R Thurbin
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| posted on 26/1/04 at 01:38 PM |
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Newbie
Hello all
I have a stupid newbie question that I am sure has been answered 1000 times before...
Being a novice mechanic, a limited budget and a willingness to learn I decided to rebuild the 55k mile xflow from the donor myself. Following the
Haynes book, the engine is now completely stripped down and is ready for machining / re-assembling. Please can you give me some advice on the
following issues:
Engine Rebore
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The engine has covered 55k miles and I believe it to be genuine. No lip on the block, clean internals, no smoke ect. Do I want to get the thing
re-bored? ..or just fit new rings to the pistons? ..or put in new pistons & rings? Don't forget, budget is tight (as always!).
Head
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Seeing as I am only going to race the thing when it is done I don't think I am going to bother with the unleaded conversion. Is this wise? Also,
do I want to get the head checked for cracks / warping or *should* it be OK? Is there a *low cost* way to check?
Con Rod Bolts
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I have seen the advice from D Beddows and thanks for that. How about the conrods themselves? ..or is it just the bolts that are worth updating?
Timing Chain
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The Haynes manual talks about fitting double sprocket and chains. Is this allowed? ..is it worth it?
Valves
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The Haynes manual talks about fitting double springs to the valves... again is this allowed?
Carbs
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What kind of price should I pay for a second hand one? ..with / without jets ect...
Oil & Water Pumps
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Do I stick with the standard or uprate?
Fuel Pumps
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Thanks to Hugh Paterson for his advise.
Distributor
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Thanks to procomp for his advise.
Cam
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A hot topic at the moment.. I will be making sure the one I get is stamped!
Have I missed anything?
Any help greatly appreciated.
See you all at Mallory! (sadly only as a interested spectator)
Richard T.
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GParkes
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| posted on 26/1/04 at 01:54 PM |
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I’ll try and give a view on some of your q’s.
If the original bores are ok and the budget is tight I would probably go for new rings. A rebore up to the max +90 will give more power, but if you
are starting out this can always be done later. Just changing the rings will save quite a bit of money.
As for con-rods, you have to use the original ford items and can’t change for stronger high performance ones. As for bolts ARP whilst very good are
also expensive, I was advised (by Burtons!) that the ones fitted to the lotus twincam engine will fit a crossflow and are built to take slightly
higher loads up to about 7,000rpm, does anyone else have a view on this? as they are about half the price.
I have fitted a new water pump and kept the original one as a spare, and have also fitted a high pressure/capacity oil pump. I think these are better
if you use an oil cooler, and the book recommended an uprated pump.
I hope that helps answer some of your questions.
Gavin
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