15 replies to this topic

[macauley151]

I've had my mini for 1 1/2 years and want to do an engine conversion.

Has anyone thought about a Ford st 2002-2008 engine conversion? Does anyone know if it would fit?

Thanks, Macauley

[Awamckay]

You can make anything fit with enough modding and fabrication. Depends on the physical size of the lump going in, what kind of look you are going for, suspension choices and how deep your pockets are. Lol.

Extended front end would probably be needed though.

Edited by Awamckay, 23 December 2014 - 10:05 PM.

[Artful Dodger]

the 2.0L duratec?  it would go with alot of work, i work on these pretty much every day. theyre a good solid engine and with good rods and pistons they will rev to 8500. only issue would be the drivers side engine mount, its very high on the engine.

 

personally, i think someone should get the 1600 16v from a 106 GTI.  small compact unit, engine mounts look simple to hook up to and the driveshafts are simple and as is the gear linkage.   

 

 

oh, and theyre such a quality engine!!  even in the 106s they fly along!

[M J W J]

I'm going to say it again. Step 1: Get tape measure...

 

Any of the ford conversions that I have seen people attempt has always had the same stumbling block. The gearbox is big and bulky and is difficult to get to fit without clashing with the sub frame towers.

 

 

the 2.0L duratec?  it would go with alot of work, i work on these pretty much every day. theyre a good solid engine and with good rods and pistons they will rev to 8500. only issue would be the drivers side engine mount, its very high on the engine.

 

personally, i think someone should get the 1600 16v from a 106 GTI.  small compact unit, engine mounts look simple to hook up to and the driveshafts are simple and as is the gear linkage.   

 

 

oh, and theyre such a quality engine!!  even in the 106s they fly along!

 

Assuming we are on about the HE range of Duratec engines. Good solid engines? They are notorious for chewing piston rings and clogging up EGR valves. When the bores are scored you can't rebore them either due to the design of the cylinder block so the engine becomes scrap. Granted the 2 litre is the better of the engines but they are still not great. Its almost impossible to find a working used 1.8. There are much better options out there than a Duratec in my opinion.

 

As for the 1600 GTI/ VTS engines. The conversion has been done. Take a look on 16v mini club for it. Bad obsession motorsport do the conversion for it. I'm not sure if they sell just the frame but it would be worth contacting them about it if that is what you want to do.

[Artful Dodger]

I'm going to say it again. Step 1: Get tape measure...

 

Any of the ford conversions that I have seen people attempt has always had the same stumbling block. The gearbox is big and bulky and is difficult to get to fit without clashing with the sub frame towers.

 

 

the 2.0L duratec?  it would go with alot of work, i work on these pretty much every day. theyre a good solid engine and with good rods and pistons they will rev to 8500. only issue would be the drivers side engine mount, its very high on the engine.

 

personally, i think someone should get the 1600 16v from a 106 GTI.  small compact unit, engine mounts look simple to hook up to and the driveshafts are simple and as is the gear linkage.   

 

 

oh, and theyre such a quality engine!!  even in the 106s they fly along!

 

Assuming we are on about the HE range of Duratec engines. Good solid engines? They are notorious for chewing piston rings and clogging up EGR valves. When the bores are scored you can't rebore them either due to the design of the cylinder block so the engine becomes scrap. Granted the 2 litre is the better of the engines but they are still not great. Its almost impossible to find a working used 1.8. There are much better options out there than a Duratec in my opinion.

 

As for the 1600 GTI/ VTS engines. The conversion has been done. Take a look on 16v mini club for it. Bad obsession motorsport do the conversion for it. I'm not sure if they sell just the frame but it would be worth contacting them about it if that is what you want to do.

 

 

ummm  we run 10 2.0 / 2.3 race duratec engines that run from 250hp to 320hp NA, one supercharged 2.0L running 370hp, the only issues we have every had is someone not selecting the correct tappet buckets, just getting one size and machining them down, removing the hardened surface and making them fail. also they detonate fairly easy!

 

but we have very good reliability from them!!  granted theyre race engines and dont have any EGR valves or things, but apart from them having steel rods, forged pistons, ported heads and a set of cams, the engines are stock!  cosworth parts go straight on and you can get a 2.3L 280hp engine and run it for years.  

 

 

ooohhhhh, thats very interesting!  cheers for that!

[robminibcy]

There is a seller on ebay selling brand new minis with heritage shells that use ford engines. Not sure which ones but it answers the question will it fit... Yes. But it would need pretty serious fabrication to fit in. IMO there are better chooses. While the ford is powerful and reliable its fairly bulky and heavy. The k series is a better option as they are very light so do not upset a minis handling.

[M J W J]

ummm  we run 10 2.0 / 2.3 race duratec engines that run from 250hp to 320hp NA, one supercharged 2.0L running 370hp, the only issues we have every had is someone not selecting the correct tappet buckets, just getting one size and machining them down, removing the hardened surface and making them fail. also they detonate fairly easy!

 

but we have very good reliability from them!!  granted theyre race engines and dont have any EGR valves or things, but apart from them having steel rods, forged pistons, ported heads and a set of cams, the engines are stock!  cosworth parts go straight on and you can get a 2.3L 280hp engine and run it for years.  

 

The 2.3 litre Duratec engine is not the HE version. That's a later version. That's probably why yours keep working

 

The HE version that was introduced with the Mk3 Mondeo and is still used in some lower spec focuses and the mazda 6 and are poor engines. More than about 80k miles on them and they started needing serious work doing to them (as I found out to my cost) that's why you can find Mk3 Mondeos with MOT going for under £300 no-one wants them. A load of early Mk3 Mondeos got recalled due to a problem with the inlets breaking up and being sucked through the engines which destroyed them. They were plagued with piston ring problems as well. Ford claimed they solved the issue but the later HE engines weren't much better especially the 1.8. You will struggle to find a second hand one in decent condition.

[miniman24]

I would second the 106 16v engine - I have one in a poverty spec 106 running CatCam 708's and a few other tasty bits, plus mapping at AMD and it is very quick, running a touch over 150bhp and it beats Fiesta ST's all day - bought the engine with all the mods done for £180!

[Anthony30]

Would a Saxo VTS 1.6 8v engine not be a better option? More room to service the engine, and the ability to change the cambelt without removing the engine.

[Artful Dodger]

The vts engine is the same block as the 16v pretty much. For how good the 16v is compared to the 8v and how cheap they are I can't see a benefit if running an 8v. Unless you run a 1300 rallye 8v that's got an ally block. They're light and still a quality engine

[RossKnight]

Someone needs to measure the 1.0 ecoboost in! Easy 150hp from an engine the size of a sheet of a4 paper.

[Artstu]

Someone needs to measure the 1.0 ecoboost in! Easy 150hp from an engine the size of a sheet of a4 paper.

 

How rack friendly is the gearbox ? http://www.riotcars.....php/car-engine

 

 

Edited by Artstu, 29 December 2014 - 12:34 PM.

[SiZT]

 

ummm  we run 10 2.0 / 2.3 race duratec engines that run from 250hp to 320hp NA, one supercharged 2.0L running 370hp, the only issues we have every had is someone not selecting the correct tappet buckets, just getting one size and machining them down, removing the hardened surface and making them fail. also they detonate fairly easy!

 

but we have very good reliability from them!!  granted theyre race engines and dont have any EGR valves or things, but apart from them having steel rods, forged pistons, ported heads and a set of cams, the engines are stock!  cosworth parts go straight on and you can get a 2.3L 280hp engine and run it for years.  

 

The 2.3 litre Duratec engine is not the HE version. That's a later version. That's probably why yours keep working

 

They're the same basic engine design, the reason they'll not be having issues with the race engines is because they'll use different rings, ring gaps, ptw clearance and I imagine those engines will only do 5k between rebuilds.

 

Didn't realise there was such an issue with them though, something to keep in mind

Edited by SiZT, 29 December 2014 - 03:48 PM.

[Artful Dodger]

ummm  we run 10 2.0 / 2.3 race duratec engines that run from 250hp to 320hp NA, one supercharged 2.0L running 370hp, the only issues we have every had is someone not selecting the correct tappet buckets, just getting one size and machining them down, removing the hardened surface and making them fail. also they detonate fairly easy!
 
but we have very good reliability from them!!  granted theyre race engines and dont have any EGR valves or things, but apart from them having steel rods, forged pistons, ported heads and a set of cams, the engines are stock!  cosworth parts go straight on and you can get a 2.3L 280hp engine and run it for years.

 
The 2.3 litre Duratec engine is not the HE version. That's a later version. That's probably why yours keep working

 
They're the same basic engine design, the reason they'll not be having issues with the race engines is because they'll use different rings, ring gaps, ptw clearance and I imagine those engines will only do 5k between rebuilds.
 
Didn't realise there was such an issue with them though, something to keep in mind

Yes although he was talking about the earlier duratec, not the ones we use. The later duratecs from the fiesta ST etc in standard form will go for a while. We do 40 race hours before a rebuild. And it normally consists of rings and bearings. Everything else is fine

[Artstu]

 

 

 

ummm  we run 10 2.0 / 2.3 race duratec engines that run from 250hp to 320hp NA, one supercharged 2.0L running 370hp, the only issues we have every had is someone not selecting the correct tappet buckets, just getting one size and machining them down, removing the hardened surface and making them fail. also they detonate fairly easy!
 
but we have very good reliability from them!!  granted theyre race engines and dont have any EGR valves or things, but apart from them having steel rods, forged pistons, ported heads and a set of cams, the engines are stock!  cosworth parts go straight on and you can get a 2.3L 280hp engine and run it for years.

 
The 2.3 litre Duratec engine is not the HE version. That's a later version. That's probably why yours keep working

 
They're the same basic engine design, the reason they'll not be having issues with the race engines is because they'll use different rings, ring gaps, ptw clearance and I imagine those engines will only do 5k between rebuilds.
 
Didn't realise there was such an issue with them though, something to keep in mind

Yes although he was talking about the earlier duratec, not the ones we use. The later duratecs from the fiesta ST etc in standard form will go for a while. We do 40 race hours before a rebuild. And it normally consists of rings and bearings. Everything else is fine

 

 

For clarity are you talking about the 2.0L Zetec that Ford put Duratec badges on?