I am still new to the site and am trying not to be the annoying new guy with daft questions but sometimes if you dnt ask you dnt know.
I recently bought a 87 xr3i convertable. Bought as a project but using while weather nice at the mo, 12mnth mot 5 mnth tax £550 cnt grumble!
I'v read a few articles on the turbo conversion, fiesta engine being easiest but also curious with a zetec conversion. It would be great to have the rs badge and some turbo boostage but maintence/ realiabilty wise the zetec has gotta be the better option.
Am I right in that the rs is 130bhp standard? if so surely a 2.0 zetec wnt be far from this? Or if only the 1.8 will fit a few mods should put it somewhere near?
I'm not decided and a bit confused as to which is the better option anybody have any recomendations,ideas, opinions??? cheers guys

 

it depends on budget and whether ya need it done within a couple of days to use it again, you can still have decent power out of an rst lump and have it reliable for maintanence its a ford and that comes with the badge, if your looking to weight up ya options for 150bhp youve got std rs2k lump, or a chipped/low modded sweet rst lump/or 2.0l zetec/cammed/chipped, but for shear GRIN factor turbo all the way

 

2.0 zetec N/A or zetec turbo. thats 150 bhp or 300 bhp lol depends on budget. zetec all the way tho
zetec

 

i was looking of turboing my rs1800 engine .. but thm though agensed it .. if you want a good reliable turbo power go zvh or just stick with n/a and put throttle bodies and leave the engine ... coz tbh the cams are the same size if not bigger thn the 2.0l cams , do a lil bit of porting and jobs a good one but yeah turbo al the way once you have have some boost you never go back !!:L lol only resin im going n/a is i cant afford to build a zvh and also its my first car :L

 

I might have to have a look into a zvh build then I realy would love the bragging rights and the sheer fun of a turbo cabby!! Dn't neccessarly want HUGE power but if things changed and I decided to up it at least the option is available, best start saving and researching!! Who do you guys reckon would be best to speak to about parts?? Start scouring ebay try find a bargain!

 

All depends on ur budget really and how much ur willing to do youself, zvh conversions are good but arnt the cheapest then u got ur management to sort etc, the easiest turbo route would be fitting either an mfi turbo engine and loom or going for the efi fiesta turbo engine if u can find one!! Or as said n/a isnt all that bad, my old xr2i engine was rebuilt, ported head, cam chip etc etc and althou was only about 128bhp on the rollers when the cam kicked in at about 4k revs it pulled like a train!! and upset a few people lol.

Have got a cabby with a 1.8zvh engine in out the front but its being stripped for parts now to make room!! It never actually did make it on the road lol.

 

just for drop in easieness go rs turbo, easy to work on and tune aswell ...not the most reliable but thats part of the charm but when they work there great

 

I think the best solution may be to go N/A zetec, chip and cam just to tweak it.. Then find a tubby engine rebuild over time as I want it, uprate the lot and have it nice and shiny for when its ready to go in.

 

yea sounds like a good idea!! done right will be reliable if its ur daily driver aswell?! their not that heavy a car either really!!

 

if its a daily go down the zetec n/a route

 

Done quite a few mk4 escort conversions if your looking for a 1/2 way medium then go 1.8 zetec on 40's that way you will get about 150bhp and the engines are cheap as chips coz most ppl want 2.0 then when on a run we have seen about 65-70 miles to £10 down the A1 to the scotch corner show/meet so your getting the best of both worlds but still getting about 150bhp per ton not massive but better than 80-100bhp/ton

 

I'm using it daily atm and hopefully get a bit of use out of it next summer when it's done (if it's done) but yea the idea is that it has enough power to make ya smile but not enough to have to replace things after a weekend of general driving! Would i just be aswell finding a rotten mondeo/escort buy the lot and use everything I need off that to fit it then start uprating bushes etc. I'l get some bigger brakes are rear disc conversions available? Also suspension wise, can I just get a full kit shocks and springs to fit the mk4 or do I have to change them for the added weight if any?

 

Any suspension kit will do, brake wise fronts are the most important, u can get a rear disc kit thou im just taken one off the cabby thats getting scrapped!! its basicaly an adapter plate, granada cosworth discs and calipers and a cable off a later escort!! Shame ur in yorkshire really as the cabbys geting scrapped (its a mk4 aswell) but has a 1.8 zetec engine in which is gonna get taken out and sold!! Plus like i say jus taken off the rear disc conversion and upgraded front calipers, think their ST ones from memory!

 

if your using it every day basicly bet idea would be uprade around the engine minimal time jobs i,e brakes as toe knee said 4x4 cossie front disks and calipers theres a how to guide in the rs turbo sections, and r disk conv, any susp kit will do i prefer spax but evry1s different, poly bush, lsd box, so when ya come to put the engine your not going to have to worry about rushin to do anything else

 

oh buy the way toe knee if mill5y dont want the r disk conversion i could do with a set

 

ok mate, their not actually mine the the other halfs i know shes had some interest but if their getting sold i'll do a proper forsale post )

 

ok m8 cool ill keep my eyes open for it

 

id go standard 2L, yeah its not as easy to install as the 1.8 and itll cost more, but youll get more torque with it and a bit more power and the potential for more

uprate other things first though as Gingerturbo says, brakes then suspension, then look at fitting the gearbox if you feel you want that

then fit then engine and make sure everything is good with that before you tweak it. id add, exhaust, airfilter, cams, vernier pulleys then look into head work.

it all depends how far you want to go and what you ultimatly want. theres no point in fitting the zetec and tuning that if what you really want is rst power

 

cheers guys, Iv been thinking about it loads whats best way of doing it and what the ultimate goal is. I think, I wanna go rs2000 engine air filter exhaust and maybe cams. Leave it at that and then if I get bored think about a proper rst. I want the cabby sweet, everything spot on and immaculate and proper neat conversion all tidy wires etc.... Not so much a show car but when I do go somewhere or when bonnets up and it gets seen want peopel to appreciate it if you know what I meen?
The thing thats putting me off turbo power is expense routine maintence and if somethings wrong it tends to be 10x worse with a turbo, I just want the simplicitie of knowing I built a car that if I wanted to I could use daily without issues. Cheers again guys

 

all depends what sort of power u wanted thou, althou n/a is more reliable a well built semi standard RST engine would last fine!!!

 

I think 150 for now will be enough + whatever the cam kit and exhaust +filter add, not interested in massive power more just the show offyness of having the turbo noise and dump valve the boost would be nice but I think I'l stick n/a maybe do a turbo next time round

 

rs2000 engine is alot more work. and you get a less easily tunable engine than the zetec,

you could always but the zetec in and then turbo that in the future, but as said an rst engine hasnt got to be unrealiable, a rebuilt one with airfilter, exhaust, chip and maybe an intercooler isnt going to be blowing rods throuhg the block or anything like that

 

you guys just want another turbo in the ranks dnt ya!! ha ha, You could have a point tho, 2.0l zetec couple of mods then when its built start saving funds up towards the turbo upgrade and have a menance yet pocket friendly turbo. right zetec it is, any recomendations on engine are all 2.0zetecs same? mondeo,escort, Think I'l just buy a full car and use the lot off it what can be used, mot failure or something

 

My mk4 has a na 2l zetec silver top with a few tweaks. Its rapid! No turbo lag. No turbo maintainance issues. Fairly simple conversion. Pm me if you need real world answers on this conversion.

 

even if ya want a showy off engine a zetec on twin carbs sounds mental and is low maintanance, you also gotta look at if ya doing it on ya own or with help etc and sourcing bits

 

I'm doing it on my own more than likely a few posts on here if I get stuck!! I'l include pictures tho! Cheers 16vzetec I will probably take you up on that offer!! Just need to find a garage to rent to get it off road and the work carried out! Seems a shame just had 12mth mot put on her but sooner I start sooner it comes out to play! Can the zetecs run bike carbs? R1 carbs arnt they?
Do I need to start a new post about my current fuel pump relay getting a bit more than warm and the end where the contacts are slightly melting?? I am a bit worried

 

2l silver top zetec is what you what, only available in a mk1 mondeo, youll need a 1.8 or 1.6 inlet, sump and some other bits i think....!? (again all silver top parts, but the 1.8 and 1.6 parts can be found in a mk3 fiesta, mk 5/6 escort (i think!? ) and mk1 mondeo

theyll be a few threads on here about it but if your not sure get another one up, fast ford did a feature on this very conversion in one magazine, if you could track down a copy, or it might be on there website, it would be a big help for you i think

 

Dont mean to sound like a know it all but I know every part needed to do this conversion as i've done it. Custom down pipe to meet mk4 system. Mondeo block. Escort 1.8 head or of course the 2.0l head. Escort sump and pick up pipe and fly wheel and oil pump and water pump and water hose with 2 inches chopped out of it to make it lower. Escort manifolds. Stick with injection. Fit standard manifold first then build up some throttle bodies at later date. You can run it on efi mk4 engine management as I did. I now run mk5 escort rs2000 management with throttle bodies coming soon

 

Im in the similer boat to the OP but have decided when the time comes to go RS Turbo engine route.

N/A Zetec (excluding tb's) would get dull after a while, lets face it, its only going to be on a par with majority of modern day cars at best anyway. If your not going to mod at all then Zetec would be best i think.

If you decided to turbo not sure if its best to fit the zetec then turbo it or fit the rst lump and zetec bottom end that?

Suspension wise unless you go Spax non adjustables (£280) it appears to be a straight jump up to big money. Likes of Koni's are 100 notes a corner excluding springs

 

The plan would be to upgrade the zetec wether that be throttle bodies or zvh depends on how long it takes for me to get bored, tbh when the first winter comes around and car is back in garage it would prob get the zvh treatment anyhow!! At the moment its just to give it a bit more than normal/ sort the bodywork/get my feet wet with conversions Its going to be a ongoing long project I'm keeping hold of car so go the zetec route, then try zvh, in all honesty anything could be possible give it a few more years and find a focus st engine and box give me something to do over the cold rainy season! At the moment I'l concerntrate on the mondy engine. Have to start a new project thread when I begin take loads of pics then when its all done condense for other first time converters but like I say its not going to be anytime soon plenty of time to clean every inch car will be immaculate everywhere

 

I've Got spax adjustables on mine. They ok. As for getting bored of a na zetec. Well that all depends on what your after in life. If you want a car thats fast and sounds good then go na. But if you want a car for show then turbo is the way. Turbo's are quick but they wheel spin all the time so alot of power is wasted in a light car and handling gets bit scary. My na runs mid 14's on a quarter and estimated 0 to 60 in 6 seconds. Will be quicker with throttle bodies but its the smooth power delivery that makes it quick to 100. Over that a turbo is best but how often do you drive over 100 on todays roads

 

These are the things that are goin thru my head now, I'd love a turbo mostly just for saying I'v got a turbo cabby but city living, traffic!! and only time I'd get to have a long run would be up motorway to Scarborough which ultimatly means sitting in summer weather on the A64 anybody who knows North Yorkshire knows that is THE worst road ever in summer I once watched football factory on my dvd player while sat still in traffic!
I just wouldnt be confident in a turbo always fearing steam or oil clouds!!! It could still go either way it all depends on what car I find first when I'v got the money, mondeo or a rst its gonna be a spares or repair so either would be as good just make sure I pay lots of attention to a rst lump while its out rebuild it throughly and buy a massive radiator!!