Oddman

hi all here is my project car so you can see what its like.

https://passionford.com/forum/4424990-post221.html

As you can see it has ovh?hcs? (who knows what it is for sure please?) engine.

I plan to do a total conversion of this car I was going to go for a sleeper but decided I love the rs turbo too much to not go for it.

Basically what I need to know from somebody that has done a top notch conversion before is please tell me in plain English what is just the basics needed in a nice tidy straight forward list just to get it converted .

im not interested right now in extra engine mods with 200 plus hp I just want a basic standard rs turbo. I can worry about the hp later.

So any help would be very much appreciated thanks in advance. Yes I am a n00b this is my first time so please no out of your depth replies I understand this but got to start from somewhere right

tabetha

The HCS(high compression swirl) engine is just a later version of the x flow engine which was a OHV, for overhead valve, basically the cam lives half way down the block and it uses rockers pivoting on a shaft(rocker shaft) to open the valves, the other end of the rocker is pushed by pushrods operated by the cam.
tabetha

Oddman

Oh some nice info I just checked my manual it seems to be ohv so it's nice to know something about the engine I have in at the moment. I am really inspired by all the projects on here and can't wait to get started. Just need the idiots guide basic list and some cash and away I go. Don't want to sound an idiot but my car is left hand drive will this effect me in anyway if I drove back to blighty and got turbo engine from there. Thanks

749steve

iTrader: (1)

you best bet is to get a full rs turbo donor car.
as you will need all the running gear,brakes,anti roll bars,fuel tank,fuel lines,full wiring loom,rev counter clocks,as well as the engine and gear box

dont know about over there but here you can pick up a wrotton donor car for between £500 and £1500 depending on the spec of the car

Oddman

O.k thanks for the info I think it's not as easy as I first thought there are only maybe four or so erst over here that's why I wanted to do one to bring a bit of best of British to Finland and something to remind me of home. As they are so rare here it's going to be hard to find a donor car and just as hard to get one imported from England well not hard but costly.I guess I will be waiting a while for the donor.

tabetha

It is perhaps a bit ambitious for a first project, why not do a 1600cc engine swap to a CVH like in XR3, non injection, will be a lot easier, and although not as quick as a rst, much faster than what you have.
They are a lot easier to do as well.
tabetha

749steve

iTrader: (1)

another conversion is a zetec engine a 1.8 will go nearly straight in run it off twin carbs and use your hcs wiring to run the coil pack/ignition system

Oddman

Hi again yeah I was searching the Internet about alternatives and found a 1.8 litre zetec http://www.nettivaraosa.com/viewPart.php?id_part=862657 I believe it's a silvertop not sure and from my understanding this is the one that most people go for.it is for sale for 300 euro I guess that's about 280 quid is this a reasonable price (the thing at the bottom has a lot of rust though). I think this is best bet and understand they are quite easy to get extra hp out of.

tabetha

The rusty bits are the flywheel and clutch diaphragm/cover, the flywheel can be cleaned up, and the diaphragm would normally be replaced if doing engine swap anyway for a new one, just for peace of mind.
tabetha

Oddman

Okay many thanks for all the info so far it's great. Just one more question for now , I just found a 2.0 l glx mondeo from 1993 would this be exactly what I am looking for as in would this be the mondeo with a silvertop 136 hp zetec? It's a bargain at 150 euros and apparantly running well if this is the case I will buy it.

gingerturbo

iTrader: (2)

A nice easy conversion. Find a 1.8 or 2.0 mondy or get a 1.6 cvh and attach some twin 40's. Its soo much easier to find them than finding a decent rst doner car with everything there ya need

Oddman

yeah am looking at mondeos as said in my last post but wanted to make sure was getting a silvertop zetec. so would a 1.6cvh with twin 40's be another good option then. btw forgive me for being such a n00b but what the hell are twin 40's??

gingerturbo

iTrader: (2)

zetecs are good for what they are but its advisable to change the tank to an rs/xr3 one plus the pump, and then ya gotta wire it all up, and if its ya first project its a bit step, but as fastford has kindly given a step by step guide on the 2.0 zetec into a mk4 so it pretty much tells ya what to do, 1.6cvh its an easier option and there cheep and easier to modify, and cos rst's are 1.6cvh turbo's you can put everything minus the engine and loom and ecu in your car, so if you do decide to turbo it you only need the lump, twin 40's are carbs which were the early mods before crazy turbos

Oddman

Cool many thanks for the info. Just got to decide what I want to do now the 1.6 cvh sounds a lot easier. So from what your saying I just drop the 1.6 cvh in and I don't need to change the loom or anything? What about the fuel tank? And if I want to change to a 1.6 turbo can I just change little bits of the engine like the head or would I need the full rst engine? Problem for me is that engines over here are not dime a dozen and hard enough to get a seller in the uk to ship. I think that once I got the money is that I drive back home and bring it back myself but that costs more I think than shipping. Talk about headache hehe.

Edit: I'm so stupid asking these questions when I just realized that I can buy a donor car and just swap everything over but thanks for your advice guys

gingerturbo

iTrader: (2)

Eventually you will need to change the tank cos of the swirl pot. If you could get a doner car it would be soo much easier. You wont need to change much if your running carbs but if you decide to turbo it you will need a full engine. Its one of those dilemers where ya wanna decide how far ya wanna go and how different ya wanna be

Oddman

o.k thanks loads for the help I think im going to take the car off the road in two months for the winter and am going to strip it down to see if there are any nasty suprises waiting for me but from what ive seen so far its got a very good shell. I think im going to go for an engine from an xr3i for now as its the easiest swap and learn from there and thanks to your knowledge and when the cash comes in then purchase a rs turbo. i look forward to doing this project happy days.