fiestaturbo.com

[Tom Hill]

Hi there, got an '89 1.4 Ghia, 5dr etc. and I've not got a great deal of money (hence why the XR2i alloys donated to me, aren't skinned and sitting under the car's arches.....yet) but I was talking to a friend about the sort of engine modifying that can be done to a carb'd engine.

He talked about 4 things, and instead of pestering him - I thought I'd ask here instead.

Firstly, head work ... I've been told porting and polishing the head will aid in de-restricting the air flow, and I would've thought it's generally a very good thing. However, how much is this likely to cost, and, baring in mind I've got an Engineering qualification - could I do the work myself?

On that note, would it be better to replace the airbox with a less restrictive bolt-on from K&N (do Pipercross do replacements for a carb airbox?) or do I (this may sound nuts) hook up a 120x120x38mm fan to the air in-take of the current airbox and fit a less-restrictive filter, so that the air is pressurised slightly? I've heard this can yield surprising results!

Lastly - Skimming the head; would this be a good idea? Raising the compression ratio even a little would heighten performance, I'm sure. I don't know enough about it though - how easily can it be done? How much mular am I looking at, and how much would you need to skim off?

I think it goes without saying if the compression ratio is raised, I'd have to replace the head gasket (and the valve springs???) with a stronger one.

I was thinking about Turbocharging it .. But I think that's a bit silly considering it's my first car... not to mention expensive. Instead I was thinking about a dual-carb setup.

But, where would I source the second-hand Weber Carbs from? Decent ones, I mean... I hear of 40's and 45's .. the Weber site doesn't list any Fords with these fitted as standard! There's a single Weber 28/30 DFTM on my car as standard, which means I'd also have to get a different in-take manifold from somewhere, too.

What would be the implications of using bigger carbs? If the air-flow is matched, would it be a simple bolt-on job? Would a pair of XR3 carbs improve performance significantly, or do I really need to go 40+ to see the improvements?

A lot of questions, but I'm an intuitive person - any help on either matter would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks!

[Meths]

Hi,

For head work you could do it yourself if you have the tools which is not very likely (or you'd already be in the head porting business )

For head/cylinder work info and prices have a look at
http://www.pumaracing.co.uk and
http://www.specialisedengines.co.uk

Don't know about the fan pressurising but IIRC Green and K&N make the bolt-ons for MK3s Piper just do replacement elements and induction kits for injection engines.

The best people to look for to get info on carb/ford engine setups is the kit car/caterham types that are always at it. Also Burton do carbs so a phonecall to them would get you prices ( [url]ww.burtonpower.com[/url] or 02085542281 )

Hope some of this helps.

Jon

[Tom Hill]

I see what you mean about the cost - Puma Racing are quoting porting and polishing for my engine @ £400, with the standard size valves. That's a bit out of question then.

Anyway - Thanks for letting me know about the replacement boxes. Would K&N be any better than Green, or would I just be paying for names? I know Insurance Companies jump on the word 'K&N' like a tonne of bricks.

The same friend that I was talking to about the tuning methods available to me, is in the process of making a 7 replica, with a 1.8 Pinto in it, and a carb per pot on the top!

Massive induction roar, to say the least.

The draw-back of which, I've recently found out, is that it's expensive and uses TONNES of fuel. Not something I'd be impressed with, but saying that I'd think I'd still consider the XR3 Carb, which is still a little bit bigger than the current one.

Might just stick to my pressurising idea too!

Thanks for the reply anyway!!