pnwrs2000 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Posted January 5, 2015 Morning All Just gauging opinions - ive got a mk2 escort that I had every intention of keeping old school by fitting a nice 1600 crossflow in and a set of twin 40's / 45's. If not a crossflow then a pinto on 45's / 48's. Thing is though ive been looking at black top zetec conversions, again using carbs and its got me thinking: - do I want a crossflow, pinto or zetec / duratec Money wise I reckon i'll probably end up similar ish with all of the options so what do you all think ?
theloudboy Posted January 5, 2015 Report Posted January 5, 2015 Now this is all down to you mate I always wanted a N/A Y/B in my escort, what do you want to do with the car when its done
SmokeEm Posted January 5, 2015 Report Posted January 5, 2015 As above, its all down to what you want from the car when done.
Admin Vista Posted January 5, 2015 Admin Report Posted January 5, 2015 There are pros and cons to all four options but part of the advantage of the more modern engine is the extra power, drive-ability and efficiency brought by more modern fuel injection systems, either the ones they come with from the factory or upgraded with Throttle bodies. If you're planning to hang a big set of carbs off the side then personally I'd be more inclined towards sticking with a hot pinto or crossflow as there are less installation headaches with those and they can make good power themselves. Plus off course it's always more satisfying to blow someone away with a standard looking install than have them walk away consoling themselves with the fact "It has a Duratec in it" 1
mk2 mike Posted January 5, 2015 Report Posted January 5, 2015 Costs vary depending if you're building it, or paying someone else and how far you want to go. I'd say a Decent xflow build will prob cost you circa £3k, pinto £5k. Zetecs can bought for £200 but the fitting kit is £1800 before you add the induction (same as duratec.) if zetec/duratec id personally go for throttle bodies rather than carbs but that's more expense on top. I'd love a YBT but the price of those engines are soaring at the moment. Entirely your choice. How much power do you want? And how much do you want to spend??
jamie956 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Posted January 5, 2015 How about a Honda F20c2, 240bhp 9k red line lots of potential for further modifications. Running gear complete £2850 Mod sump £150 Mod original loom £350 custom prop £200 Exhaust & cooling £450 Should get in and running for around 4k, don't thing you would get a 240bhp pinto for that. 1
pnwrs2000 Posted January 5, 2015 Author Report Posted January 5, 2015 I'm really not sure - for years now I've wanted a crossflow and definitely must have one at some point but the modern "practical / sensible" donkey is certainly very appealing ! Sorry Jamie but for me, putting a ricer lump in a ford engine bay is nearly as bad as putting a vauxhall lump in ! 1
jamie956 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Posted January 5, 2015 Yer I do under stand keeping things right, its really down to what's most important to you performance or originality or spend loads and have the best of both worlds with a harris cross flow.
turnover Posted January 6, 2015 Report Posted January 6, 2015 I will give an honest view here,if you want to keep it original ie engine from the day,then crossflow or pinto it hs to be,BUT they will bore you in how slow they are unless you just want it to start and drive,yes they can be tuned to make them quick little engines but the cost for this is just too much in my opinion,just depends if your a purist ,anyway zetec is a popular choice or even the st170 version still ford but the engines are anywhere from £100 for a 130hp zetec and max around £500 for st170 170hp,you will have to spend money on the conversion fitting parts but once you have these if the engine goes bang it's just a matter of buying another and fit it,loads about,if your tuned pinto goes bang with around the same power your probably going to have a bill between £1500 to £3000 depending on the tune,so choose wisely 2
Admin Vista Posted January 6, 2015 Admin Report Posted January 6, 2015 I will give an honest view here,if you want to keep it original ie engine from the day,then crossflow or pinto it hs to be,BUT they will bore you in how slow they are unless you just want it to start and drive,yes they can be tuned to make them quick little engines but the cost for this is just too much in my opinion,just depends if your a purist ,anyway zetec is a popular choice or even the st170 version still ford but the engines are anywhere from £100 for a 130hp zetec and max around £500 for st170 170hp,you will have to spend money on the conversion fitting parts but once you have these if the engine goes bang it's just a matter of buying another and fit it,loads about,if your tuned pinto goes bang with around the same power your probably going to have a bill between £1500 to £3000 depending on the tune,so choose wisely Also a good point
Savvi Posted January 6, 2015 Report Posted January 6, 2015 I'm having this debate with myself, I have most of the zetec conversion parts now, but as I've never been in a escort with one fitted finding it hard to decide. I was looking at a zetec fitted with a twinchoke nothing fancy or flash as its my Nimbus Campervan, just want something a little powerful and reliable. Not interested in speed at all !!
e501 Posted January 6, 2015 Report Posted January 6, 2015 Crossflow is too small cc wise and a pinto is too heavy, modern zetec makes much more sense, and yes back in the 80,s I had escorts with crossflow/pinto engines, wouldn't fit either now. 1
Col-ashtonmobile Posted January 6, 2015 Report Posted January 6, 2015 It 's all down to what you want to do with car IMO, crossflow are a great engine when tuned , look at mk2 Mikes that we built and installed for him , we done it as a road car with just over 150 bhp and its great , I know cos I built the engine and I,ve driven the car , If I was going to use the car all the time and clock up thousands of miles per year then I would consider a Zetec on carbs , the new Weber 152,s work great on the Zetec , we done an engine refresh on a mk2 escort with a ST170 on 45,s and it made exactly 170 bhp on the rolling road and drove fantastic , the let down on Zetec's is the torque figures are crap , a pinto producing the same BHP would slaughter a Zetec because the torque is far superior , we built a 171 bhp pinto for Martin Saunders tiger kit car and the same cars running Zetec,s cant live with him hope this helps with your options but obviously its down to your budget as well ..... 3
mk2 ben Posted January 7, 2015 Report Posted January 7, 2015 The Sierra 8 twin cam is good engine and with just a pair of cams can make 130 ish bhp but I'd stick with pinto 200 quid for a good engine 6 or 7 hundred quid spent on a stage 2 head with a 38 dgas carb say 100 quid should be close to 150 bhp with a lot more potential later down the line
irishtorag Posted January 7, 2015 Report Posted January 7, 2015 nothing comes close to the chater of a nice xflow wouldn't make you feel alive on a main road but gives loads of trills on a b road 1
vince Posted January 7, 2015 Report Posted January 7, 2015 i have a brand new 1.8 blacktop complete this is a factory unit not a recon i have fitted one in my escort on bike carbs and it is quick enough i want £500
RIKB80 Posted January 7, 2015 Report Posted January 7, 2015 Another option is a Vauxhall XE/Redtop. I know you can't really say the "V" word as it's classed as swearing in my Ford circles, and these engines have gone off the boil over recent years. 5-10 years back you'd have found plenty of Escorts running them. I guy I know did very well in historic rally events running one (obviously he had to choose his classes wisely due to the engine swap) they've pretty much fallen out of favour now, suppose they're getting a little bit long in the tooth and more modern ford alternatives are a more popular and readily available choice, but you don't have to do any body work fettling to get them in, they can marry up to a type 9 box and I'm assuming you can still get hold of all the ancillaries required. Rally chap I know got 200bhp out of his and not for mega bucks.
turnover Posted January 7, 2015 Report Posted January 7, 2015 It 's all down to what you want to do with car IMO, crossflow are a great engine when tuned , look at mk2 Mikes that we built and installed for him , we done it as a road car with just over 150 bhp and its great , I know cos I built the engine and I,ve driven the car , If I was going to use the car all the time and clock up thousands of miles per year then I would consider a Zetec on carbs , the new Weber 152,s work great on the Zetec , we done an engine refresh on a mk2 escort with a ST170 on 45,s and it made exactly 170 bhp on the rolling road and drove fantastic , the let down on Zetec's is the torque figures are crap , a pinto producing the same BHP would slaughter a Zetec because the torque is far superior , we built a 171 bhp pinto for Martin Saunders tiger kit car and the same cars running Zetec,s cant live with him hope this helps with your options but obviously its down to your budget as well ..... What's a170hp pinto cost these days from yourself Col
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