Engine transplant

rothai

I was looking at buying a ford zodiac but I want to put a more modern engine and gearbox into it. This is probably a big job? It's unlikely anyone as done this to a zodiac but if anyone has what did they use? What would anyone recomend using? We would you just not bother?

thomas77

How modern u thinking?not the hardest off cars to work at but if the original engine is good enough i'd leave it

ianobrien

If it's a mk1 to 3 zodiac and if it's running OK, I'd leave it alone. The straight 6 is a lovely torquey engine. A popular mod is to fit a small block Ford V8 and an auto box but you'll need a supertanker behind you...

If it's a mk4, it's got an Essex V6 and as a result, you can fit practically anything Ford under there relatively straight forward.

Just one thing. If the car is original and fairly unmolested, I'd be leaving the original engine. Also, most of them had column change gearlevers, meaning fitting an alternative manual box can be trouble with regard to getting the linkage sorted.


Try the Classic forum also.....

dr.fuzzenstein

ianobrien wrote: »

If it's a mk1 to 3 zodiac and if it's running OK, I'd leave it alone. The straight 6 is a lovely torquey engine. A popular mod is to fit a small block Ford V8 and an auto box but you'll need a supertanker behind you...

If it's a mk4, it's got an Essex V6 and as a result, you can fit practically anything Ford under there relatively straight forward.

Just one thing. If the car is original and fairly unmolested, I'd be leaving the original engine. Also, most of them had column change gearlevers, meaning fitting an alternative manual box can be trouble with regard to getting the linkage sorted.


Try the Classic forum also... ..

+1
What are you planning on fitting?
There is quite a cottage industrie in Ireland for destroying classic cars by putting Nissan diesel engines in them.

rothai

thanks lads,
It is an essex V6. The car does need extensive work. If it was in good condition i'd try keep it all origional but its going to need a fair bit of welding and work anyway. I was thinking if i put a newer diesel engine it wouldnt be as hard on fuel. So Ian you recon anything ford could be put in following a few modifications. What engine would you recomend? reliable, easy on juice? I love the look of the zodiac but already having a vw type 2 which is hard on juice id like something a little less thirsty.

rothai

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

+1
What are you planning on fitting?
There is quite a cottage industrie in Ireland for destroying classic cars by putting Nissan diesel engines in them.

if its already in the ****s, am i destroying it? id hate to think i am. In the current climate i think that there are a lot of classics left to rot.

Tigger

Hi, due to many Granadas and Scorpios dying from severe metal rot the Cosworth engine has become the choice for engine swaps. You can pick up a good example for around the 500 quid which makes them attractive for TVR's Capris and such. The early Granada Cosworth has the engine type code of BOA and has a big plenum with Cosworth badges on either side and was rated at 195BHP.

With the introduction of the Bug-eyed Scorpio the power was raised to 205BHP with improved torque and the designation was changed to BOB and is easy to recognise as it has six inlet tracts like an Alfa and a big plastic engine cover with 'Cosworth V6' embossed on it. The later engine came with the A4LDE four speed autobox and has many electronic gizmos attached to it through the ECU so as said the earlier A4LD version is easier for transplants.

Taken from here http://http://www.pistonheads.com/GASSING/topic.asp?h=0&t=252726

dr.fuzzenstein

rothai wrote: »

if its already in the ****s, am i destroying it? id hate to think i am. In the current climate i think that there are a lot of classics left to rot.

It all depends on how you do it.
If the car is going to be welded up, painted and have some Ford diesel unit fitted in a backyard, it will be worth about tuppence.
It is probably the cheapest way to do it and you'll learn a lot.
Or you can have the car redone by one of the many engineering works in the UK that specialize in completely re-working cars with modern engines, gearbox, brakes, suspension, cooling, etc...
Will be worth a lot more, but will cost as much as a new modern car.
And I don't think a lot of them will be fond of "daysul" conversions.
The Irish really have a sick fixation on diesel.
To my mind, if you want a classic car to potter around in for weekends, keep it as it is. (or in your case, do it up as it is, unless the engine is completely fcuked, then why not)
If you want a daily cruiser and mile muncher, buy a diesel Focus.
I had that, diesel Focus every day and a 2 liter Cortina for the weekend. Never did I want the engine from one in the other.
This way you could have both.
Diesel Focus for the commute and the Zodiac for weekends, the beach, classic car shows (to which I would not dare show up with a diesel Zodiac, tomato and egg stains are hard to remove)

ianobrien

I'd go with Dr Fuzz here. Buy a Diesel Focus for the week, and enjoy the Essex torque for the weekend. For the small mileage that most classics do, the cost of the fuel is a small expense. If the car is as bad as you say it is, restoring it might take a while so you won't have any fuel bills.

Also, if the Essex is running OK, change the gear on the end of the distributor drive. The oil pump is driven off this gear. The gear can come loose on the shaft, resulting to no drive to the oil pump meaning no oil pressure. This happened to a buddy's Granada Coupe and wrecked the engine due to throwing a leg from loss of oil pressure to a bearing....