Mid life crisis Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Hi Shakey and welcome. If you keep in touch with the board I think you will find a number of people here will be upgrading their cars over the winter, therefore you may get a good engine and box for not a lot of money. Oh yeah and what has been said already, there's nowt wrong with a good x flow and a matching box. Edited to add:- If you look down the board plonky is thinking of changing his engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 my word a lot of suggestions there, ive contacted westfield with the chassis number and as i said it was built for a crossflow?, ive got a mate with a 2.0 pinto and it definatly does not fit , firstly the transmition tunnel is not wide enought to take the box and the engine when sat in sits about 6 inches higher than the bonnet,{ and thats with no mounts on it }, and for some strange reason there is a an extra brace bar in the engine compartment on the drivers side { looks like it would be in the way no matter what i fit,,,, } i just want to get it right the first time, im not going to be racing it , i may do the odd track day, mainly just a fun car, but i do like acceleration? thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 I had a 1700 crossflow in my Stiker that I built and owned 17 or so years ago, there a great engine, reliable, very cheap to tune ... stick a couple of 40's on and a high lift cam and your laughing ... ported head if you can afford it ! They are one of the best sounding 4 pots out there I reckon ... I never bothered with air filters and the sound from the air being sucked in was fabulous too My old Striker could get to sixty or so in under 6 seconds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Hi Shakey and welcome to the boardroom. My vote would be to go for the crossflow it was built for, it's a great simple and uncomplicated engine which isn't cluttered by the electronics and fuel injection found on modern engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 QUOTE I never bothered with air filters and the sound from the air being sucked in was fabulous too That would be all the crap n gravel being sucked in as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 It was like a hoover ... I did I guess 30k in that car on the same engine with no filters ... I dread to think what it did to it ...has to be said though what a sturdy engine it was ...thrashed all of the time but just kept going and never smoked Sounded better than my duratec I have now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailing Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Hello Shakey, My car is a narrow bodied Westfield with the strange bar across the engine bay, back axle and no independent rear suspension. In the early days the wide body could be identfied by the cut out on the wheel arch inside the cab. basically were your shoulders are. Mine was originally with a cross flow, but I blew it up on one of them there race days (sorry track days). I decided to change it for a Vauxhall 2.0L 16v redtop. You will away appreciate the extra power and believe me it was more powerful. Issue to consider when converting from cross flow to Vauxhall in an SE. New engine mounts New higher nose cone and higher bonnet. Larger radiator Bell housing to ford gearbox Ford cutch new prop (shortened ?) Shallow sump Hose kit Not sure if Westfield still supply all these as I presume they not longer support the old narrow body SE. I maybe wrong. The Vauxhall engines do fit in and you will not regret going for the big bang now, be it Ford or Vauxhall 16v It's not going to be cheap as the engine management kits, carbs or throttle bodies choices have to be made. I would put 5k to one side as mine cost about 3k about 10 years ago and I am still spending. Some of the lads in the forum will think I am a tight b****r and may advise 5k will not get you a carbon fibre wing mirror these days. Good luck, it's only money and you would be only spending it on women and boose other wise. My wife think another women would be cheaper to keep and she may help with the dishes. regards Tony PS A word of warning, my advise is a decade or two old. It maybe as out of date as Mark Stanton who was a young lad when I first stated. Unless it was his Dad I knew. Someone called Ron Siddle and Dave Drew where about then and the mag was in black and white. I wonder what happened to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 wow, looks like its going to cost a packet? i may consider a decent crossflow being that its already set up for one ? either that or remortgage the house, where would i get a decent setup, ps how do i put a pic of my car in my profile, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailing Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Shakey, Sorry if I have frightened you with the cost. I could be wrong?. To put in a picture you first need to be a member with a membership number. It could takes up to 20 days after receiving your card. If you are a member and have a number there is a great guide in one of the forums on how to use Avatar. If you seach againt topics under "sailing" you will see I asked the same question and the answers are in there. Regards Tony Do not forget even a cross flow needs engine management and carbs and these are not much cheaper than those for a 16v. The crossflow lads can advise better than me. My costs did include buying the engine for £850, exhaust etc, etc which you will still need for the crossflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Dont think you need to be a member to stick up an avatar .. look see me Will be joining soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 QUOTE Tony PS A word of warning, my advise is a decade or two old. It maybe as out of date as Mark Stanton who was a young lad when I first stated. Unless it was his Dad I knew. Someone called Ron Siddle and Dave Drew where about then and the mag was in black and white. I wonder what happened to them? Is that a scouse accent you still have Mr O'Brien welcome back and where ya bin Ron is still around and active in Yorkshireland (although now Westfieldless) and not sure what's happened to Dave Drew haven't seen him for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 CROSSFLOW IT WILL BE THEN, lookes like im of shopping for one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenandmean Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 CROSSFLOW IT WILL BE THEN, lookes like im of shopping for one? leighc had one in the parts for sale section about 4 weeks ago might still be available, try a pm to him page 4 parts for sale. Lots of life left in the old cross flow and a nice uncomplicated engine to cut your teeth on, just completed my fifth year in the speed series with a cross flow and haven't had the rocker cover off since the last rebuild in december 1998. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammy Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 CROSSFLOW IT WILL BE THEN, lookes like im of shopping for one? Before you leap have a good long look at budgets and compare say a zetec with a X/flow. Write a list, (engine ,engine mounts ,clutch ,starter ,alternator, alternator fixing (esp 16v set up) ,water pump, rad ,gearbox, clutch mechanism, ignition system, carbs ,manifolds, timing belts, new sump/modified sump , and so on) Scan around for the parts, and make good estimates for the total cost. - No point putting a x/flow in if it costs about the same as a modern motor. Scour the internet and FAQ's for fitting 16v motors so you know exactly wot is involved with both routes. only then get your wallet out. Also.... A good 2.0 Zetec can be had for a couple of hundred or less ( I know someone would bought a 100k car for £100 to give him a spare for his 150k mile motor) and will be more powerful than a very good spec x/flow. A Zetec with less that 150k miles on it will not need re-building and should give 160 BHP on Webers . These engines are lying around in the gutter and I trip over several a day. Good 1700 x/flows are harder to find and may cost a fair wedge Ultimately a 16v car will sell for more cash too. I'm not biased, I have a x/flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 thankyou all for your views , im very impressed with the help im getting, once again thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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