yep 4wd cos one

 

If your using it for track use only you want an engine that revs and delivers linear power delivery for round the bends

I've been in a few westfields on track at Cadwell Park and the fastest was a nasp car engined car as you can apply the throttle round the bends

If it were me I'd use tha Mazda rx7 rotary engine on throttle bodies and Motec management

Advantages are:
Small
light
very low centre of gravity
rev to 10k plus with linear power delivery which is perfect for such a light car
350bhp nasp is achievable (for circa £6k)
hardly any moving parts - less to go wrong

Disadvantages are:
Noise (need a big exhaust silencer)
heat (just need to think about the cooling system and exhaust routing a bit more)
Drink fuel - (same with most high performance engines though)

There is a Maxda specialist here in the UK that has already done it and sell the bell housings etc

 

but they are like 2 strokes and wear out/ go wrong all the time, and when they do its a specialist job with specialist tools to re build them. Wouldnt be my personal choice.

 

Honestly though drsrst2cvh... if I was you and your dad. I would just buy a Caterham superlight of some sort. Or an ex academy race car or something.

You will spend loads of time and effort and money on the MK... money that you won't EVER get back.

You will do with a Caterham.

so unless you want all the effort and hassle of rebuilding and respeccing the car (I know for some people this is half the fun!!!)

then just get a Caterham. Its a very well developed product and they hold their money amazingly.

 

Good advice

They hold there money well

 

Tbh if it were a money no object track car I'd of tried to get a rs500 caterham. Not really too bothered about spending the time re-speccing it as you said that's half the fun.

 

RX7 engine sounds fun, bet that would sound amazing at 9k+rpm!! Good idea.

 

id go for a tuned duratec/zetec, S2000, or the c20xe/c20let.

or something else that you can find that will be a little different that no-ones done before?

 

Duratec would be my option if you not wanting to use a vauxhall. Plenty of tuning parts around an nice and light and you have the choice of going to 2.3

 

Didnt a s2000 kit car go to croft this year and go round faster than nearly everything on track?

 

Dan, Pete at work with the blue ST150 had a 2.3 duratec with throttle bodies & managment, ported head, cams, rods, etc, that made over 300bhp, or you could just go for a standard second hand 2 litre duratec with a view of supercharging at a later date.

p.s. hows the focus?

 

Yeah all good mate Dads still loving the conversion. You get rid of that focus to "Cutch"?

 

I'd go for a YB at 330 bhp should be usable on the road and track, and reliable. But if its track only then a bike engine preferably turbo at 350 bhp again, far lighter and revvy too. If you want to stick with a STD n/a then the 240 bhp Honda S2000 looks fantastic, what do they cost though?

 

Hmmmm

https://passionford.com/forum/ford-r...-breaking.html

 

I like the note on the front

 

Yes was quite funny when we took the nose off at marts.

I didn't know it was there!

cheeky fucker stu!

 

 

......and its true.

Mine is shinier too.

 

i would go honda S2000 engine and 6 speed box. bit costly but super reliable. or the cheaper option being a C20XE but there getting old in the tooth. mind you one re-built on bodies around the 200bhp mark would be awesome.

andy

 

a friend of mine and stus has a 230bhp XE in his westfield and its as fast as my Ferrari to 80mph! we raced em!

GOOOOOD engine.

I still think buying a Caterham is sooooo the way forward, You will soon spend a pretty penny on the MK.... and its money you will never get back. The costs just mount and mount.

Caterhams are like money in the bank... they are also sooo well known and understood that you will spend ALOT more time driving and enjoying the car on track... rather than fixing this problem and that problem.

being at a trackday with a broken car is the WORST thing ever.... the second worse thing is missing trackdays because its taking sooo long to build and sort car.

Buy the Caterham. Enjoy it and have lots and lots of fun and then sell it on for basically what you paid!

I'll talk to your dad if you like mate? I am v good salesman

alternatively... why not just enjoy it with the Pinto?

 

Exactly why I am selling up, some projects just take TOO long !

As for the xe, great engines, I'm obviously going to rave about the Honda engine but I won't deny that it is expensive.

A xe in stock form with a pair of Jenveys, AST1612 cams and a semi decent manifold will give 200hp or very close to.

To build one will be near 4k and you will need a gearbox, bell housing adaptor and clutch etc

In second hand form you can get those bits quite cheaply and the fact the core engine is dead stock is good as if it ever ends badly its a few hundred quid for another engine and the map should be just about spot on.

 

Totally agree with Porkie as to spending to much time tinkering or finishing the car, mine was a scratch build 12 years ago, never really finished but so rewarding.

Runs a Joe Stevens 400bhp dry sumped all singing all dancing engine on F88 management.

I use it for Endurance rallying just back from a 6 day Corsican event.

Here is a clip from a 6 hour race at Mallory Park earlier this year. Short shifting due to cooked brakes. The Porsche toward the end was a 500bhp V8 job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xyDBUZzO9Y

Car is now in the garage with the front end off., tinkering again.

James

 

tuned duratec is the way to go for your setup imo

exhaust will be on same side as the pinto it replaces too plus all the partst o do the conversion are available and the engine is tuneable to 300bhp or more if you boost it.

cheaper option and still a great engine would be the zetec which i have myself in my kitcar still good power and it is tuneable

 

James, your car does look really well balanced.

Couple of questions...

1. Why tyres do you run?
2. What Camera and mount do you you use as it seems really vibration free?

Stu

 

Hi Stu

Fronts 225x45x16 888

Back 245x45x16 888

Chassis setup by http://www.procomp.co.uk/ speak to Matt top guy.

Camera system is a bit of a hybrid, the recorder is a tape camera via bullet cameras. The speed overlay system is a black box system.

Heres a bit of video from Silverstone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_WehYhkJ3I a bit of a setup day really.

Thanks for the coments.

James

 

An S2000 engine for sale on here -


https://passionford.com/forum/ford-r...-breaking.html

Expensive but bulletproof!

 

I'd go cosworth

 

Although heat can be a prob with std intercooler and std rads

 

Wow that's a full engine bay!!

I'll find out next year when mines on the road. Although I'm not sure on the on/off comment because it'll have a 6-7000RPM powerband. The torque is a lot less important too when the car is so light at circa 450kg.

I'm really intrigued to find out as i'm sick of having to listen to other peoples views on the subject, dying to find out if i actually like it or hate it for myself

Isn't that just the truth!

 

How about the volvo / focus RS T5 engine?

Either nasp or turbo'd

 

Here's mine with a zetec turbo in it

 

The one i did was a yamaha r1 turbo with a t25 off of a nissan 200sx, it reved to 11,000 rpm and maxed out at 100mph in sixth, was very easy to stall, you had to rev the fud off it to pull away and slip the clutch big style. It was also gutless below 5000 rpm, you had to make sure it was always well into the revs to make it go anywhere, it spun easilly as when you brought the power in gently mid-corner it would still come in all at once, was reasonably quick, but not very usable. Oh and had no reverse

 

For a budget engine, I'd go black top from a Focus, as they're cheap as chips to buy and plenty tweakable.

Or a Duratec, as they're plentiful and, again, very easy to modify.

I do like how people keep suggesting random engines when he's already said he wants to use a Ford lump several times

 

ive sugested duratec

 

If it has to be Ford i'd definitely go duratec on TBs. easily available now, light and very tuneable.

 

if a rx7 comes into play speak to karl
http://www.mazdarotary.co.uk/

he is brilliant with rotary's