CarlB

I have no experience with this machine or any of the other ones, but you can have a lot of injectors cleaned, tested and balanced for what it cost.

Thanks Croc

Sorry to steal the thread, but I can't resist. Croc, do you know if the new T-5 will fit in a S-3?

It appears to me that what is on your roll bar is pipe insulation. SCCA requires SFI padding. There is a post with a web site above. I wouldn’t bother unless there was a place your helmet or head would hit it. Someone said belts stretch and that is true. How often have you seen a Caterham flip and land on its bar?

Dallasdude, I am not trying to disagree with what you are saying. I assumed Vovchandr has an early engine with hydraulic lifters. The dyno curve is for a Contour engine. I was trying to point out that changing the cams required consideration of the compression ratio among other things. You are correct that adding an individual throttle intake will only add top end power. I have no experience with the stock manifolds to know how well they work, but longer runners make more power at lower speeds and tend to reduce the top end power. The length of the runner changes when peak torque happens. One thing the individual throttle manifolds do is make the engine very responsive. It has a similar effect to a light flywheel. My car has the same manifold Vovchandr is using and if you measure the runner length it is tuned for 7,000 RPM. If you add one inch it would get it down to 6,000 RPM. I shift at 7200 and have a limit of 7500 RPM.

I have a Gyraline but haven't used it yet. I will respond here when I get my engine back in the car and on the ground. The toe plates mentioned above work and they are much easier to use than stringing the car. Getting accurate measurements stringing a car requires very careful measurements. The ruler you use to measure from the wheel to the string needs to be level is one of those things people do not typically know. You are trying to work to small measurements. If you use toe plates or strings you need to make sure the steering rack is in the middle if its travel. If you use toe plates you need to make sure the tie rods are both the same length.

Here is a copy of a Quick Silver dyno sheet for a Zetec with ITBs, cams and 10 to 1 static compression. It also had different rods for reliability. Longer intake runners will add torque and power lower in the power curve, but they will not make as much on the high end. Vouchandr, I would recommend you be concerned with the cranking compression ratio when you consider camshaft choices. When the intake valve closes makes a big difference in the compression. There are places on the web that will calculate the cranking compression and give you what the compression gauge pressure should be. 135 LBS sounds low to me. The Zetec engine with the variable exhaust cam timing is a different engine than the Focus engine. It had hydraulic lifters and the ports are different. Erik at QS tells me you can use the Focus cams, and I suspect that is what has been done to your engine. QS has built an engine like yours. It was similar in specification to of the one in the dyno sheet with the exception of a ported head.

Exactly where I got it. I looked around at some different ones and I liked yours the best. My side pieces were harder to make because the Caterham slopes down slightly after the down tube for the roll bar.

I got a new roll cage two years ago and the tubes that come off the top bar and extend back do not attach in the normal place. I looked around for an upholstery shop to make a new one and they were all busy. I wanted to use the car, so my wife, who is a real good sewer, and I made one. I wasn't happy with the results and decided to make one in metal. I am almost happy with the results. I have some mistakes you will see, but I learned a lot making this. There is nothing square on the car. You have to learn how to fit templets to one section at a time. and piece the templets together. This is very time consuming, and I cut up a lot of cardboard, but I am happy with the results, and it fits reasonably well. I also figured out how to use a bead roller to make a flange on the two side pieces for the hatch to lay in. Because I wanted a rolled edge on the corner pieces you need to stretch the metal to make the piece lay flat. I had not anticipated that and had to figure it out. I rolled the edges with a hammer and the side pieces are made out of aluminum that is not tempered, so I was able to eliminate the bumps with small taps with a body hammer and finish with a file. The hatch is tempered to make it stiff. When I rolled that edge, I could not get all the bumps out. I intended to paint the parts, so I used a little body filler to even everything out. I used Eastwoods 2K primer and that is a really good product, but I couldn't get a good finish on the parts with the paint I normally use on my roll cage. I was using spray cans and everything I was doing failed. I took the parts to the powder coater, and he got a nice finish. Unfortunately, I have bumps in the rolled edge of the hatch. The big mistake is not knowing how to buck rivets. I have a piano hinge on the hatch and you can't use pop rivets or the hinge will not lay flat. I hadn't used solid rivets before and should have practiced more. It isn't hard to use them, but you can't put the bucking bar on the table. You have to hold the bucking bar in one hand and the rivet gun in the other, or you will wind up with the mess you see in the picture. The blows from the air hammer are too violent and you can't control it. You have to enjoy working on cars or fabricating to do this. I find it rewarding and enjoyed the process even though I made some mistakes I gained some skill. I am stuck in the house, so I did this post. The first picture shows the almost finished cover. The latches are not installed. It you look closely you can see where they will be. I will post a finished picture later.

I had not seen the link you found. I have the Jack Webb parts on my car. He will sell here but he makes you sign a document that he believes will protect him from liability. I also have his specially made for him rod ends to adjust camber. I had never considered wanting toe out on a street car. I am not sure I agree. I guess it is something to consider.

All of what both of you are saying is correct. I might suggest measuring the caster before you take it apart. There is enough variation that assuming the washers will get you what you want might not be accurate. Caster changes camber gain and steering geometry, but the affects a slight. If you haven't bumped steered your car before, you will find it is not close. After all that, Caster is really a feel kind of thing. Adjust it to make the car feel good to you.

I live in Fairfax Virginia and can probably help. If you are interested contact me through the forum. There are several other people in the area who might help you as well.

If anyone is thinking of going before the exhibit closes, please let us all know. I am looking for an excuse. In 1963 I had started racing Go-Karts and my mother took me to a 6-hour race at Marlboro MD. The race had a big effect on me. Holman & Moody had a bunch of Falcons with English drivers as well as a NASCAR driver. They worked on the cars all afternoon because they were breaking. Jim Clark and Dan Gurney were in Lotus Cortinas putting on a driving exhibition of smooth. Gurney was chasing Clark around and it was like a dance. They never lost momentum. The transitions were fluid.

The first sentence is exactly what I was suggesting. If the bearing fails, the car will not be on the ground.

Where the rod end connects the spring to the spindle could use a large diameter thick washer to prevent the corner of the car contacting the ground if the rod end joint brakes.

Thank You for putting this together. Can you tell us what tools and shrink wrap you use to make your labels?

The Pactel ECU is still used in the SCCA formula continental cars. These cars use a modified Zetec engine. Engine builders who build these engines might be a source. You might try Quicksilver Race Engines (301-698-9009)

You might find this helpful

You have already figured out the ECU runs the pump before you crank the engine. Pactel ECUs also turn the pump off if the engine loses oil pressure. That assumes it is wired correctly. The fuel injection system you have is now supported and sold by Borla. The blue thing in the picture of the fuel injector is the pressure regulator and there should be a tank return line. I am not 100% sure but I believe that the Pectel ECU can support either low or high impedance injectors. You might want to check or just replace with a known good crank sensor. They go bad, and they are cheap. It is located on the exhaust side of the engine and reads off the flywheel.

I just said they were really cool cars. I didn't say I thought they were worth the money.

There are not a lot of older cars I would like to own. Ford rally cars are high on the list. Boreham Motoworks’ New Ford Escort Mk1 Offers a Screaming 10,000-RPM Redline | The Online Automotive Marketplace

Everything Croc said is the way I would go. A plane ticket is cheap insurance, so you are happy with your dream. I am 5 foot 10 inches tall, and my shoes are 11 wide. I do not have any problem in my S3, but you have to have narrow shoes. I do not have lowered floors, and my seat is not all the way back. Having said that, lowered floors would be nice, so you aren't looking out of the top of the windshield.

Several years ago, the car manufacturers and turbo manufacturers spent a lot of time with electric turbos. The intent was to use the electric turbo until the regular turbo started making boost. The only thing that was being said was the electric turbo would eliminate lag and provide boost at a lower engine speed. I certainly agree that an electric drive would not be as efficient as an exhaust driven turbo or a belt driven centrifugal compressor with what I know today. Perhaps they only intend to use the electric turbo for short periods of acceleration. I will also point out that railroad locomotives use electric drive. The real advantage is the engine speed is not coupled to the wheels directly and motors make peak torque when they start. Locomotives have a lot to get moving. However, locomotive manufacturers talk about drive efficiency similar to direct gear drive. Maybe because of all the work on electric drive efficiency for electric cars Honda has something new. Maybe Honda is just experimenting. I think electric turbos could make it to production cars. The electric turbo could get the car moving quicker without lag and the regular turbo could have a larger exhaust housing. Engines like the Ford EcoBoost spin the turbos up at low engine speeds. The smaller exhaust housing needed to get the turbo working at low speeds cause backpressure at higher speeds. The backpressure reduces the engine efficiency. Having said that, the whole thing is a balancing act of cost. With modern automatic transmissions that have ten speeds and allow the engine to operate at very low speeds on the highway, would it be cost effective to add an electric turbo for the efficiency improvement at the higher engine speed?

Sorry I do not remember what the ground clearance is. I set the ride height with some droop in the lower control arm. Mike Beachman suggested that. Doing that gives more camber gain than having the control arm flat or pointed up. I would measure it for you, but the car is on stands with the engine out.

Here are some pictures of the skid plate on my car. The fist picture is under the car and shows the hose clamps used to attach it to the car in front. Not visible in the picture are two more hose clamps just before the skid plate bends down to go over the oil sump. The second picture shows the second set of hose clamps from the top, and the black part is what goes under the oil sump if the engine was in the car. The skid plate is made out of 1/8th or 3/16th aluminum diamond plate. From experience I can tell you it works. The last picture is the from the top and shows how the skid plate attaches to the front of the car. If anyone who has looked at my post on alignments is looking at this, look closely at the last picture. You will see a small hole located between the clamps holding the steering rack. That is the center point Arch Motors used when they built the frame.