cjwood23 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hi guys, My search for a car continues! With revised budget (both money and time) it look's like I'm going to be going for a pre-built car. Have seen quite a few x-flow engined cars for sale. I know these are old engines, but how good are they in a Westfield? What sort of power/reliabilty can be expected? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete275 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 hi Chris the x/flow is getting on but is still a good engine (I've got one). On the plus side they are easy to work on, spares are quite cheap, and they make a fantastic noise. My 1700 makes around 120 BHP which is more than adequate for my purposes in a car which weighs very little. If your long term plans involve a lot more power you might be better off looking at a zetec or vx etc as these are cheaper to tune for bigger power. Might be worth seeing if someone near you can take you out for a run in their car to get an idea. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjwood23 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hi Pete, Thanks for the info. Not looking for anyhing with massive power at the moment - possibility of engine 'upgrade'/replacement further on down the line. Like the fact that they're old-skool with carbs and distributors (had an 1100 Fiesta as my first car). As you say 120bhp should be fun. Is there anything I should look out for/avoid? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff101 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Chris - where abouts are you based? I also have a x/flow car which I'd be happy to show you. Mine is also just over 120bhp at present. Edit - I've only had mine about 18 months but no major issues with reliability so far and nothing engine related. It was a bit unloved when I got it so be prepared to put a bit of work in getting everything back up to scratch and you should be fine. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjwood23 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hi Geoff, I'm in Cannock (Staffs). Don't mind having to do a little work - just don't have time to commit to starting a build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff101 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Not ideal as I'm in Bicester (near Oxford) but if you're passing by, you're welcome to call in. I've tried to PM you with my phone number but not sure whether that works for non-members at the moment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Cracking engine with bags of character that really suits an old school basic(ish) Seven. It's a relatively compact and light engine with lots of tuning bit's still available. But it is an old design now, and most likely will have some fairly old components on there. As Geoff said, either investing a bit more than bargain basement money to get a good one, or giving it a good going over if it's a bit of an unloved one will pay dividends. As it will be a lower power car, possibly with a narrower power band, it's worth taking the time to look for one that's had some thought paid to the gearbox/diff/wheel/tyre combination, so as to make best use of what it's got. If you fit in a narrow bodied live axled car, this will be even lighter than the direct equivalent independant axled car and lighter again than a wide. Don't underestimate just how much fun the lighter cars like this are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Turner Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 They are total rubbish. Ford had to give up on the design after making it in various guises from about 1960 to 2000 or even later. Mine ended up as an 1860cc version and gave about 175 tractable bhp with total reliability on the hills and the road. As I said, total rubish, I had to fit a Zetec to get the same power with more weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander72 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 i have a cross flow (135bhp ish) and it's lovely to drive on 13" wheels with sticky tyres it is great fun. Long live old school ford.... sounds great and sets car alarms off with humerous regularity..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff101 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If you fit in a narrow bodied live axled car, this will be even lighter than the direct equivalent independant axled car and lighter again than a wide. Don't underestimate just how much fun the lighter cars like this are! Just curious - Is a live axle really lighter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Keene Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 The x/flow can be very reliable, but it has to be built properly. Chuck a cam in with standard springs and you'll get a coil bound sping which will eventually break, standard head gaskets are as much use a chocolate, etc. If built properly the x/flow can easily, well relatively, put out twice the original power. A mate had 165bhp in his and it did thousands of miles. The higher up the power curve you go, the trickier things become, vibration can become a problem above 7500rpm. They are a fabulous little engine, in some ways I preferred mine to the current zetec, but big power is big money. 130bhp can be achieved quite easily and is a delightful engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbaldbloke Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Horace Marks has over 250hp from his road-going supercharged 1700 crossflow at 5100 rpm! http://www.wscc.co.uk/area/northants/wsccweb/html/memcars.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander72 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 geoff - my car is 667 kg's with me in it and a full tank of fuel... and i weigh 99 kg's when i breath in.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Horace Marks has over 250hp from his road-going supercharged 1700 crossflow at 5100 rpm! http://www.wscc.co.u...ml/memcars.html Feck me, the torque of that thing :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff101 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 geoff - my car is 667 kg's with me in it and a full tank of fuel... and i weigh 99 kg's when i breath in.... My independant was 563kg without me at NMS earlier in the year with half a tank of fuel, windscreen, carpets, spare tyre, jack etc. so sounds very similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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