Was wondering if anyone can tell me how hard it is to put the 2800 V6 motor into a 1980 escort.
My son has a 40 thou oversize 2.o litre in it, or should I say out of it and in bits, and I am trying to see if the 2.8 would fit
As this was the last run of the escorts here in Aus I feel it would be great for the boy to keep it on the road but have that extra bit of squirt needed to keep up with his mated in their rice burners....the only other option would be to go BTA with a turbo running around 10lb boost...after the obligatory decompressioning of course.

Any Other hints out there ford lovers

ive never actually seen an escort with an essex/cologne V6, (only heard of them) but at a guess you would need to change to a rally style pedal box with the master cylinders under the dash with remote boosters, youd probably want a crossmember/rack/front strut set up from a v6 capri and a good break upgrade, a type 9 gearbox would fit in rather easiliy.

the 2.8\s wernt exactly powerhouses (119Kw) keeping in mind the eauropean ones have godawefull siamesed heads - a better option is a 2.9lt cosworth engine (but youd need to import one from the UK) as these are quad cam and make around 143kw

a more difficult approach is a 2.5/3.0 mazda/ford duratech engine, these will bolt up to a jaguar s type V6 transmission, but this is an untried conversion

if your really keen on ditching the pinto, zetec/duratech 4cyl engines are a very common conversion into escorts/cortina's but have their own set of problems (zetec inlet manifolds will hit the inner gaurd and the brake booster - although an alloy fiesta one wont) a duratech 4 will fit better as its the same way around as the pintobut wont bolt up to any existing ford RWD gearboxes without a new bellhousing (but will bolt up to a late model MX5 trans).

mazda B6/Bp engines/gearboxes from MX5's can be made to fit (and you can get rocker covers from a lazer/telstar with the same engine to cover the shame).

there is at the moment a front suspension setup from a V6 capri on ebay that may interest you if you decide you still want the two extra cylinders.

have fun!, and if you need some steering in the right direction i can help as i researched just about every engine conversion that has ever been done to an escort/cortina

The car has a casworth 5 speed manual g/box in it now ...makes a big difference to the laydown of power on the road compared to the standard scort 4 speed box.

In your opinion would we be better to put the 2.0 litre back in considering it is a totally rebuilt motor and just decompress it and add say an IHI RHB 6 turbo with the obligatory 2 1/2 inch full flow exhaust and low mount intercooler system off the 4 cyllinder volvo.

That is the other optionwe have been tossing up. and the son also suggested a supercharger off a V6 Commodore, apparently there are a view conversions of that sort going round in Qld

Yes pinto with a turbo would be the easiest route to take and since yours is already rebuilt it would be a nice start. I saw a yellow escort at summernats with an M90 supercharger on it (thats the commy one) he did pretty good in the driving events with it, but that would be slightly harder to set up.

it really depends on how much heartache you want to go through with this car and what you want from it,

keeping the pinto and going forced induction is the easiest (and best bang for your buck), but its a really old engine so it lacks refinement and will be heavy on fuel,

a modern 4 cyl engine will be the next easiest - youll see good economy and refinement but they arnt that powerfull stock (zetec is 96kw) dunno what duratech engines are

a V6 will see you 120Kw plus, and will be pretty good on the fuel still.

its a terribly hard decision to make

I had an RS2000 a few years ago which made 130rwhp out of the pinto. I spent a fair bit on the top end:- Headwork,cam,twin 45mm webers(new) headers and full exhaust. I also had the 5 spd and ran a 4.11 diff. I also converted to electronic ignition. In a 950kg car, this set up was a lot of fun and I can't tell you how many ricers I embaressed.

I spent about 5-6 grand but it was great fun......Webers on wide open throttle sound great.....I bit the bullet with the carbs and bought them new through the mechanic as that way he ordered them with the correct venturies,jets etc. At actually worked out cheaper and with the a good set of linkages they never went out of tune.......All I did was get them balanced each year at rego time!!!!

Having said that, Turbo charging is definately more HP for your dollar!!!! My brother's mate has an orange MK2 Escort with an injected and turboed Pinto which makes about 250rwkw from memory and is well into the 11sec quarter mile........It was in quite a few mags 2-3 years ago.

Good luck...........I sold my escort a while ago and I miss it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Years ago my uncle had a rally prepped MK2 Escort, headwork, twin 45 Delorto carbs, 4.4 gears massive cam, ran 11's N/A, either a cosworth YB or a turbo pinto would be the go IMHO

I'd be putting a turbo on the pinto engine. get the compression down in the mid 8s and use about 10psi. keep the revs to 6500rpm at the most and it will live for a long time.

I was contemplating around 6 1/2 to 7 :1 compression.
That should allow for a good 15 to 18 lb's boost and set up to around 7500 rpm for a good 3 to 4 years of hard driving eg willowbank
Am thinking of an IHI turbo kit with external C**k controlled boost adjustment...3 inch exhaust and cosworth plenum chamber

7500rpm sounds like a lot for a pinto.......cam followers are a problem and lubrication is critical....My engine chewed up 3 sets of followers and cams because of so called "quality" cam followers actually coming from India.........It was one expensive learning curve.

The problem will also compound with valve spring pressure.......Mine was naturally aspirated so the last(successful) mechanic didn't go overboard with pressure. He sourced some cam followers from Crower in america. The make the followers with a sintered metal pad that actually retains some oil within it's face...... As you are turbo charging yours then you may require higher rated springs....

Good luck with it.......

Go the Escorts!!!

Correct me if I am wrong...the wife does regularly even if I am not...
But would the BTA rally motor have the right type of valve springs and followers for my set up..I thought they were rated at 8000rpm so they should do the trick for me if i set redline at 7500.
Also what is the best rear to put with it.
Was contemplating a cut down 9 inch disc brake a*** end but all hints are appreciated

If by BTA you mean BDA, they are the cosworth twin cam engine which cost a packet but yes they are a reliable high revver.......

As for diffs, from memory, some guys were using Toyota hilux diffs as a cost effective swap. Apparently there/s a particular model which bolts straight in without the need for cutting down. The diff ratio is good too......

A good forum for Escorts/cortina's is :- classicford.mine.nu/forum

It's got a lot of members from small ford clubs around Australia and they have done some awesome things with Escorts and Cortina's.

Cheers.

9 inch would be overkill,

options are a hilux diff (there is a good wesite around that explains the ins and outs) but they are all 5 stud, so you would need to change your fronts to suit.

if you really want to stay 4 stud a diff from a late model cortina could be cut down to suit (or left as is for massive rear track) these diffs are similar to the ones in EA falcons so an LSD centre shouldnt be too hard to find.

im not 100% sure on tall of this so google is your best option to clear it up

There's a mob in Brisbane that makes the complete Duratech conversion pieces needed to bolt into any Escort.

This is what i would do if i owned an Escort again and if you wanted more out of the engine then you could either work it over with high compression and billet cams or rebuild on bolt a turbo on side.

6.5 - 7:1 compression is WAY to low for a daily turbo car
A turbo car still needs compression in it to give it some torque down low until the turbo kicks in.
6.5 would be an absolute pig to drive, i would aim for around 8:1 personally

I ran 6:1 in my 240K with an IHI turbo kit.
It made it just like a standard car off boost due to the 60 thou oversize rebuild and the fact that I was running a big blow thru designed webber.
It was, I have to admit, not really a regular street car. but having the low compression made it better to drive on the street when cops were around.

First off i need to say don't take this the wrong way.

BUT
Slow down for a second and do some real research. Buy david visards book and des hammils book.
learn about the animal first.

first you will not be running stock rods to 7500rpm for 3 to 4 down a drag strip.
You dont need to drop the compression that far to run 18psi.
A cosworth plenum will not fit a the pinto head.

I've been around the things for a long time. My boss has set Australian drag racing records with MK1 and a turbo'd pinto engine (the FIRST untubed turbo 4cyl car in the country to run under 10sec) . You need to tell us what you intend to do with the car, then think about how to do it.