<jackhackettuk (AT) yahoo (DOT) co.uk> wrote


That's a thought. The engine is mounted the wrong way round, though. Which
means I'm going to be cutting an awful lot to get the gear linkage working,
and drive shafts will be a nightmare.

I'm thinking cheapish simplicity, something that I know I can do. The Ka is
based on the Mk3 Fiesta, so the Fiesta RST power and drive train will slot
right in (in theory!). A B16 is more than a summer project for me, I think!

"Sandy Nuts" <not (AT) forme (DOT) com> wrote


Hmm. The Duratec 8vs have the engine turned the other way around.

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"Sandy Nuts" <not (AT) forme (DOT) com> wrote


Yes, and yet, no.

The blown 1.6 CVH's issue is just that, it's blown... as standard they're
okay, tweaked, they're much better - but go off tune so damn quickly.

The RST donks in the Ka's bonnet have overheating issues, you will in all
fairness want bonnet vents or wing vents, even then, cooling the wretched
thing is an issue.

As you've said, be sensible and get the limited slip differential. I held
my head in shame at the know-nowts who spent many thousands getting their Ka
"phatted up" with the RST engine but didn't bother with the LSD (was it the
S1 RSTs with the LSD and the S2 without?).

The 1.7 Zetec-SE from the Puma is a squeeze but it's a superb 1.7 four
cylinder engine. Buy some Ford Racing Puma bits and it's good for a
reliable 160 bhp. The 1.25, 1.4 and 1.6 Zetec-SEs will also fit but the go
factor is much less.

Or, and you know it makes sense, a 2.0 ZVH with a turbocharger. Or the 1.8,
it would do. Okay so you'll have the same cooling issues of the 1.6 CVH
*but* and here's the thing, it'll be quick. Wheelspinning into fourth gear
quick.

http://www.dervman.com/turbocharging.htm has some dated text and a picture
of a 2.0 ZVH cooking itself.

For what it's worth and I am not especially keen on the CVH, if you're into
the lump *and* you look after it, it'll be great fun.

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"DervMan" <thedervman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

With the gearbox mounted on the offside?

"DervMan" <thedervman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote


Well I'll get to that point later ..

I thought that would be the case. The plan, however, was a nice alloy rad
with a cool running 'stat.

Yeah, the 1.7 is a cracking revvy lump. 125PS for £900 isn't what I'd call
good bang-per-buck economy though. I'm not wanting to build a super tourer
that'll do a galactic amount of miles. Just something I can enjoy building,
will put a smile on my face when I turn the key and squeeze the right pedal,
and will give a few hot hatch Harry's a fright.

2.0 ZVH seems a bit excessive TBH. I was toying about with the idea of a 1.8
ZVH because of the slight weight advantage and simplicity of build. There
are a few extra caveats with the 2.0 such as different head gasket and welds
in the head.

We'll see. Summer is yet to come upon us and I'm only just starting to look
about for lumps. If I can get an RST CVH lump for cheap enough, I'll
probably go for it and give it an overhaul. If not, I'll price up some
prebuilt ZVHs and compare against the cost of bolting my own together. If I
go ZVH, I'll most likely want to do DIY as I've never screwed a non standard
engine together before!

"Sandy Nuts" <not (AT) forme (DOT) com> wrote


Dunno really. Don't get me wrong, it's an okay engine, the Duratec 8v, but
Ford should really have put a Zetec-SE or Duratec 16v in there rather than
fanny about with the 8v version.

Or stuck with the Endura-E. Or a TDCi.

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"Sandy Nuts" <not (AT) forme (DOT) com> wrote

Even so. InDUHiduals spent a few thousand on a conversion and then a few
thousand more on getting it such that it wouldn't overheat at the slightest
hint of a traffic queue.

A bit like NASA's space pen and the Russian's pencil, I remember asking one
guy who'd just splashed out for some _very_ expensive dual radiator system
and wired in another manual fan, why he didn't have bonnet / wing vents.
"Oh I didn't think about that."

On the other hand it's easy to sell on afterwards. People like the 1.7 Ka.

Right. In that case, aiee! the Zetec-SE is probably too expensive.

Yes, yes it probably is - but it's reckoned to be much easier to tune
compared to the 1.8.

It's also better to sell afterwards. Shoot, give me a choice between a 2.0
ZVH Ka, a 1.7 Ka or a 1.6 CVH, I'd take the 2.0, thanks.

As I remember it's almost the same size, if not the same size, indeed so too
is the transmission...

Now I don't have the space or patience for building an engine, but I'll
wager that's the best way to do it!

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"Sandy Nuts" <not (AT) forme (DOT) com> wrote

You haven't noticed the trend for Kas owned by people here have you?

"Doki" <mrdoki (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Yeah, you need to be shit driver first.

;-)

--
Dan

On 5 Apr, 01:00, "Iridium" <iridium... (AT) googlemail (DOT) com> wrote:
I have to say three months on, I'm still impressed with ours.

Having now covered over 133k, it's not used any oil since I changed
the sump just after we got it and I've done over 2k in it since then.

I'm not that light footed with it either.

And then there's the insurance - £23 a month fully comp with a
provisional driver as a named driver.

--
JackH