sholdowa

That's about twice the size of the one I used to run on mine, but can't really omment without knowing the engine.

Don't want the pistons to protrude above the block, so probably leaving that alone... I reckon 1mm off the head should be enough to get it up to about 10.5:1 on a standard bore. However, If I go to 93mm pistons, then that raises the CR to 10.2:1 without skimming anything, and 0.5mm raises it to 10.8. I reckon that raises it plenty high enough for 98. I might just get the head refaced and that should do it. Should be safe enough. Either that or get the 0.5 mm off and clean up the combustion chamber a bit.

You should only need a single cooler unless you're putting out huge power - in which case, using Sierra cosworth / RS500 cooling seems to be the most popular. I used to use a single one about 15 x 6 inches, mounted to the side of the rad. And yes, use a high capacity pump... much more important than high pressure, which has been known to unsettle big end bearings. Can handle the times when the sump baffles don't do their job better.

I got out a big bit of paper, and worked out what I could expect... with 50cc's for the head, and 6cc's for the gasket, that works out at 9.8:1. I checked, and the piston tops are flush with the block as standard. Now comes the scary bit... the valves open into the block - below the head. How can you work out what lift/duration is safe if you start skilling the head?

I'm working out whether or not to shave my 205 block, and how far. To do this, I really need two pieces of info: 1. What's the approx capacity of the combustion chamber on a std. 2l head ( I haven't got an injection one ). I think it's about 55cc's. 2. What's the safest CR to run on BP Ultimate? I'd expect 10.5:1? Any relevant info would be gratefyly received. Cheers, Steve

I'd give a testicle for an RS2600, with the bosch mechanical fuel injection, and the triangular boot. If I want speed, then I can got out and get an evo, but that's not the point, is it?

Just use a FBH, like they did with the escorts at Boreham. Or you can use a scissor jack to increase the clearance.

Are you sure it does this? Tetraethyl lead is primarity an octane booster, not a lubricant.

When I was starting rallying back in the dark ages in the UK, there were a few Avengers around. However, the parts were really hard to find and expensive even then. So some of the lads put pintos in instead. You had to beef up the front springs a bit to account for the extra weight, but they were still running at or near the top.

I had this happen on an old citroen I owned. The earth strap to the engine had failed, and it was using whatever it could in it's place. Unfortunately for me, that was one of the oil pipes running the suspension... molten metal and oil at 2000psi does not mix.

cos it won't fit in my escort.

For an alternative approach ( this for an escort ) try looking at http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread.php?t=112018

piece of piss when you understand it isn't it.

Where did you get the carb setup from? I hear good things on the UK boards.

I think we've guessed that So you don't fance a complete rewire of my esky then?? Me neither!

Probably more likely to short out the ballast resistor.

You might have a problem if you're lowering it a lot. They look like they've got quite a big offset. The early Mk.1's had much less of an offset and fitted under standard wings much better.

I'm only just getting back into all this after the best part of 20 years away being a good boy, but you used to be able to get a colourtune kit, which was basically just a glass spark plug. Stuff a couple of those in (4 if you're rich) and you could see which cylinders were not working right. Dunno if they're still available, but they did work. Except on my IDF's of course, which just pretended to be working then flicked 2 fingers in your general direction as soon as the hood was down. Not that Im bitter, you understand

When you do, let me know

The problem with the IDFs was that they'd stay in balance until the end of the street, and no further. Fine if the right pedal's an on off switch, but for normal use, they were apalling! I don't think it was that rich, as I used to get 19mpg on average, which isn't too bad for that kind of setup - it was about 23 on a 32/36. I'm just hoping that if I ever manage to get myself a pair of 45's they're be better. I have heard that the quad bike carb setups are better ( and loads cheaper ).

Yeah, you start to get strands of carbon building up shorting them out all over the place. At best, you get a much weaker spark, at worst no spark at all.

I used to run a gp.1 head and 44 idf's on my RS2000, and this was a real problem. Carburation all over the place all the time. Don't bother trying the platinum coated plugs ( if you can still get them ), they only hurt your wallet. I think a proper injection system is the only solution. Unless it's oil?? Hope not. Or a bad earth strap onto the engine? Do you get a good spark earthing a plug to the body?

Well yes, that's what I play with. No puters on my escort. Having said that, I wouldn't expect the computer to be controlling the feed to the coil - not that I actually know, I hasten to add - but even if it was, it would be doing the shorting rather than a wire in the starter motor. The ballast resistor is there to be shorted out when the starter's engaged, in an attempt to compensate for the voltage drop caused by the huge current taken by the starter motor, even on a low compression engine. It may well be that this will never cause you a problem, given that we have warmer winters here than the car will have originally been designed for. Or you can just park on a hill - something I couldn't do in Holland

Errr... that'll help with the voltage drop in a long length of sh*t wiring, but won't account for the pasting that the starter motor is giving the battery. The alternative is to use 2 batteries in series for starting, so 24->12V feed. Stuffs starter motors mind.

With a 7V coil, the normal feed is through a ballast resistor that drops the 14V from your alternator to the 7V it requires. During starting, that resistor is shorted out to compensate for the massive voltage drop caused by the starter motor taking a few hundred amps to crank over the engine.. If you drop all of that, then you may find it harder to start, as you get a piddly spark because of said voltage drop. I had a real problem with this on one of my old RS2000's, and it was only when I'd burnt out the starter motor that I found out the direct feed that disconnects the ballast resistor had fallen off. I'd spent the whole winter going around with a spare battery and a set of jump leads by then of course. Mind you, this probably won't happen here, as I was in Holland at the time, and the temepratures were regularly below -30, which didn't help.