Dubai Mk1 Duratec

[dobuy]

Decided that I did not like the standard water inlet to the block and as I am using a Davies Craig EWP80, I did not need all the platic that gos with the thermostat, so one piece of 8mm scrap ally, one chopped up hose joiner from eBay


Little bit of TIG welding by my mate Gareth


And there we have it, nice and simple and out of the way


Was going to fit the water pump between the radiator and block, but it was firkin tight, then another annoying mate Blair suggested the blatantly obvious position a bit further back.
So in it went.


Got stuck into the brake pipes today, decided to do them all in braided lines, got half done, then found out half my tubing is dash 3 and the other half is dash 4, checked my order and yes I was sent the wrong stuff. Just as well I am up in Heathrow on Monday, sounds like a quick visit to Think Automotive (no they did not supply it).

[cossie matt]

Was going to fit the water pump between the radiator and block, but it was firkin tight, then another annoying mate Blair suggested the blatantly obvious position a bit further back.
So in it went.

Thats identical to my water take off mate and I run my pump in exactly the same place, it's been perfect

[MK1_Oz]

Thats identical to my water take off mate and I run my pump in exactly the same place, it's been perfect

Cossie matt. I am tossing up the idea of using an electric water pump. How have you found yours? The advertising blurb makes all sorts of claims of horsepower gains. Have you noticed any? Has the pump run faultlessly with no overheating? Does the pump run at a constant speed or does it ramp up as engine temperatures increase? Does it remove the need for an engine fan?

Very interested to hear how you and others have found EWPs....

[Adam B]

nice to see some different ways of doing things

[dobuy]

Thats identical to my water take off mate and I run my pump in exactly the same place, it's been perfect

And there was me thinking I had some original thought for once in my life

I have had great results with the EWP80 in the Caterham, I ran it without a controller, as it is a tad hot out here in Dubai.
It has run faultlessly for nearly 4 years now, in track temps up to 60'c. I run it without an expansion tank or swirl pot on the Caterham, but according to the Radical boys that use them, a swirl pot removes out a lot of water bubbles and gives even better results

[PIG]

cracking project this m8y,looking better every time i check it out.well done

[bodger rogers]

great build mate . love it

[cossie matt]

Cossie matt. I am tossing up the idea of using an electric water pump. How have you found yours? The advertising blurb makes all sorts of claims of horsepower gains. Have you noticed any? Has the pump run faultlessly with no overheating? Does the pump run at a constant speed or does it ramp up as engine temperatures increase? Does it remove the need for an engine fan?

Very interested to hear how you and others have found EWPs....

I've only even run it with the electric pump and never had any trouble with it. The pump is controlled by my engine ECU so it always optimises the speed to suit what is needed. Can't fault it.

[dobuy]

Thanks for the replies, well I finally got round to starting to build up the engine. I am now the proud owner of 2 blocks and one head, with a borrowed head for mock-up.

Gave the block a good blow-out with a pneumatic cleaning gun, bloody glad I did, because the crap that came out of the oil-ways and block from all the grinding and re-bore was significant

So on with the build up, first order of the day was to put my Arrow rods onto the Wossner Pistons, simple enough, but as always paranoid about losing a circlip


Then put the ARP studs for the bottom end into the block, was interesting as the instructions suggested only doing them hand tight, but this did not get them far enough into the block to be flush with the bottom of the block, so ignored that. Also fitted the new Clevite big-end bearings.


Dropped the crank in, with lots of Graphex to lube the journals


Then installed the pistons, again fairly straight forward, if you take your time. Although I was mildly confused by the arrow on the pistons, as they point side to side, not front to back (as is normal). So I made a massive leap of logic and figured the bigger piston cut-outs were for the inlet valves


That's the engine building for the moment, as waiting for some Plastigauge to come in the post from blighty, so I can check the bearing clearances.

Decided to make a coil pack bracket, so copied the picture on Retro-Fords website, no point in re-inventing the wheel, so will sit nicely below the throttle bodies, out of the way.


Lick of paint and there you go, 2 hours work to save £25

[katluke]

I always look forward to updates on this build

[Darbo]

nice work
should fly

what compression ratio did you decide on?

[Adam B]

who do you use for all your engine building bits?

its all looking good

[dobuy]

The pistons are Wossner 12.5:1 that I picked up for a bargain from one of the online sites, might have been Pistonheads. I have just bought a thicker Cometic gasket, that I have calculated will drop me down to 12.0:1, which is a bit more sensible
Rods are from a Caterham race car that had a refresh and they changed the rods as a matter of course, they were very sensibly priced and are in perfect nick..
Engine bearings are from the US, $88 for rods and mains!
Cams, Throttle bodies, clutch, flywheel and Dry Sump are all from Raceline, who have served me brilliantly for the last 6 years or so

[dobuy]

Decided as I am using a second hand block and crank, that it would be a good idea to measure the various bearing clearances, so eBay to the rescue and 4 days later some Plastigauge arrives in Dubai.

Big end bearings first, these are Clevite77 Race bearings, and the clearances are spot on (tolerance 0.026 - 0.052mm), so no issues there


However before I put in the Main Crank Bearings, I measured up the shells with a micrometer
Standard Ford bearing that came with the engine is only slightly worn


However new Clevite bearing is quite a bit thinner


So not looking to hopeful here and sure enough, with the Clevite bearing installed, torqued up, then pulled apart the clearances are not even close to the factory required tolerances (0.019 - 0.035mm) The crank of course spun up with almost no friction with the Clevite in place, barely spreading the assembly lube across the face of the bearing.


So after much Googling and a visit to the local Ford dealer, I confirmed what I already knew, that Ford does not sell crank or rod bearings for the Duratec, as it would much rather sell you a short-block. Even with the part numbers gleaned from the old bearings and the Ford workshop manual, they were not available.
Final and dare I say the obvious option was to email Chris at Raceline and sure enough they are able to get them from some obscure source, so hopefully a new set of standard bearings will be on the way to me soon.

OK, so no more engine building until the bearings arrive, time to make up an alternator mount. Done this before, so just a bit of refinement to the original design. Bit of box section tube, with a couple of 10mm tubes welded through for strength


And a butchered, re-welded adjuster of the 1100L's engine




One of the jobs I have been meaning to do is to match the Jenvey 48mm DTH throttle bodies to the ported head
First got a bit of clear laminate from a brochure cover, bolted it to the face of the head and cut out the ports carefully with a scalpel


Once transferred to the Throttle Bodies, you can see there is a fair bit of metal to take out to match the ports


Finished item, there is just enough flange left, about 1.5mm to hold the O-ring in place and the ports now match almost perfectly


Tools used to do this were a die grinder with a carbide cutting bit, followed by a Dremmel with a sanding tube/wheel

So apart from finishing off the brake lines, that is about it. Waiting for the bearings and a few other bits to arrive from the UK to finish the engine build, then next job is to start on the wiring.

[turbospud]

quality work there,its all the small bits that take ages but worth it

[smicker]

Keep at it, excellent thread this. You always put plenty of information for everyone.

[Slymanrs2]

Where did you get your strut brace Mr??

Lot's of little jobs, trying to get the bottom of the car finished to get it back on its wheels, to fit the engine and gearbox (when they arrive)
Put the radiator mounts in, couple of M12 bolt shanks cut and welded in



Radiator fits like a glove now





Just the side mounts to make now.

Filled in the bit around the turrets for the firewall and shelf, which I will probably do in alloy.



Cut off the spring hangars, decided to take off the side plates as well as one looked like it might have a bit of corrosion under the plate, sure enough...



Was a pretty easy fix, but glad I did it.

As I wasn't using my spring hangers, no need to skid them, well waste not want not, a couple of hanger skids, re-allocated to the link boxes.



Not sure if it is an approved modification, but it does put a bit more longitudinal strength into the link box and skids it, just in case I mount a kerb or summit similar





Purposefully left them open, so they don't collect grot and cause rust.



Finally got around to welding in the strut brace



Again pretty easy job



So gradually working through a list of little chores, will throw the axle on again next week and finalise the fitting of the watts link bars.

Only real thing to do underneath is to decide whether it is worth bracing the Watts towers (a la Gartrac), this car won't be doing rally's or jumps, so not sure it is needed

[dobuy]

Strut brace was from West Wales Rally Spares

[Pikey15]

Always look forward to your updates on this thread mate, cracking work as usual

[MK1_Oz]

I have read this thread from start to finish a number of times. Well done Dobuy.....I look forward to seeing your first drive on YouTube!!!

[M11rf]

How important is it to match the ports in the manifold with the ports on the head?
I would have thought that the ports on the manifold would be ok smaller (not bigger) than the ports on the head? Unless you can make the whole of the manifold match the head port size.
It looks like you have only took the alloy off the inside the manifold for about an inch inwards? But the rest of the manifold is still the smaller size... I realise we are looking at better flow, but is it that important? And will it give a lot better flow, or will it be minimal?

[dobuy]

Thanks for the comments guys

Mark, I am no engine tuning guru, however while the step from the TB's is to a larger ropening, I guess it can still cause turbulence and break up of the flow characteristics from the TB's and indeed trumpets.

Also, what would be the point of the CNC head job opening up the inlet ports, when all throttle bodies would have a step, might as well not bother.

Pete Macewan from Raceline told me to do it as it gets real return both on the Dyno and track, so while I don't know the science, he certainly does.

[dobuy]

Got a new adapter for the water outlet at the back of the cylinder, as I was not happy with the Dunnell one, due to it fouling my exhaust manifold. So picked up this Cosworth one for a mere £45


Then used a bit of 32mm alloy tube, a couple of 32mm alloy P-clips and a 90 degree piece of alloy tube to run it above the exhaust

Much happier with that now, need to get a bit of bendy tube for the front or a s-bend piece.

Next on to the wiring, installed the battery beside the link boxes, behind the passenger side, couldn't be bothered to put it all the way in the boot.


Made up an alloy panel for the switches etc, I will see what it looks like when finished, may paint it


Got my Eazi2Wire wiring loom laid out loosely to get my head around it and sort out switching. Have to say I am no idea of an auto electrician, but this little loom and fuse panel was incredibly easy to sort out. Pretty well perfect for a Escort, plenty of spare wire length, every wire labelled and just the right amount of circuits. There are a few circuits, that will need to be re-assigned, for example the automatic choke feed will do for the wideband power, the coil feed will do for the ECU and the radio feed will act as the feed for the Electric Water Pump (EWP80).


So with the wiring draped all over the car, tried out all the switches and lights to make sure everything works


Even got the wipers to mostly work properly. However when I connect the loose brown wire to earth, it shorts out. I think this wire is for the self parking earth, so can manage without that, otherwise it all works fine as a 2-speed wiper on the 3-way off-on-off switch. For those interested the blue wire is a live feed and the black goes to earth.


While trying to get it all working I had do try and get my indicators in some kind of working order. As you all may know these cost a fortune 2nd hand. Mine had seen better days and the bulbs were corroded in solidly.




So after a bit of a clean up, I cut out the bulb holders with a angle grinder and cutting disc, then with a dremmel, cut a little notch to allow the cheapo (80p) bulb holders I picked up locally to bayonet fit.


Quick clean up of the reflector with T-cut, then the reflectors will be siliconed in place, should be good for another 40 years.


Once everything was working I cut off all the spades and connectors, then trial routed all the cabling to its correct positions, once I have got my Emerald k6 ECU and flying lead loom from blighty, I will integrate that and the TechEdge wideband, then remove the whole loom for heatshrinking and wrapping.


Decided to rout the headlight wires through the inner wing to keep the engine bay tidy




and for the rear end..



So just waiting for the ECU to arrive and some new main crank bearings

[gareth]

Are you sure you dont want a job

use dot 4 on the clutch.

[MK1_Oz]

Good work....I have started to draw up CAD drawings of my electrical systems. It gets a real mess real quick!

[M11rf]

Looking good

[dobuy]

Are you sure you dont want a job

Well I just stole 2 pull cables a couple of switches and a handful of grommets from you gaff, see what happens when you are away.
Left you a couple of RetroFord mags with the spaceframe front end details in exchange, just in case you haven't read them yet.

[dobuy]

Good work....I have started to draw up CAD drawings of my electrical systems. It gets a real mess real quick!

Hmm, it might work, but for me, I need the wires in front of me. Still it is always good to have a plan...

[gareth]

Help your self mate

I meant use dash 4 on the clutch not dot 4

[dobuy]

Interesting, I used dash 3 on the Caterham with no problems, why would the clutch need Dash 4?

[Graham]

Cossie matt. I am tossing up the idea of using an electric water pump. How have you found yours? The advertising blurb makes all sorts of claims of horsepower gains. Have you noticed any? Has the pump run faultlessly with no overheating? Does the pump run at a constant speed or does it ramp up as engine temperatures increase? Does it remove the need for an engine fan?

Very interested to hear how you and others have found EWPs

i've been using them for over 10 years, origonally i used a controller, but that went wrong and i removed it and just run the pump on a ign live, works just fine that way

[RICK06]

Hey Dubuy
Very impressive work. Which harness did you use? Was it KW14FORD?

[dobuy]

Hey Dubuy
Very impressive work. Which harness did you use? Was it KW14FORD?

Nope as per the link above in the thread, it is the KW8STD - 8 Circuit Heavy Duty Universal Wiring Harness

[Darbo]

nice little mod on the indicators i like it

[beast02er]

Dobuy,

I am curious, what do you plan on using for a driveshaft? I have a Mk1 Cortina GT that I am slooooowly working on converting to 2.0L Duratec with the Mazda 6 Speed manual transmission. I haven't quite gotten that far yet, but i'm putting it in my thought process as something that needs to be figured out.

-Bryan

[dobuy]

I just sent my measurements off to Neil at 105Speed and he got a custom shaft made up for me to a very good spec. I am sure you will be able to go to any decent propshaft shop in the USA and they will be able to knock you up something.

[Retromotorsport]

Left you a couple of RetroFord mags with the spaceframe front end details in exchange, just in case you haven't read them yet.

Isnt it Classic Ford with the spaceframe ???

And well done on the progress, you'll soon be ripping around in it

One thing, the battery, is it a drycell or wet? if its wet, and has a small pipe for the gases, vent this outside, untill you fit a drycell .... because you will be fitting a drycell ..won't you

[dobuy]

isnt it Classic Ford with the spaceframe ???

err, yes it could well be, must have been the jet-lag. Lovely looking job by the way, wish I had the skills to try and do that (accurately)

As to the battery, did not see a breather it appears to be a sealed unit, with no access to acid, but I will check

[jpblue]

Dobuy guy,

I think it migt be worth adding bulkhead connectors or similar to the loom where it passes through...a...um... bulkhead. This will facilitate working on it in the future (such as repair or re-painting) as well as prevent chafing of the wires as they pass through the metal work. At worst use a rubber grommet.

Great work by the way

[dobuy]

Grommets are definitely in the mix of course, have some nice thick Worth ones. As to Bulkhead fittings, stripping the loom out without them will not be that complicated, as it is such a simple loom. Apart from that, once it is in, I have no plans to remove it.