Hi All,

I'm looking at getting hold of a S2 RST to work on over the summer (joys of being a final year student) and selling my focus to fund it.

I'm studying motorsport engineering so feel confident to take on a lot of the work myself, including an engine rebuild. So was thinking about taking on a bit of a restoration project...

As part of my course i've spent a some time with Power Engineering in Uxbridge and have seen a few RSTs on the rollers (hence my love for them!).

I'm thinking of starting off with the following and wondered if you could recommend good quality parts at an even better price

Rebuild the block with new shells, seals, gaskets etc. and an uprated head gasket and uprated head bolts.

Actuator
Filter
Exhaust
Chip
Plugs & Leads
Samco Hoses
Intercooler
Breather kit

Ideally i'd be aiming for around 165-175 bhp after winding the boost up a bit...

That seem reasonable with those mods?

What sort of intercooler is a good size to go for?
Is a breather kit necessary at this point?
Do i need an oil cooler?

Answers to those kind of questions would be appreciated!

Also - what do you think?

Take on a shell in need of some work and try and build it back up?

Or buy one in decent nick for around £2000-2500?

Cheers

Will

 

-31 Actuator
K&N Filter
Magnex or Mongoose exhaust
Turbosysems chip
C59 Plugs
Ford Motorcraft leads
Roose Motorsport hoses (cheaper than samco and just as good quality)
GRS or PRO ALLOY intercooler

Worth getting a new cam,even if its a standard ford one as they wear quite quick on CVH's

Breather kit not needed at that level of tune

Thats what i would do anyway

 

as above, i have a pro alloy intercooler which id recommend

 

what college you at?

 

I didn't know if a breather kit or an oil cooler was necessary at that stage or not - just that i've had oil problems on tuned cars before

What sort of power do you think i'd be looking at with that lot then?

Cheers for the help so far - much appreciated

 

Oxford & Cherwell Valley College in Bicester - it's one of three that form the National College for Motorsport

 

tbh at that level you could use a pace double capacity cooler,as thats not stressing it at all! and any main name chip,ie bayjoo,turbosystems should be ok for ya,and i reckon you have a nice conservative goal there which you should easily acheive with scope for 200+bhp!

 

Cheers Big Wig,

I'd rather aim for 170 (ish) bhp and be over the moon when i hit more than want 200 and be gutted when i get less

The mods might have to wait a little while yet - insurance people don't like the idea of a 20yr old with anything other than a 1.0 diesel

At least it'd give me time to get the car sorted, appreciate it for what it is and introduce the mods slowlyand get the most enjoyment from them

 

i did motorsport for a year at Myerscough College,
i dont know if it will be the same as yours but its the most bullshit
course ever i thought, they advertised as learning about engines and cars,
all i did in a year was take the engine out of a nova, (whoopee) and
that was just ragged out.

 

Lol - i know what you mean mate - my course is 'Motorsport Engineering'

This year has been just 'Engineering' - we're all hoping the 'Motorsport' part comes next year

I do a lot of stuff in my own time with college tho - rebuild a WRX impreza rally car in the evenings last term

 

right, we were meant to be doing something along those lines but it never happened, i was talking to a couple of lads who were on the course with me
about a month ago and they had not managed to find work in the North
for motorsport, so they were working at a Breakers, glad i left when i did,
i was skint....

 

I've got an interview/assessment at Prodrive next week to become an Apprentice Rally Technician - i'm from Yorkshire myself but all the work is down south

 

Standard Ford head gasket with perfectly flat head and block surfaces!

Uprated head gaskets don't seem to be uprated for some reason...

 

Very interesting...

What about head bolts? is it worth uprating them or not?

 

i have ARP head bolts

 

sounds good, one lad on my course got offered a job at TVR when
he started the course to go there if he completed course,
he did pass but never got job, so he said

 

I agree with this as the uprated head gasket (fel-pro) is actually a std american head gasket for the 1.9L non turbo charged engines that any tom, dick or harry can drive around in (in america), its only uprated!!! as the sealing rings are of a bigger dia hence falsely lowering the compression by making the combustion chamber appear larger, they dont seal better than a std rs head gasket from ford as these are designed for use on a turbocharged car and will handle 170bhp quite well if your sealing faces are good

 

Had a Pace on my S1 running 16psi through it and it was a load of old toss.

An oil cooler isnt realy needed unless your planning on track days.

 

So what intercooler would you recommend then mate?

Track days haven't been ruled out - i've used MOCAL before for oil coolers and breathers, anyone had any experience with there stuff on here?

 

Ive got a GRS i.cooler on my S1 now and i rate it highly,however Pro Alloy have been getting very good tes results with there kits and they offer 10% off to users of this site

I run a Mocal Oil cooler on my 3dr,does a very good job so i bought another one for my fiesta and may put one on the S1 next year

 

I still run a Payen (Genuine Ford, but not Ford prices) Head Gasket and Head bolts, which have seen 32psi and what must be 300+bhp, so defo no need to use anything else for under 200bhp.

Oil Cooler is not a necessity at this power level unless you plan to go on track and drive it hard.

GRS Evo or Pro Alloy Intercooler. You might aswell do it once and do it properly. A Pace half-width job is only any good for 18psi, so wont get you far into the 200's, which although you may not be interested in now, you will be. My car was originally destined for Concourse and look where it finished up.