A chance conversation with my 'pet' scrappy has led to a dilemma. He wants my Rover Twin Cam for his stock car and has offered me a VERY good deal of a low mileage Fiesta Zetec SE engine - only the 1.25, but in fantastic condition. This would mean I could ditch my bespoke suspension and use 'standard' Locost parts, and would open the car to other Ford engines if anyone else built one. The chassis construction is at a stage where nothing would have to be 'undone' to accomodate the Ford block.
One of the reasons I'm tempted is the future supply of old Rover spares may not be secure!

What are the thoughts of the wise out there?

The DOHC Rover engine is very well respected. 130 bhp and reliable and not too heavy. I intend to use this engine for a very similar project to yours (which looks excellent, by the way).

The only other engine I am looking at is the mk1 MR2, which has obvious advantages of gearchange/clutch/speedo etc. Bit pricy though. But I am a peasant..

Alfa v6. Cheap, pretty, powerful and cheap.

Mark

The Rover engine is a great thing though. Once you know how to keep it cool etc...

I don't regret for one moment having a K series.

The Ford unit will make your design compatable with other small Ford 1.25 and 1.4 engines as found in the Fiesta.

The ones from the KA, which uses the old pushrod 1.3 and 1.6 sizes, are smaller, being OHV, so they will probably fit though may require different mounts etc.

The Zetec and Duratec are bigger but it might be worth allowing for these as many buyers will want a big engine.

I'd go for:
Honda type R - 200 bhp
Honda type R with jackson supercharger - 260 bhp
Ford Duratec 2.0 - 170 bhp
Ford Duratec 2.3 - ??? bhp

The Caterham-Cosworth CSR engine is based on the 2.3 Duratec and puts out 260 bhp.

For six pots the Alfa V6 is very tempting though the Ford ST220 is probably a lot more common and a lot cheaper. The Alfa may be cheap in in most cases but the latest 3.2 250bhp GTAs are probably more expensive than cheap... I'd be curious to know how much one of these costs!

If you are remotely contemplating a longitudinal layout then check out the Audi range which goes from a basic 1.6 up to V8s including a 420bhp 4.2 liter V8 in the latest RS4. I know there's a W12 as well but this is so rare and so weird that I wouldn't take any notice of it.

The K series is tying you to a dead company's products though this shouldn't be a problem for some years yet.

Also, upgrade path includes 160 bhp 1600c VTECH.

JC. What standard locost parts do you mean?

As you are hoping to do more than one of these cars I'd suggest you used an engine/gearbox combination that will be easy to find (and tune) anywhere in the future,which usually means Ford!

Ian

Don't forget the Toyota 4AGE.

As light as modern alloy engines but has the strength of a steel block. High revving and decent power from standard. 140-150BHP from the 20V versions.

I've got a 20v 4age for my build,and a couple of 16v's and I don't know how many gearboxes but they're not always going to be so easy to source.
Fine for a one off build.
Ian

JC .......Triumph Triple..cheap n sound mad.......ooo and it's British

I suggest any 10-yr old Honda or Toyota FWD powerplant. 10-yrs old means they're not too expensive and are easy to find. They are reliable and available world-wide.

In the case of Honda, there is a huge aftermarket for go-fast parts. Better yet, the ECU code has been figured out, so it's possible to hack the stock ECU to adjust the mixture. That alone could save you a lot of money.

[Edited on 9/19/05 by kb58]

The Audi 5 cylider 20v turbo is a very nice easily tuned engine. I'm thinking of using that for a middy project.

/Sven

Thanks everyone.
The Fiesta wins it - it opens up so many other options although when I was offered a V6 mondeo and discovered it might fit, I wavered!