"will it look good"

stupid question mate!

it will also sound good with that V8 throbing away under the bonnet!

 

thankx for the reply mate! it does look good but decided to stick with the original Im between a cossie and a v8 now lol. and want to do somethin different to the dashboard! maybe steel dahsboard with modern gauges?! if you have some ideas feel free to post

 

mate what do you think about this?

http://www.maltapark.com/item.asp?ItemID=186658

he is adverting it for 916.24GBP

 

i would not go with a v8 - you want a small, lightweight revvy straight 4 to keep the character of the car imo.

land rover v8's are woefully underpowered for their size and are quite expensive to tune relative to american v8's). tvr eventually rejected them and started building their own as they could not get enough power from them despite opening them out to 5 litres

 

hmmm I see. so in your opinion it will ruin the car's performance? what do you suggest than for a revvy and good bhp engine cheers mate

 

not necessarily ruin it's performance, just change the characteristics of it. the mk1 escort was always best with a tuned 1700 x-flow rather than the 2.0 pinto imo, and a rover v8 will mean plenty of torque but little power which means a less engaging driving experience for me. you will be going quickly, but it won't necessarily feel like it as it does when you have a smaller engine that you really have to work to get there and feel like you are racing.

instead of a rover v8, you may as well use a modern turo diesel, as it would be a similar driving feeling imo.

i would use a 2.0 duratec if i had a mk1 again or if i was going to build a kit car - that is if a honda s2000 engine and box was going to be significantly more expensive, as that would be my 1st choice. 2.0 litres, 9000 rpm, 240 bhp and as reliable as a swiss watch

 

s2000 engine and box is a bit of a mission to install from what i've read/heard.

the xflow would be a good choice but is likely to be more expensive than the boat anchor (pinto)

duratec would be the way for me personally if you've got the cash.. probably a 2.3 or 2.5 though rather than the 2.0. I'd only stick with the 2.0 if race regulations required it, which i'm guessing isn't an issue here if you're looking into v8s.

 

didn't think of a 2.3, but that makes sense. when the tax gets too high on my galaxy, i might have to break it and use the engine for a kit car

 

so the duratec sounds good too lol! what bhp \i am looking at with duratec, and how much will it cost me, engine, box, fuel pump and the other bits?

 

as said i wouldnt personally go for a rover due to them not being easy to tune.

i still think a small blocvk ford/chevy lump is best. easy 400-500bhp.

i suppose the other option would be a 4 pot maby with bike carbs

but what ever you choose to do, personally i think a turbo is asking for trouble. and lots of future expense.

did you have a look on www.oldskoolford.co.uk
im sure if you posted on there you would get better overall answers as they are the chaps who actually own the cars with all the above different engines in.

im still gna bang on about a V8, 1 because i always wanted to do it to mine, and its like you say a little bit different from the norm. sounds bloddy amazing, and you know it is reliable power, how many 400-500bhp cossies do you know which are "reliable".

4 pot as said is the tried and tested method and there is lots of knowledge experience with using these motors, sound raspy/sexy with bike carbs, and rev happy, but in my opinion, a bit plain jane.

a cosworth lump or any turbo, kinda been done too many times in my opinion, yes great car, but not awe inspiring, and like i said with any turbo its not the initial cost, its all the times you need to fix it afterwards.

 

hmm thats interesting! and as you said mate, I just want to do something different, too many escorts mk1 cossie's IMO herw, just want to be different! ford or chevy v8 sounds a good plan. dont know how much they cost though! have to register in that site