fiestaturbo.com

[aly888]

hey ppl,

i have a little 1.1 mk3 fiesta....and my bf has a 'spare' 1.8 zetec engine (series 2...from an escort) sitting in his garage...

now, iv got a rough idea on insurance quote (baring in mind i havnt actually passed my test yet) and its not too pricey..

but, if i wanted to drop this engine into my car, what other things am i going to need? suspension, brakes etc...

so far, its lowered 60mm on some crappy springs, and someone suggested coilovers....

and obviously im going to need bigger brakes (front and back??), [ERRR] all i have are some ka front brakes and standard rear drums..

has anyone done this conversion or know of anyone who has done it [ERRR] i need some handy helpful advice!

cheers

[si 16valver]

if it was me i would go with a gmax kit preferably new for 200 quid and 50quid fitting unless you or someone you know is handy with a spanner then for the brakes cosworth sierra 4x4 ones go on with abit of modifications i.e. the calipers being spaced out abit this is no problem i have got gmax -35 and cossie brakes on my 1.6 si ready for when i have 2.0 in and the braking is unbelievable no fade and all the car just shoots forward and stops as soon as you push down hard on the pedal would also recommend not bothering with rear disk conversion as not much point unless you do alot of handbrake turns cus the only thing rear disks do is upset the car if you need to brake hard on a corner as it will lock the rear up quicker and set it into a spin would say get on ebay get a set of gmax and cossie sierra 4x4 and you will be rate as rain

[Oranoco]

To be completely honest you may as well just buy a Zetec XR2i as in the long run it will work out cheaper than trying to bolt all the bits you will need to do a conversion properly. You will need

Injection tank, pump, loom
ECU
radiator
engine mounts
suspension
brakes
gearbox
engine/gearbox mounts
plus a whole load of bits I've probably missed

You can a get tidy 2i's for about the grand and nice examples can be had for not much more.

[aly888]

dont want to change the car...i want to do the conversion!! lol i want something different...

i can do all the fitting etc myself (with help from the bf) as we have already done a few engine conversions in his car..

i knew about needing new fuel pump, ecu, loom...but i dont know what you mean when you say 'injection tank'

rad im pretty sure my bf will have one in his garage somewhere that i can use...he may even have the wiring loom, thinking about it!

the main thing i am worrying about getting is the suspension, brakes and all the mounts etc...although we already have a contact for the mounts!

thanks for the advice on the rear brakes...i dont do handbrake turns too often so i think il skip them..

[Ollybee]

has anyone done this conversion

Yes. Me.

[Excursion]

I was just about to reply and say what Oranoco said, again.

Buy an XR2i and turbo it.

[si 16valver]

if you want to be original puttin a 1.8 in a 1.1 isnt even original its just daft sorry to be ignorant but why not get a rover turbo engine for originality or a v6 cosworth engine with rear wheel drive would be alot easier to get xr2

[Ollybee]

dont want to change the car...i want to do the conversion!!

I understand this mentality. I could have bought a 2i for a lot less money than I have spent on mine. That wasnt the issue for me, I just wanted to do it myself, yeah it cost me £2500+ (I stopped counting at that!) but I enjoyed doing it and it also means I can relatively hold my own in tech talks on here!

A year on, yeah I wish I'd bought a turbo but sod it, it was good fun doing it and I would have only taken the turbo apart anyway!

One bit of advice to aly888, buy a 2.0 and go the whole hog. You always have in the back of your mind "good, but not as good as a 2.0"! If you're doing all the work anyway you may as well. When mine was done I went straight out and bought another Si and a 2.0 engine!

[Oranoco]

I can understand you wanting to do it but you have to take a step back and look at what you will have. You will need to pour cash into a car and will end up with a car that's still a base model on the V5 and not worth anything clsoe to the what you've put into it.

Seriously I would highly recomend not doing it as you will look back in a year or two's time and be smacking your head at the cash you have spent and what you could have had instead. If you want a project get a 2i RS1800 in need of TLC and work from there at least then you will have XR/RS on your logbook and stand achance of getting slightly more than bugger all when you move on.

I know I'm sounding harsh but I wish somebody had put this to me more forcefully before I spent a packet on a sheddy 5 door Escort.

[Ollybee]

It's a fair point. I did know what I was getting myself into and you're right the cost doesn't stop after the conversion because it is a "Classic" on the log book so the insurance is about double what the 2.0Si is.

I console myself with the fact that everytime I get in her there is just over 30k miles on it. Small comfort, but I'm glad I did it.

[aly888]

i see what your all saying....and im grateful..

how did it cost you so much to do your conversion ollybee?

and im not trying to be original...i just dont want to say to ppl 'i have an xr2i' and ppl to think 'oh, one of them'...

i would much rather say 'i had a 1.1, now i have a 1.8zetec...mostly done by myself'.....its a matter of feeling i have accomplished something!!

i would go the whole hog and go 2.0l....if it wasnt for the fact that i already have a 1.8 in my possesion, for absolutely nothing!! mate of mine was scrapping his car and said i could have the engine..so i did!

and yeah, i totally get what your saying when you say i wont get back anything near what i have spent on it, but thats not the point!! ppl rarely get back what they have spent on a car when it comes to stuff like this! and anyway...i brought the car for 200...as an mot failure and a wreck of a car...and now i could easily sell it on for 500+ and iv not really thrown much money into it at all...so far, costs have been low!

i really need an idea on how much all these extra bits will cost me! ollybee, what was the most expensive part of the conversion?

[Ollybee]

how did it cost you so much to do your conversion ollybee?

i really need an idea on how much all these extra bits will cost me! ollybee, what was the most expensive part of the conversion?

The money all adds up, mainly from broken parts from the doner car and parts that are shafted, so you may as well buy new. I was using an mot failure as a doner car, and by the nature of such a car there were few parts that needed replacing.

I probably spent £50 on replacement suspension bushes, £150 on an exhaust, £25 on an offside rear engine mount, £50 on coolant hoses, £30 on ecu's (escort ones with fiesta looms don't work!) That's just off the top of my head. The £2.5k does however include the £300 for the car, £30 for the vic check, £40 for the mot, £300 for the doner vehicle and anything else was made up from lots of little insignificant bits that you don't think of but cost a lot when you add it all up.

I'm not trying to put you off all, do it and you will love the results! But be prepared to be stung by the insurance.

[aly888]

already got a rough insurance quote....just over £700 [ERRR] i am amazing..lol

i think we have various wiring looms and ecu's laying around...so i may not need to buy them...and the engine was free, and iv already got my car...so the most expensive bit for me will be all the mounts hoses etc..got replacement cams etc already (again, free)!! Im in the motor business anyway, as is my bf, so whatever i cant get trade price, he will be able to!!

mot is due in august anyway..so i will try and tie them in together!

I think im going to go for it anyway...thanks for all your advice. Ollybee, if i have any problems is it ok for me to pm you or something?!

[Ollybee]

No probs.