Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

[pyrovee]

Hello everyone,

I am currently running a sierra based berlinetta with a 1.8l pinto engine. I have a full rebuild in mind and thought what better place to start then a new engine? I don't hugely mind the pinto at all however I would prefer to have a more modern fuel injected system for efficiency and cleaner running overall. Realistically I would be looking at something of a similar size (over 1.2l at least) relatively low maintenance, efficient, won't break the bank and is comparatively easy to install (not asking for much ) - my welding experience is 0.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[chris_cussen]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Realistically the only route to take is fit a Ford Zetec. How much it costs and how difficult it is depends on what you are willing to do and pay for. I went down the very expensive route of buying a complete package from Omex, which included a read to run engine and ECU. That cost £4.4k. But on top of that there was the cost of a new exhaust system and manifold (£650), high pressure fuel pump (£100), silicone hosts (£120) and quite a few other odds and ends.

You may be able to get a Zetec engine, with wiring loom and ECU from a scrap yard or off eBay but if you do you will need the other bits mentioned above, and a water rail to re-locate the thermostat. You will have to work out which bits of wiring you really need to get the ECU to work.

It will also be necessary to fabricate some new engine mounts as the Zetec engine has different munts from any other engine. I would guess if you tried to do it on the cheap you would still end up spending £2k or more.

[Cameron F]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Chris is right, although there are many engines you could choose I would try to keep it as simple as possible since there are always lots of hidden costs. Have you thought about a ford V6? Not clean and efficient but it suits the Berli so well.
have you seen this topic in RHOCAR?

http://www.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=31973

[scott h]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

The problem with transplanting modern EFI engines into other cars is the electronics. The standard EFI of most engines has a complex array of electronics, partly for efficient running but partly to combat thieves breaking cars for parts. The result is that you will be hard pushed to find a modern engine in a kit car that has not had either the EFI system changed, or the electronics changed, both of which cost lots of money. It is common to find a modern engine that has been converted to carbs for this reason.

When I was looking for an engine for my Sierra Berly I went for the Vauxhall C20xe, or Red Top, because it is an early version of EFI with self contained electronics. It is therefore easy to sort that side of things out. The downside is that it is an old engine, but that is balanced by the popularity of it meaning parts are easy to find.

[dave_clutterbuck]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Ford 2.0 DOHC Efi engine used in later Sierra, gives a reasonable performance and a good fuel consumption

May be the most straightforward and economical way

[pyrovee]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Thanks for the replies! Given the circumstances and modification work required I think that ultimately, the 2L DOHC ford engine would be the better one to fit with minimal modifications. However at this point in time, I think the real danger here is diving head first into the project and ending up over budget and in over my head, just goes to show how easy it is to get carried away I suppose.

[chris_cussen]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Going the 2.l DOHC EFI route may solve some of your problems, but you will still have to untangle the ECU from the rest of the wiring loom. That is if you can get an engine and wiring loom, which considering how rare Sierra are today may be a problem.
If you go down the Zetec route, it may be best to get an after market ECU and wiring loom, think about Emarald or Omex, but these will cost about £600. What ever you do it will not be cheap, and will require some engineering to install.

[burgoyne 69]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Hello everyone,

I am currently running a sierra based berlinetta with a 1.8l pinto engine. I have a full rebuild in mind and thought what better place to start then a new engine? I don't hugely mind the pinto at all however I would prefer to have a more modern fuel injected system for efficiency and cleaner running overall. Realistically I would be looking at something of a similar size (over 1.2l at least) relatively low maintenance, efficient, won't break the bank and is comparatively easy to install (not asking for much ) - my welding experience is 0.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

After a few years of alterations , I finish up with a 2l pinto on bike carbs ,fast road cam, ported ,higher compression head 4-2-1 exhaust . It runs better more power more and economy ,smoother, no fancy electronics and 140 bhp at the wheels

[jon_cox]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Mazda MX5 2.5 1.8vvc engine. You can pick up rusted out whole cars for around £400. Tried and tested route, cheap as chips, easy electronics keeping existing ECU, key and transponder. Check out any build forum for Locost, Haynes Roadster, MEV and all other MX5 based kits. 140bhp as standard and when this gets boring you can easily add Turbo or Supercharger. Option of 6 speed gearbox if 5 gears not enough and one of the slickest gearboxes you will ever use. Many people report that they have sold on all the spare parts from the donor car that they do not want recouping back most, if not more, of the original purchase price. Option of using MX5 gauges as well (although the petrol gauge could be tricky) which i think suits the period of our cars if they have some chrome rings added.

So.... A complete engine and gearbox upgrade for zero cost. What more could you want.... Simples.

[Cameron F]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Looks like the MX5 engine may be slightly smaller than the pinto...I found this on the MX5 OC site:

engine length from crank pulley to rear of block 20 inches

gearbox lenght from front of bellhousing to centre of gearlever 32 .5 inches( so total from crank to gearlever 52,5 inches)

height of engine 24 inches from bottm of sump tp top of inlet mnifold( highest point)

Engine mounting sizes from subframe ( v shaped subframe ) is 17.5 inches at widest part down to 13.5 inches at narrowest part .Engine sits approx at 15.5 inch position

Bell housing width at widest point is 14 inches

[Dane_Rescueman]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Hi, a few years ago I sent off my "205" block Sierra Pinto to Vulcan. They refurbished it, bored it to 2.1 Litres reworked the head and produced a nice flexible powerful engine. I mated this to the standard Ford/ Bosch EFi system. Fitted an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, uprated fuel and oil pump, replaced all sensors and tweaked the AMM. I have a very reliable (so far) engine that has covered thousands of gruelling long distance endurance runs in the UK and Europe. Mated with a T9 gearbox cruising is just dandy. It will be the easiest option for you. good luck with the project.

[keith_h]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

Twenty years ago I decided I wanted an efi GLS Sierra so that I could have disk brakes all round. I went to auctions that specialised in selling written off cars looking to buy a car that had had a side impact shunt so there was every chance all the mechanicals we free of damage. After 3 auctions there was the car I wanted. It cost me £600. I labelled every thing and extracted the whole loom. I put a new tarp on the living room floor (very understanding wife ) and carefully took out all the stuff I didn't want. I sold the bits of the car that I didn't need to a scrap dealership for a £200 credit note. I put it all in the kit and it fired first time because every thing was as it was in the donor Sierra.

I am sure that approach will still work today with a even more modern car. Food for thought

Keith

[milliemarlin]

Re: Fuel Injected Engine suggestions?

One small word of caution; some modern cars have security systems that are integrated into the engine control systems. Untangling that may be thorny.
Paul