Fellow fiends:
Bob N. mentions an article on uping the horse power of the ford mill. I
have recently purchased and skimmed a book on that subject and would be
happy to pass the reference on to other 4/4 owners interested in the
subject. Its British author (whose name escapes me) writes a good text,
similar in organization to the like text on the MGB B-series engine (for
those of you, like me, hopelessly addicted to pushrod 4-bangers). While
not argued for the B engine, the first step in uping the ford mill is
moving to the 1600 x-flow iteration. Subsequent tweeks include
carburation and cam/rocker improvements, along with porting etc. The
amazing thing is that upwards of 130 hp can be wrung from the tiny little
thing, tho in this final autocross/racing format it is not a streetable
arrangement (I suspect it doesn't "idle" smoothly under 2500 rpm). So, I
am forced to concede that there is, indeed, some wisdom in the old saw
that there is no substitute for cubic inches. I suspect that a "fast
road" ford 1600 x-flow could still provide in the 100 hp range, if not
more. This is a big improvement over the book value 60-something in my
1500 side-flow (bless its pointed little head).
Having said that, the upshot is that the bottom end of the ford engine is
very strong and little need be done to it apart from getting fancy with
crank ballance or higher quality metals. Most of the work goes into the
head and the induction and cam profiles and timing. Chapman proved this
when he took the twink to victory in F1 low these many years ago.
Ah, racing improves the breed!
All of this chatter leads me to the following: I would be gratful if
anyone who catches wind of a 1600 x-flow engine for sale to think of me.
I know I've brought this subject up before, but I'm in a more serious
frame of mind for the swap and want to start scoping out for the engine.
Question: what american fords had this engine (so I can hunt in some
bone yards)? Pinto? which year? Dave Bean will sell a ready-to-go
formula ford mill for under 2k. I'm not ready for that yet. That is to say:
I'm itching for a project (to get me out of the house) and a rebuild/swap
with my trusty 1500 side-flow has much appeal.
Thanks to you all in advance!
Will Zehring
home: 609-397-2726
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