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FE3 vs Zetec?


J-W-G

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Hey fellas

So i was at the wreckers today looking for either an FE3 or 2.0l Ford zetec and was chatting with the guy there and he told me to steer right away from the FE but wouldnt tell me why.

From what ive seen stock for stock the FE wins hands down, but are they problematic?

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Fe3 would be my pick, get one from a Kia sportage if you want it already setup for RWD

Yeah seen that, been doing abit of research on the FE3N but ive seen that the 626/Telstar variant savessome hassle regarding cooling issues due to the Kia casting not being as well manufactured.

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No worse than a zetec surely. I think the zetec would be lighter and slightly more compact. Biggest issue with Fe's is oil burning and distributor/throttle body faults (Mitsubishi supplied parts).

Yeah i was trying to convince him that an fe would trump the zetec in both output and build quality but he wouldnt take it haha

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i read about these ford engines when i was thinking about ford KAs. The 1.4 twincam engine with the yamaha head out of the fiesta can fit onto the same fwd gearbox's as the 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 and 2.0 zetecs....dunno if it would be the same deal for rwd. Its quite a cool engine, could be something different. The 1.7 engines out of the pumas are supposed to be quite cool but iduno if they easy to get in nz. My experience of driving stock fwd escorts and mondeos with the 1.6,1.8,2.0 engines is that they are kinda noisy rattly old things without much power lol. Duratec or maybe that mazda engine be much more refined/have driven some cars with the fe3 but realy can't remember much about engine. maybe thats a good thing haha

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i would vote the FE3 cos you can source everything here,

the zetec is bit more cuntier to fit in parts wise...

this is from what ive been told by people who have done a zetec conversion..

ie: fitting gearboxes and water piping etc...

id love to put a FE into the cortina with a sneezing snail off the side of it,but you hardly see them on trademe these days.

the only zetecs ive seen have been autos,not sure if a pinto flywheel will fit it..

i love the look of twin cams in old fords,aslong as they have the look of a split rocker cover or boxy flat top(bda,4age,cossy etc)

they gotta loook the part,not like the rounded smooth sr20 rocker covers...

these are 2 conversions id love to know more about....

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FE3 were pretty good engines, the single cam ones were prone to cracking heads.

I've seen one twin cam crack the oil gallery above the exhaust.

Zetecs seem pretty good too, the problem would be all the parts you need to fit one into an Escort. Water rails, sump etc.

How about a BP out of a 1.8 MX5?

There is also a later FS 626 engine that was pretty good too, I'm not sure what gearbox would work with it though

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i would vote the FE3 cos you can source everything here,

the zetec is bit more cuntier to fit in parts wise...

this is from what ive been told by people who have done a zetec conversion..

ie: fitting gearboxes and water piping etc...

id love to put a FE into the cortina with a sneezing snail off the side of it,but you hardly see them on trademe these days.

the only zetecs ive seen have been autos,not sure if a pinto flywheel will fit it..

i love the look of twin cams in old fords,aslong as they have the look of a split rocker cover or boxy flat top(bda,4age,cossy etc)

they gotta loook the part,not like the rounded smooth sr20 rocker covers...

these are 2 conversions id love to know more about....

Here you go shizzl zetec fitting guide

http://retro-ford.co.uk/shop/sites/default/files/CLF147.zetec_.pdf

And my favourite the BDA cover :twisted:

002_10.JPG

But i could also make the Kia FE3 cover work well

2011-04-05_221407_1.gif

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