From Crossflow to Vauxhall Redtop

[RichP]

btw there's a recent thread in teckie talk about changing rear drums to disks - if I recall you're fine with the drums but dig the thread out and have a read to set your mind at rest.

[Westy1700]

Been there and done it....my original lowline Xflow 1989 car was a hoot on a xflow and i always craved an XE which started to become popular in the early 90's as the astra GTE's started to get wrapped round lampposts by the max power boyz...

at the end of the day seriously consider the economics....consider ALL the costs up front....SBD adaptors, sumps, XE itself, gearbox, diffs, mounts, manifolds, exhausts, maybe a rebuild on the way and a set of TB's/carbs, replumbing the cooling, rewiring perhaps...it all adds up and then you MUST consider the adequacy of brakes as an essential non optional item too...

At the end of all that you still have an OLD car..

when i sat and calmly looked at it the cost to change plus the value of my original perfectly capable car it was enough when combined to build a new car from new components purposed designed for the job with peace of mind that it was all new....

I'm glad i did it and its was worth the extra effort, but i really did not need 230 bhp which is far too much !!!!!

take care with your decisions....

[prs_xflow]

Its sounding costly and it would be time consuming based on my experience. I'm probably best off picking up a nicely tuned pinto or bigger crossflow then?

My current crossflow has a fast road cam (Kent), skimmed and gas flowed head and a pair of 40 Webers. I was advised at the last rolling road test that I wouldn't be able to get much more out of it.

[RichP]

What power figures did you get on the RR, just as an indication?

You could look at weight reduction as well - a change to aeroscreen therefore deleting screen, supports, wiper mechanism & heater is quite a big drop. Plus are you still dragging a spare wheel around hanging on the back? All together, thinks like this make quite a difference to your power to weight ratio.

Don't rule out just changing the gearbox either - whilst I've not done it myself (it's on the list tho) I'm sure many will confirm it's one of the most significant upgrades you can make.

[perksy]

It's do-able but as already said it Won't be cheap  

It's all the little things that you haven't really budgeted for that will catch you out    

What about tuning what you already have and taking some weight out if the car    

Nothing wrong with the Crossflow, it's proven engineering        

Chased Pew's Crossflow enough times and that thing flies            

[Westford]

I understand that a Megajolt ignition system is a very big improvement on a crossflow in terms of midrange power delivery and driveablity - it was something I would have done if I had kept my crossflow westfield....cheap to do too! Do a search if no-one comes forward with details.

Westford

[prs_xflow]

Came out at 93.4 Bhp @ 5718 Rpm with 91.0 lbs ft Torque @ 4669 Rpm.

This was at Tipton Garage nr Sidmouth and i've heard that they don't calibrate the RR that often, but they did get it running spot on - I really noticed a difference. What are peoples thoughts on the Pinto lump?

I have still got the spare wheel on the back btw!

[jedi]

i would say that between 135 and 155 is ur average tuned crossflow  but if you have the funds 200 bhp is possible   mine is 135 bhp and 117 lbs ft torque at 6800rpm at the wheels   but ive also got a good gearbox/diff

[RichP]

Westford's comment about megajolt is a good one - I've recently fitted it and it made a huge difference and I'm still running on a downloaded map and not specficially set up for the car on a rolling road.

If you're getting 93bhp at the wheels then it's probably around 120 at the flywheel - I'd suggest your advisor is wrong to state that a crossflow has no more to give. As Jedi says, lots more is possible but it is cost dependent.

If you've limited funds then I'd suggest a weight reduction program (for the car ), fitting megajolt ignition, a gearbox with revised ratios and see how you feel about it then. None of this is wasted money as the weight, 'box and megajolt will all be useful if you still go on and fit a new engine in the future.

[Hammy]

I've got  about 115 at the flywheel ,A2 cam modded head and twin forties. I think for more power you are looking different pistons for a higher CR and the chance to make a wilder cam work and then get that 135BHP,  it then becomes the point that shoving a standard vauxhall or mondeo motor straight from a scrapper makes better economic sense (or swapping the car) to give more torque and 150-160bhp  and no oil leaks.

As others have said, some weight shaving, improving the handling, different box ? , may yield better results at lower cost.

Putting a pinto in would not be on my list - firstly the problem in getting a good pinto engine without paying a load of dosh.  Mondeo 2.0' can be had for a couple of hundred, are lying around everywhere,  would cost about the same to fit and give more power. Don't worry about rebuilding it ,  if you are just using twin webers  and its done less than 150k miles just put it in!

I looked at the vauxhall 2.0 ( I have the motor -see my www) and recon its going to cost the bad side of £2k to fit it and that is without doing anything other than a cam belt change to the motor. some people with access to welding, lathe, etc could do if for far less, but I haven't that gear

thumbs up for MJ too!

[prs_xflow]

RichP - Where did you get your Megajolt system from?

Cheers

[jedi]

a megajolt isnt gonna give you a big increase in power it will make what youve got run more efficiently, its just another part of the jigsaw,  ive got megajolt on mine and couldnt recomend it enough but dont expect it to give you 150bhp    triggerwheels.com will sell you everything you need

[Jenko]

To add to the discussions.......

Cost wise you need to consider....Exhaust system, Inlet manifold, a total rejet of carbs, and new chokes, a rolling road session, ignition system if the new engine does not use a distibutor.....

Would not consider a pinto only because the conversion prive will be the same (possibly more) than a Zetec, plus the exhaust is on a different side.

Mega jolt is a very worth while upgrade to any engine that currently runs a dizzy......

Pj.

[jedi]

ive also just changed my twin 40s for a set of zx6r bike carbs,    gonna get it back on the rollers in a few weeks time so that should be interesting

[RichP]

prs_xflow I got my megajolt system from a chap called Martin Milner. I bought the ecu fully assembled as my soldering's not up to much (!). The rest of the bits came from TriggerWheels, but since they now supply the megajolt ecu as well you may as well just go to them. You have the choice of buying used coil pack, crank sensor etc from them or scouring breakers yards, whichever is your preference.

There is a lot of info on here about Megajolt and how to install it. I didn't find it difficult although did need a little guidance from this forum. Chris at Trigger Wheels was also very helpful. It's very satisfying when it all works! Happy to offer "virtual" assistance if you give it a go.

It's true to say that it won't suddenly release 40bhp, but if your dizzy isn't doing the best for your current setup it'll certainly improve things. As I think I've said, I've not yet had mine mapped and rolling road tuned and am running on a downloaded map, but even this has made a huge difference to the overall drivability of the car. With a proper setup there's probably more to gain, but I plan to save this investment for the VX setup.

Cheers

Rich