hi all


im currently gathering parts to turbo the missus's mk4 1.4 escort.

why turbo a 1.4? well why not so far ive got hold of a erst turbo n manifold, rad n intercooler and 2.5 inch scorpion full exhaust system.

ive recently changed the engine to a less worn out one. it was a cfi injection engine but ive converted it back to carb and used the ESC hybrid module and coil pack for the ignition.

the carb is off of a 1.6 round top TLDM i think ?, only mod is to the emulsion tube wich is a 1300 item.

its standard compression 9:5.1

is there a cheep way to get this to work as a turbo?

my main concern is retarding ignition timing under boost but also setting up the carb too.

has any one done this to a 1.4 before?

 

not being funny but there is so much cheaply available to get decent power from the 1600 cvh why would you cause a headache and try and force wot will be at best moderate power from the 1.4

 

i know what you mean, ive had the same descution with my self too, infact when i bought the engine i was told it was a 1.6, only when i bought it home did i think to check the block. said 1.4

so im kinda stuck with it tbh, and struggled for 2 days to put it in with just a jack n brute force.


and, not too keen letting the missus loose with a great deal of power either lol

 

dont think anyone has done it before, and I dont think anyone ever will. Absolutely no point what so ever trying to do a turbo conversion of a 1.4cvh when there is a factory 1.6 turbo version that you could pick up second hand for a couple of hundred quid.

 

never seen it done, pretty much for the reasons above really.

only pretty cool thing about using it would be that you could keep it under 1500 for road tax purposes (i expect alot of people don't tell the dvla about engine swaps anyway though).

as for general advice... i think the 1.4 head was a bit rubbish? may be worth fitting the 1600 head on. as for the carb, you may want to do some googling, but i think all you really need to do is balance the float chamber pressure with that of the inlet/turbo setup. in basic terms, take a small pipe off of one of your boost pipes and feed it into your float chamber. that could be complete nonsense though, as i havent looked at turbo/carb setups for years.

may be worth a look at how the renault 5's work though

 

use a decomp plate, to lower the compression, and bolt the turbo cvh bits to it, and carb turbo it. maybe use a reno 5 jobie or something

 

turbo technics used the original carb and just changed the jets? 1600 heads dont fit 1400s the valves catch the bore i believe.

how would i get on for controlling the advance on the ignition timing? as it would detonate under boost if left as it is?

would dropping the compression ratio from 9:5.1 to 8:5.1 really make much of a difference? dont rally cars run a lot higher like 11:1 ?

cause it would be a dog off boost at 8:5.1

 

Would it be easier to efi the ignition/injection system from a frst?probably quite a few about now nice and cheap,could work out a lot cheaper.I'd imagine a carb turbo would be appalling on petrol also.

Certain you can fit the bigger head almost straight on iirc?sure boys used to do this back in the day?that way,a frst head could be bought complete with inlet manifold/engine loom etc and wired up from there?

 

This is the kind of project that appeals to me. Fair enough you could get a 1.6 CVH Turbo but where's the originality in that? If you're not after tonnes of power and you don't mind a bit of fettling then why not. Make sure you fit a dump valve so you can confuse your passengers when you tell them it's only a 1.4. If you do manage it and you get a decent gain for not much ££££ I bet there's a lot more people that will want to know how.

 

Personally would just put an rst lump in and be done with it mate.

 

i can see the easyness of dropping a erst or frst 1600 lump in, but if no ones done a 1.4, then no one knows how it would act.

efi sounds compicated wiring wise. wouldnt i need transpondes and coded keys? not to mention a hefty loom ?

alfa mito, there 1.4 aint they?

 

I wouldnt have thought so....

 

Yep alfa's are 1400.. I know the conversions been done to a few 1300 cvhs so carnt see it being a huge ballache on a 14000

 

1300 share a lot with the 1600 as far as im aware. just crank stroke is different? would i have to go back to a dizzy for the ignition side of things? n mod it to retard under boost?

or would wiring the ESC hybrid for 2star fuel be enough retardation lol

 

7 wires easy

 

i kinda like the idea of the simple route by 1400 carb turbo,
but tbh i think its not gonna be as simple you you think,
as you say the ignition timing will cause probs,
and the fueling will be a nightmare to get right,
r5 turbos are a pain in the ass, common for boost leaks and floats stcking etc, got to be sealed perfect or dont idle etc
the turbo oil feed is simple enough, you'll need to mod your sump or block for the oil return,
turbo rad and intercooler are all easy to get and fit along with the boos pipes etc,
its all quite doable but just make sure your not getting in over your head,
as if it took you 2 days to fit a carb'd cvh into an escort, this will take a lot longer than that,
but good luck if you decide to do it and keep posting pics, i'm interested to see the progress