what engine is most popular
 

Hi guys, can you tell me what is the most popular engine for the roadster, as a novice which one would you sugget for me, that way i can buy a haynes manual for that engine so i least have a point of reference..cheers Rich

Depends on how you plan on getting you donor parts, and what kind of registration you want.

If buying a single donor vehicle, and the engine is good use that engine. Sierra haynes manual covers all the engine options.

If wanting a new reg you would have to buy all new parts. Engine could be reconditioned as new. In which case I would have thought you would go for a zetec. By doing this you would need a cat and fuel injection.

Hope that helps

Mark

Hi Rich,

From my experience the best first option to go for is the sierra 1.8cvh, easy to fit and easy IVA tests (emissions) with decent performance. Then when you're bored with the cvh upgrade to the 2.0l Zetec, you can get a brand new one for £700 then its an easy swap for the CVH, many of the cvh parts (sump, exhaust and gasket, starter motor, trigger wheel, clutch, engine mounts) put in bike carbs with megajolt, get the carb balanced professionally and you'll have a flying machine.

Took my Dad out the other night in my own car, he used to have some big motorbikes and be a co-driver in some top rally cars and he PAPPED his pants.......:D

Have fun...AndyH

Hi
The book is based around the pinto sierra so as a novice I think this would be the way to go. One problem is the pinto sierras are getting hard to find. Building the car with a single donor keeps it to a nice low budget to. As for IVA the emissions will be low because of the age. I have a 2liter pinto in my car with twin 40 Weber DCOM carbs and I am very happy with the performance.

I have been running a 2.0i Pinto in my car for the last 5 years, thats why I would recommend a Zetec. Not that the pinto is no good, it is, I have great reliability, good power, measured economy (18-65mpg), but the zetec is so much more available, I would use the existing injection and ecu for simplicity and cheapness, and probably use the 1.8 for the clearance issues with the oil pump. 115bhp is easily enough to begin with (anyone who says different hasnt driven a seven), and there are loads of tuning parts available if you want more power at a later date.

HI
I’m using a Zetec in my new build. I would say the fitting it to a roadster was for the novice. The injection and ECU needs a lot of modifying. Motor bike carbs and megajolt makes it a little easier but still not for a novice on a budget. Sticking to the book made building my car easy and at a low budget.

I would, and am:rolleyes: using the Pinto 1800 from the donor.
The CVH is ok as well. Mainly because they are cheap, and parts are still easy to get. You'll find more than enough power in those engines to begin with.

My advice is to use the donor engine for a year, get all the teething troubles out the way. (You will have some, unless you are very lucky, or skilled:D )
Then do a winter rebuild with the engine that suits your needs.
I thought long and hard about my rebuild, Should I go Zetec etc.
Finaly I decided to fit a 2l injection Pinto. for the reasons above.

HTH David

The modifying of the plenum is a lot easier and cheaper than you think, 2 days work and £25 for mine.

Don't want to hijack the thread but ............

Can a zetec with bike carbs be run with megajolt? Thought it had to be megasquirt?

AFAIK MegaJOLT does ignition, megaSQUIRT does Ignition plus fuel injection.

As such, MJ can be used for Carb applications, MS for Fuel injected.