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1700 X-flow general lack of power


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I'm hoping some of you chaps that are still sporting the trusty old crossflow might be able to give me some guidance.

 

I have a 1700 xflow with twin weber 40's, a vulcan stage 3 head, accralite pistons, kent 243 cam and a GBH track/fast road T9 box plus a few other bits and bobs.

 

I would have thought that the car should be pretty quick (given the limitations of old technology), but it isn't. I was struggling to keep up with a prius last summer on the sussex back roads.

 

Has anyone got any ideas what i should be looking at to  release the power that it should be producing?

 

Any help and advice gratefully appreciated.

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Not had a crossflow since my old Cortina days, but I'd be checking for compression on each cylinder first, look for any obvious cracks in inlet and exhaust manifolds then move onto checking the carbs.

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need to get it on a rolling road to see what it is producing. then take it from there.

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^this. Just a power run will do. Also get a full geo and corner weight with you in it done, you'd be amazed at how much quicker you'll go when it's set up right

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also weight saving is a huge part.

the old standard crossflow only produced about 130bhp ( i think )

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Sure its not a 234 Kent cam ? If the power seems to have dropped off a compression check will give you a good start. Type 9 box ,I felt the difference from the 4 speed rocket that was in mine before I changed it. Timing could be out, points if still fitted. 130 bhp for that spec , as said is about a good one.

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A compression test i can do when i get my tester back this weekend, thrustyjust you're right its a 234 and the points have gone, replaced with lumenition optronic. 

Its not a sudden loss of power, it never seems to have been on the pace for whats in it. 

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Could be as simple as the ignition timing being out and/or using the wrong fuel. With forged pistons a bit of pre-ignition won't cause so much in the way of damage, but it'd sure as hell impact performance and unfortunately without an expensive ECU these old beasts don't like changes in fuel octane ratings.

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A decent crossflow is very quick irrespective of whether its corner weighted or not

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Missed the point Tel, it's a new car to the OP so might not be set up to him - when I first got my Westfield, with a cross flow of almost identical spec, I too was disappointed with its pace. Turned out the engine was producing a mighty 105bhp, but I got the Geo adjusted and had the corner weighting done to suit me, and all of a sudden I could hustle the car MUCH faster than I could before as it wasn't bouncing all over the road anymore. Power does not always equal fast on the road.

I realise the OP doesn't mention handling but based on my experience thought it was worth pointing out. We've all heard of Westfield's bought and sold as "doesn't drive like expected" where the owner has never had it set up properly.

Ref the 234 cam - it's not great for peak bhp but gives a great torque curve! Provided the ignition etc is set up properly of course.

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My first Westy was a crossflow and was slow (only realised when problems resolved) and also difficult to start when I got it. Replaced dizzy with magnetic type and hey presto...

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Thanks for your help guys, i'm hoping once its back on the road to get it on a rolling road. 

Any chance its not a bhp issue but something else?

Any thoughts on whether the diff could be an issue?

As for handling, i've never done any settup what so ever on it.

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Always possible but unlikely. Try jacking the car up front and rear and checking for any binding from brakes, diff etc. You'd know if it was the diff though as the whining would be audible.

Best bet is to get it to a decent RR operator to see how it's set up - I got mine from 105bhp to 112bhp just by changing the jets at NMS. Also fitted trumpets to the carbs as they were missing (they added a few bhp straight away).

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Oh and book yourself in for a full geo too - makes such a phenomenal difference. Where are you based?

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