imagineer
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 10:53 AM |
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Crossflow - 1300 or 1600?
Morning all,
Was going to use a 1.8 Zetec, but have now decided to go down the old school route - felt that an ECU took the romance out of playing with engines.
Already have an old 1300 Crossflow knocking about, but wanted to consult the members before investing any time and money.
1300 or 1600?
Which block type?
Am thinking twin 40s for some extra grunt, yes or no?
Any advice on components - where should I spend the money?
My budget is tight, so all help grealty appreciated.
Cheers.
[Edited on 7/4/13 by imagineer]
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 11:03 AM |
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A 1300 would still give pretty good performance but a 1600 would give more. I would have a look at bike carbs rather than the Webers. I have a 1600
Xflow with bike throttle bodies and full engine management that is far better behaved than any cay I've owned or driven with Webers which need
fairly regular tune ups
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SCAR
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 11:10 AM |
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Nothing wrong with a tuned 1300 in a light car however I think there are two clear reasons you would use the 1300 crossflow over the 1600
1. Insurance dictates a 1300
2. racing class dictates a 1300
Possibly a 3rd reason would be that you already have the 1300 but even then if you want an increase in power a 1600 would provide a good, cheap power
increase and could cost you less than the resultant increase in the 1600 cars value over a 1300.
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Dooey99
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 11:12 AM |
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its got to be a zetec though on bike carbs? you can do so many upgrades later on in the cars life with a zetec, mine came with a 1300 xflow i have
swapped it for a 1.8L zetec... skimmed, ported and polished head, valves all being re ground with new tappets and seals and bits and pieces. it will
run on zzr1100 carbs with a NODIZ management system. there is more potential and a bigger future for the zetec, but the xflow is still a solid engine
which can produce loads of power but why not start with the newer more powerful engine that they will be making parts for for longer...
Less weight more speed, more power more speed
If in doubt, give it a clout
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 11:23 AM |
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If you're not going to tune the x-flow much, don't discount the single Weber 32/36 DGV down-draft carb - it has more than enough poke to
make a Locost shift! It's also far easier and cheaper to get the engine tuned at a rolling road (I was quoted around £55 to get the Weber
tuned, but £250+ to get bike carbs tuned). This is entirely due to the labour involved in setting up these things - 4 separate carbs instead of
1).
I replaced mine with bike carbs, and I'm still not convinced that it was a good move...
[Edited on 7/4/13 by David Jenkins]
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Alfa145
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 02:02 PM |
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I have bike R1 carbs on my 1600 Xflow. Best engine I've ever had. Runs sweet as a nut. Keeps its Tune and doesn't cost a fortune to have
it rolling road tuned, if needed, as long as you find someone that actually knows what they are doing.
Find a tuner that hasn't a clue and they'll charge the earth or bugger it up completely. Seen many get fobbed off that bike carbs are crap
on car engines, etc... Mine cost less than £150 to tune, same price as a mate with a 38dgas paid to have his tuned and the same another mate with a
huge webber job on a v8 paid.
Set up properly they are fasr better than webbers. Set up badly they are a nightmare.
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Nickctp
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 06:50 PM |
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I would say go for a 1600 - but don't buy a cheap one!! Make sure you get one that has been rebuilt. I run twin 40s - once tuned they are great.
I am rebuilding a 1600 as we speak - this also costs a fortune lol so beware. Personally I love the engine though, but prices are getting higher and
higher the rarer they become.
Good luck
N
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DavidM
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 06:57 PM |
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It depends what you will be expecting from the car and what you will be using the car for.
I built mine with a standard 1300 xflow on original motorcraft carb. It was a great car to drive, very nippy but also very forgiving so easy to throw
around without it biting back. The only drawback was that it could struggle in a straight line against modern cars without thrashing it constantly.
I upgraded to a 1660 xflow on twin 40's which completely transformed the car. It is now much faster with nearly twice the power, but it is also
a more difficult car to drive as it can be very fierce by comparison needing much more finesse on the throttle pedal.
If you have a 1300 already the simplest route would be to stick a decent fast road cam in it, and run a twin choke weber. Add electronic ignition and
it'll rev a treat and be a great drive, particularly if its your first venture into 7 ownership.
The best thing you can do with either engine is fit a 5 speed box. It makes the car so much more civilised on a long run and was the first upgrade I
made to mine.
I bought a Zetec to fit to mine, but I'm in two minds whether to fit it because I'm not sure I could live without the sound of a xflow at
full chat.  It won't leak oil like a xflow though. 
David
Proportion is Everything
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imagineer
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 09:03 PM |
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SCAR, Are we saying that a 1300 car is worth less than a 1600?
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imagineer
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 09:08 PM |
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Which block type is better? 711?
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Nickctp
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 09:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by imagineer
Which block type is better? 711?
Yep deffo the 711 block 
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SCAR
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| posted on 7/4/13 at 09:21 PM |
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A lot of prospective purchasers would factor in the cost of upgrading from 1300 to 1600 when buying even if they never do and I suppose thats the
point, a 1600 is seen as an upgrade from a 1300 ( because most of us desire more performance) and upgrades cost money.
Hence (like for like) a 1300 will fetch less than a 1600 and that goes for second hand engines or complete cars however as said previously nothing at
all wrong with a good 1300 crossflow in a 7 type.
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matto_89
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| posted on 13/4/13 at 04:14 PM |
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All things being equal, I can't see why you wouldn't go for the 1600 personally - it's got the noise, the 'hit it
harder' approach to engine management and the in-built anti-rust protection (or oil leaks...) that the 1300 has, but with more poke.
We finished our locost last year with a reasonable spec 1600 (circa 115bhp) and while it's certainly quick enough, we've still found
ourselves wanting more.
To hijack this thread slightly - where have people had their bike carbs set up? We've switched from the GT spec downdraft over the winter, and
need to get them set up. Based nr Ely (Cambs / East Anglia).
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imagineer
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| posted on 13/4/13 at 04:29 PM |
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Crossflow 1300 sold, Zetec 1.8 16v up for sale ... am now going all out and building a V8.
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