Engines

[SeanO]

Me again sorry...

I am probably looking at going down the Factory Five complete kit path but my only concern is that I am not mechanical inclined at the moment but want to enjoy the building experience (relying on my brother whom reconditions engines and uncle whom is an mechanical engineer).

I am also travelling to Perth / Brisbane over the next month for work so may check out Gforce / Harrison's before taking the plunge!

I look at the banners for crate motor's etc out of the US and of course having images of 427 cobra's (everywhere on my PC) it maybe a nice to have but not sure what I will be able to get away with in Australia? Am I trying to put a jet engine on a skateboard from a replica perspective?

I have checked out other members stats on engines and not sure where I should go to understand my best option.

Any ideas?

Please be kind!!!!

[fordracing65]

So many options, if you want to go forced induction I belive a turbo is the best bang for the buck but supercharging I think would pacakage easier, a big block ford with a genererous spray of nitrous will take you off to the moon, its a very easy upgrade as well as being cheaper than the previous 2, or just build a huge cube big block with tq of a dodge ram pickup, anyway your getting a cobra it will be a blast.

[Zedn]

You need to comply with the emissions for your state.

Decide if you want to go traditional ford or join the dark side. Try and get your hands on a coyote if you want ford or go an LS3/2/98 etc if you want chev.

Stock standard is the way to go for emissions compliance. You can get modified engines through, but be prepared to drop a stack of money on tuning and failing a few tests. All of these motors put out plenty of power in stock form with a mild tune.

Please talk to all the manufacturers in Aus before going with an OS supplier. The industry is struggling enough as it is. Im sure any of the manufacturers will be able to help you with all parts needed and expert advise just a phone call away.

[sambo]

Hi Sean. You're asking all the right questions but the best answers will come from your engineer. Definitely go with a local kit if you want to control costs and learn plenty along the way. What have you budgeted for the powertrain?

[SeanO]

Thanks for the feedback.

I am a bit lucky on the painting side of things as a friend has his own body shop (will do it for cost and alot of beer!) which will give me more money to throw at the engine so I reckon $15k to $20k but I need to understand what this gets me.

I've set a max budget of $60k over 2 years which gives me some contingency.

I am using my bonus check to pay for the kit this year and hopefully next years will be the engine ( or maybe earlier) and have been told by the wife it needs to be done in 2 years else it will cost me! [I noticed brochures for travel to America made it onto my study desk today!!!]

I agree on the buy Australian point which is why, if I am as informed as I can be, visiting these two companies will hopefully make me want to change because of the local support.

[Merv and Sharon]

I think you are getting the picture now Sean. I am not sure how tall you are but the Harrison offers the extended body, which represents 4/5 of their sales (up to 102 registered cars, I believe). Best thing I did was get that longer body. Several others I have spoken too have since regretted that they didn't. The seats and pedals and so on were easy after that. Motors can be from 6K to ... whatever, depending on what you want to use it for and how much bragging rights mean to you.

Local cars are pre-tested in many aspects of compliance and a safe bet for registration and re-sale.

[Zedn]

This link will help you with your engine budget for some of your options.

SPECIALS AUGUST 11

A lot of people buy a wreck from the auctions and then sell of remaining parts on ebay to recover some of the cost.

As the other guys have said, buying local will make rego a lot easier. Our ADRs follow the European (ECE) regs so i dont know how similar they are to america.

[Merv and Sharon]

But .. they are all Holden motors ..

Where are the Fords for the traditional association????

[Zedn]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

But .. they are all Holden motors ..

Where are the Fords for the traditional association????

I said some of the options.

Anyone know of a similar ford site?

[Scoob]

Sean in my case i started with working out what kit to buy and started with phone calls to the manufacturers direct and have a chat and in most cases they are very helpful. ( they want to sell another kit ) I then with some ideas of brands found completed cars to look at and sit in to see which ones I fitted in better 6' 4''in hight does remove many kits that don't accomodate this height. Also I found footwells very narrow in some and big feet don't fit well in some so again the list of potential suppliers gets smaller.I also spoke to some assemblers of kits for additional feed back then i came up with my choice of supplier. in my case the choice of engine followed my choice of kit and then the chosen supplier offered kits to suit only selected engines assuming you might not wish to engineer new mounts for engine and gearbox.But the key is the car needs to be what you want and within budget and the rules Regency Park will make you meet and my dream car is now a little different to what it started out to be but thats life.
Adrian

[boxhead]

Before you think about motors, in teh current climate you need to decide, "do I want full rego, or am I happy on club plates"

Full rego you can still go 427 as long as engineer is happy, and your happy to run on BBQ gas (LPG), I think you will struggle to make a 427 on petrol pass required emissions regs, and this is the ONLY reason most of us have not fitted a 427, I think if a poll was run (just for the Aussies) you will find most do not run a 427, but would love to.

Also nothing wrong with FFR route, as long as your engineer is happy to run it, and you can get your hands on required testing paperwork. There are a few on the go at the moment, I would suggest talking to "fellow" FFR owners and pooling together to have 1 chassis tested and "sharing" the results amongst yourselves, after all when an Aussie supplier supplies relevant test paperwork, it is not your chassis that has been tested, but one of the same ones, that was the "guinea pig" when supplier first started.

Good luck with the hunting and deciding.

[Merv and Sharon]

... and talk to your/an engineer in your state, as there are various options for motors.

[SeanO]

Cheers for all the responses.

My uncle is an engineer whom has built race cars / kit cars before so he is aware of the process. My issue is I look like a shmuck if I am not clear on what I want to do before I see him first as he will be critical of why I want to do certain things.

So regarding the engine, the jury is still out on that but at least I can think about it and ask more questions!

Regarding the footwells / seat positioning, I did notice when I sat in a few cars that I had problems with my size 12 shoes and sitting behind the wheel properly but thought that could be fixed by changing pedal positioning and losing weight!

At 6"1 tall I don't want to be squashed in like a sardine so will have to try and check out the Harrison build allowing for Merv's comment (and did notice that on their webpage).

Thanks.

[boxhead]

Sean, you will need to make sure your Uncle is a sigantory within your State, otherswise sorry to say he may un-intentionally lead you up the garden path in regards to regulations.

What I mean by that is that what he says (and what in reality) is a safe and smart way to do it, may not actually be legal.

An easy example, race harness's, yes they are safe and work better than a standard lap sash belt, but most States wont allow them.

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by boxhead

An easy example, race harness's, yes they are safe and work better than a standard lap sash belt, but most States wont allow them.

Let me preface this with - I agree with Boxhead.

But the DICs (dudes in charge) believe this:
"Race harnesses are deemed to not be safe on the street, as they don't allow you to lift your shoulder off your seat in the action of checking ones blind spot."

Now while a stretch it is somewhat remotely plausible in theory.
The reality is however a race harness in a cobra (and most cars) would not hinder you checking your blind spot in the slightest.

Sean -
It's these simple/silly things that will need to be negotiated should you want full rego in your build. That brings into play the Aussie makers & their experience.
Also just quietly with a $60K budget, personally I'd be looking at carsales to avoid these hassles. Where by you can strip back and redo/rebuild as you please for that "I built it" feeling and still be in a position to drive it in less than the 2 years you've allocated yourself.
Just a thought.

Best of luck.

PS: I am no expert

[boxhead]

I was also advised race harness's are not approved because they are not "idiot proof" ie you cant just buckle it up and it self adjusts to suit differing people. In a harness you need to manually adjust them.

And as Dimis has said, dont ignore a second hand car that is approved (in your State) and rebuild it to suit your needs, it may be a higher initial purchase price, but does get you into one quicker and saves the hassles of engineering approval.

You may be able to twist my arm and get mine

Then I will build a Daytona with a roof and air con

[sambo]

Not sure whether this helps with the engine choice, but although I have a Chev, there's something about the sound of a Ford V8 that has always sounded tougher to me. There I've said it!

My L98 feels and sounds more like a large displacement motorbike engine in the way it spins up. Probably something to do with the cam and heads or the firing order, very smooth but lacking the balls of an old school engine in terms of street presence. A little too civilised if you like.

[Gav]

It's called refined Sambo.

I would agree though that even a dirty old fairlane with a 10 gazzlion Km flea land in it will still have a great exhaust note. Ford definitly got the sound right.
An LS at 6500rpm through sidepipes sounds pretty good too!

[Philm]

An LS at 6500rpm through sidepipes sounds pretty good too!

Is that just before or after it blows up?

[Gav]

That's as it is trying to catch you fella.