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 The Story so farLast  on September 01 2008Way back in July 1992, I bought a Mk1 Ford Fiesta XR2, an insurance write-off, which was in a very sorry state. (Note: The bodyshell originates from Wales, and is still in surprisingly good condition for its age. Its only covered 65000 miles from new, and has spent the past 5 years off the road.) When I collected her, I found that the 1600 X-flow engine was seized. A hastily rebuilt 1372 X-flow was installed, using a Kent BCF2 and Janspeed manifold, with the 1600 XR2 gearbox, and although quick, the car just wasn't fast enough. A change in employer meant that I was fortunate enough to have a company car (Citroen - yeuch) for a couple of years, so the XR was pensioned off, to allow for some more serious modifications. (Note: the 1600 engine was sold to a fellow car club member and has been rebuilt for racing use) Her initial cross-flow powered competition debut was in September 1992. After rebuilding the XR2, I entered the Ultimate Fast Car sprint at Manby in Lincolnshire, run by Fast Car magazine. After several run-offs, I came away with the trophy for the 'Up to 1400cc' class, for taking first place. I'd built and raced the fastest 1400cc car in Britain!! A taste of things to come, though I felt that the car definitely needed more power. The seeds had been sown...  I've always had a few ideas about transplanting a different engine, and these web pages contain a record of what I've achieved so far. My childhood heroes were my father, who brought me up in the world of grass track racing, road and forest rallying, and Jim Mensley, 70's British Hot Rod champion who lived across the road from me, and progressed from Hot Rods through to Thundersaloons. He started with a Mk2 Escort in Rods, was the first to use the revolutionary new Toyota Starlet with success, and in Thundersaloons he developed an awesome V8 powered Rover SD1, moving on to a Chevrolet Camaro (a space-framed ex-Unser car imported from the States) and eventually running a V8 Honda Legend with very good results. As a kid I spent a few hours helping out in his workshop, and in the paddock at Hednesford, meeting Barry Lee, Laffy, Pollard and the other drivers, the glory days when Hednesford would attract capacity crowds. Then it was Mallory, Donington, and Silverstone with the Rover, the Camaro and the awesome Honda. I've always been immersed in the world of speed, and power, and although working with limited funds, I'm really keen to prove that I too can build a winning car. Why tell the world? I've decided to place this information on the WWW because when I started in 1998, there wasn't that much information available for modders like myself. The situation has improved over the past couple of years, but some site present the information better than others, and I hope that my site is probably the most informative and accurate site regarding the Zetec engine and the Mk1 Fiesta. I do hope you find the information contained herein useful. People that have provided support are reachable through the Sponsors page. Reasons for transplanting a different engine The venerable Ford X-flow is a very compact and strong engine. It is of an old design, but if you are prepared to spend many thousands of pounds, you can tune it to produce a healthy amount of power. I didn't want to waste money on flogging a dead horse. The Ford X-flow was not an option. I wanted a modern, 16-valve engine, capable of running on unleaded fuel, which would provide at least 150 horsepower, with little expenditure. I looked at using a Rover K-Series engine, which is another extremely tuneable engine, but I would have to use a Rover gearbox, drive shafts, hubs etc, which would push the costs through the roof. After some research, I opted for the Ford Zetec (formerly Zeta) engine. This comes in three sizes. 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre. There are plenty of 1.8 engines about. But because of the nature of the modifications I was making, the classes I could enter the car in put me in with lightweight racing cars, and other hybrids, which are all likely to have 2.0 litre engines. So if I'm going to be competitive, I needed to do the same. (The 2.0 Zetec can be tweaked to produce over 200 HP) A word about the RS2000 engine. Don't! When the Sierra twincam engine came out, Ford thought it would be a good idea to use it in the Escort, give it 16 valves, a nice snazzy cam cover, and tell everyone its a new engine. The RS2000 engine is based on the old English block, which is a derivative of the Ford Pinto engine. It uses chain driven cams, is incredibly heavy, and physically much larger and heavier than the Zetec. Notice that Ford no longer produce a 2.0 Escort. They only go as high as the 1.8 Zetec in current models. The Focus is also available in 2.0, using the same Zetec engine. The new Fiesta uses the Yamaha-Ford developed alloy Zetec-S engine, which has the head swapped round, so the inlet is at the front, exhaust at the rear. This engine is available in 1250 and 1700cc, with the 1700cc engine only available in the Puma.  After four months of advertising in the regional AutoTrader, and the Motoring News, I had had no luck in locating an engine. I did have one phone call from a bloke that asked if the engine "had to be Kosher?", ermm, YES. I finally found one at my local breakers yard, out of a written off Ford Mondeo GLX. The engine came complete with injection system, manifolds, alternator, starter motor and power steering pump (and a receipt and engine number!).
The Zetec engine was designed to fit on to the Escort/Fiesta 4 and 5-speed gearboxes. This was a real bonus, as space is limited in the Fiesta, and I didn't want to have problems finding a gearbox to fit. (The Mondeo gearbox is huge, and would never fit in the Fiesta). I bought a second hand RS1800i 16V gearbox in the end. Its a five speed, and has been rebuilt by Quaife. It now features a heavy duty gearkit, and an automatic torque biasing limited slip differential, with a very low final drive for maximum acceleration. Driveshafts are known to be a weak point on fwd cars, and because I need driveshafts that are a non-standard length, I've had some GpA shafts manufactured, and together with new XR2/3 CVs and Trilobe bearings it should withstand at least 200 HP. The shell has been totally stripped of all trim and sound deadening, and has had new sills, and all the rust removed. It has also been strengthened, and seam welded, and a Safety Devices roll cage has been installed. The shell was resprayed in Ford Sunburst Red, the original colour for the car. 
But what about the Mk2? The Mk2 shell is easier to work with in some respects, but I never could throw my Mk2 around like I could the Mk1. The Zetec engine should drop straight in to the Mk2 shell, with no welding required. The Mk2 already features a five speed box, and there's more room at the pulley end for the alternator and mounting bracket from the Mk3 Fiesta Zetec. Driveshafts would still need beefing up, and an LSD is essential for putting that power down. I wouldn't bother with transposing the injection from the Mk3, as by all accounts its tricky to get working, and may prove unreliable, which is the last thing you want. Stick with twin 45's, even some twin IDA downdrafts, and a short manifold, and go for the Weber Alpha ignition system, with 3D mapping. A few pictures of the Ford "Works" rally car, from 1979 I'm not going to give a complete history of the Fiesta, there's plenty of other sites out there that already provide that information. Instead, any interesting photos of the Mk1 that I can find, I'll post them here. 
As driven by Ari Vatanen, and co-driven by David Richards (The boss of Prodrive!) in 1979, on the Monte Carlo. The car finished in 10th place. 
This is a cutaway drawing of the Works rally car, showing some rather interesting tweaks to the front suspension, and even a disk braked rear axle. 
And finally, a picture of the very first XR2 to roll off the production line. |
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