£680) from great british sportscars.modified the sump and pick up pipe myself.paid (£100) for a set of R1 bike carbs from ebay.bogg bros made me a swept alloy inlet manifold,cleaned and rejetted carbs to suit zetec engine for (£250).paid (£170) for a megajolt ecu from triggerwheels to run zetec on bike carbs.very easy instructions to follow for wiring up ecu and comes with a good safe map to run car straight away.paid (£220)for a new stainless exhaust manifold from raw engineering.paid (£20)for 1.8 escort/mondeo flywheel from ebay.the 2ltr one is huge and heavy compared to the 1.8ltr one.you then need a clutch plate and cover from a mk1 1.8ltr mondeo(£50)and a release bearing from a mk1 capri 1971/74.spigot bearing from any pinto sierra(£10)from ford dealer.as you can see all this adds up to around (£1500)and thats with a brand new engine.yes you can reduce this by about (£500) by buying a second hand engine for about (£200).but why bother buying secondhand high mileage engines when a brand new one has no risk of being knackered.plus selling the car with a new engine will get your money back and more.google (zetec inside).they are a wealth of information and part numbers you need when ordering original and aftermarket parts.hope this helps.ANDY

[andypg]

i forgot to mention that this set up bolts straight up to a sierra type 9 gearbox.there is no need for any adaptor plate.ANDY.

[jason61c]

why not fit a bmw engine? £500 will get you engine/box/ecu. 4 and 6 cyl options too.

[Racing8]

Although I'm a fan of audi and toyota engines, I would say you wont go far wrong with a zetec or vauxhall lump, there both well suited to low (relatively speaking ) power levels ie below 200hp and have good compatability with gearbox options too.

[mattstead]

Thanks for all the info so far. Just what I needed. To be honest an MX5 looking a good choice to me. I can get a whole car cheap enough and sell off what I don't use and know it'll fit. I'd do the same with a BMW but thought the engines were quite tall?

[jason61c]

mattstead said:

Thanks for all the info so far. Just what I needed. To be honest an MX5 looking a good choice to me. I can get a whole car cheap enough and sell off what I don't use and know it'll fit. I'd do the same with a BMW but thought the engines were quite tall?

They're not tall, just a tight fit, the engine leans over at 20deg from the sump up.

[Furyblade_Lee]

Honda S2000 with 6-speed box + wiring loom is about £2,000, add £1,000 things like ECU and for £3k you have 240 indestructible horsepower straight from the box. I have seen them in an MK Indy, Westfield and a mate has just put one in his Fury and did not need to cut any holes in his bonnet.

[singlecoil]

mattstead said:

I'm going to complete and probably sell a currently unfinished Locost to fund my main project.

I had another look at the original post just now, and am wondering if you have looked into just how much it will cost to get the unfinished project through the IVA and on the road, even if it already had a suitable engine), and how much it is likely to fetch once you have done that, and compared it with how much it would fetch if you sold it as is?

[mattstead]

singlecoil said:

I had another look at the original post just now, and am wondering if you have looked into just how much it will cost to get the unfinished project through the IVA and on the road, even if it already had a suitable engine), and how much it is likely to fetch once you have done that, and compared it with how much it would fetch if you sold it as is?

An excellent point singlecoil, and in part this is why I'm after guidence on costs to see what is viable. I know the IVA is now a ridiculous cost, but looking at a few classifieds there are very few sevens at say £4000, which leaves £3500 approx (i'll factor in the retest fee later). If using MEVs exocet theory I could buy an MX5 for £750, and sell most of it on ebay, thereby costing me say £500 at the most for the running gear. (I won't be as optomistic as MEV who made money on their donor). I still need wheels, tyres, fuel tank, sundry hoses, seats, lights, wheels and tyres..and clocks if not using the MX5 (which would be sensible), so yeah I need to do some real maths, hence the original question.

I'm not entirely looking to do it as cheaply as possible (but it opens up a potentially bigger market), but the reality is that even with the ultimate honda vtec set up mentioned previously, it's still a live axled locost and it wouldn't be worth the effort as it would never recover the cost of the install. And it probably wouldn't be worth the time or money to modify the chassis to take the mx5 back end (although I would if I was keeping it).

I suppose I also need to scan ebay etc to get an idea of what an unfinished locost is worth?

[one eyed mick]

To be brutally honest you can forget about recovering costs in a kit build never known one yetthey are worth what you can get for them and usually there is very litte if any profit involved ,sorry but that is my opinion others will no doubt disagree

[mattstead]

one eyed mick said:

To be brutally honest you can forget about recovering costs in a kit build never known one yetthey are worth what you can get for them and usually there is very litte if any profit involved ,sorry but that is my opinion others will no doubt disagree

everyones entitled to their opinion, thankyou for yours. Ultimately it depends on how much it cost me for the body and chassis, and rest of the kit that I already have. It wasn't much in real cash as it was recieved in payment for works.