Andrew Davies

that was the cause of it not reving. have to take it for another run on a dyno with a good operator.

pulled the carb off and felt something rattling around inside.... a jet fell out of the secondary (all were loose) now she revs. if the dyno operator had pulled a bowl off he would have found the issue.

have odered a msd 6al and keeping the current dizzy for triggering (hope that sorts it out). also going up in jets as shes a bit too lean for my liking 13.5-1 at wot.

yeah im keen. im in ambarvale let me know when its ready and how much you want. dyno was a fail as it wouldnt rev over 4500rpm and the dyno operater i dont think knew what he was doing. i think the est has a limit of 4500 so looks like im going to have to ditch it and find an xe electronic dizzy.

booked in for dyno on friday. still have some little things to sort like leaky dipstick (think it has a small hole). diff might have to wait till feb as my diff shop is booked out. unless someone has a lsd to suit wagon or ute with at least 3.45 ratio they wanna sell in sydney ?

took it for a drive today after sorting the timing. needs diff gears (when diff shop gets back from holidays its going in for 3.7's, tru track and 28 spline axles). dont have tacho but she moves !

engine running with oil pressure, was welsh plug that wasnt supplied (my bad). have installed extra valve springs and now awaiting dyno tune and diff.

i have a theory. one thing i didnt check was oil pump to main stud clearance. if my oil pump wasnt sitting 100% flush to the block it could be my issue (and fuck im hoping thats it). engine out again this weekend.

engine has been in and out 3 times, chasing low oil pressure issue. originally had a melling oil pump that dropped pressure 15 mins into bedding in the cam so swapped it out for a j.p pump. now oil light comes on at idle but goes out at around 1k rpm. going to put a guage on and see what its doing. does anyone know what pressure the light comes on at ? this thing is doing my bloody head in ! both pumps are std volume. open for any suggestions !

engine mostly assembled. had to cut up some clevo guide plates and run them individually. sent pushrods back to get some stock length ones because they are a perfect fit (we knew it would be hard to guess after all the changes). left to do : install a new bush and cam gear onto dizzy waiting on pushrods so i can finish top end assembly install oil filter install water pump install rear welsh plugs install ballancer install electric fuel pump and wire into car then when i get a free weekend swap her in ! sorry for the slow progress (had a few issues with machine shop).

sorry for the late update, machine shop only just returned my stuff. so they decked block to 0 then realised comp was 12.8-1 so they machined a small dish in my pistons and went with a 60thou mls head gasket. crow sent wrong cam, i ordered the 14806 and got the 14626 still have to work out my final comp with this stick to see if it will work or ping its ass off. machine shop forgot welsh plugs and fuel pump block plate (maybe more havent had a good look). still waiting for my engine paint to show up (hopefully this week so i can start assembly on the weekend). also crow didnt send a dizzy gear so that leads me to my next question : im currently running an est dizzy and im not sure if it will fit my new block (im sure its an xe block) ? not a big issue as i still have to order pushrods after i assemble and measure. slow progress is still progress ! to make things worse my old engine is now hammering oil and coolant from the head gasket so i better get a move on !

will get machine shop to check comp and if need be deck block less or try to get thicker gasket. i would like to sit around 11.5-1 or maybe a little less if i can.

a bit of an update my spool rods and ross forgies have turned up. have sourced another engine with a spare 4 speed cheap and stripped it down. engine was out of an xe but it has a rubber crank seal and an unmarked hf4 head with a 52cc chamber. bore is standard size, not that it matters because it will be going 40 thou over to suite the pistons. i have started porting the head so far : gasket matched intake and exhaust, blended valve seats, stream lined around the valve guide. still have to polish up the exhaust ports and unshroud the valves in the chamber. unsure what it will flow but should make a bit of difference. head will have new valve guides installed and a 3 angle valve job and a skim. i will need to talk to my machine shop to find out what m.l.s head gaskets are available so i can work out comp ratio. block will be decked to 0. still undecided on cam atm if budget allows i would like a solid roller not so i can go bigger on cam but for not having to run in the cam and swap springs out.

ford_man thanks for sharing your combo ! i thought i would need more comp and cam to reach 250 rwhp yes the crow rockers need guide plates and machining for studs but the yella terra rocker to suite solid cams need this too (street terra are bolt ons that suite hyd cams but over twice the price of the crow units). may i ask what brand piston you used ? i would rather use a hyp piston over forgies to keep cost down and it will be daily driven. so i might be on track with more comp/cam to making 250rwhp also easier with a manual. yes an auto would be nicer to drive but i like the manual. i dont want boost on this car as i dont want to do engineers otherewise i would barra it. thanks for the feedback guys muchly appreciated !

ok guys im about to start planning my engine for my daily but first uasage : will only drive 10 mins to work with no freeway usage so low gears will be on the list. car is a 86 xf wagon that i have started doing mods on in prep for the new engine so far i have converted to single rail with a sports tuff exedy clutch, removed hub fan and converted to twin 12 inch thermos, installed pacemaker extractors with 100 cell high flow cat (to keep legalish) single 2.5 inch pipe and single straight through muffler. i have built a few clevo's, windsors and 355's but i love the xflow and this is my 7th xf and i just enjoy driving it. i build harley motors for a side gig also. im not shy about running large cams. so a few questions for those guys on here that have built these motors that might sway my direction on my build: for my suggested combo would you stretch the budget for spool rods/ross piston ? i would rather hyper pistons so it wouldnt take as long to warm up and make clearances right but thats up for debate. should i modify my own sump to add volume (sheety by trade so mods wont be hard) if not what sumps are available ? has anyone used crows steel rockers CRFX177 ? i have always used yella terra but these are cheap and crow recomends them for all of their listed cams hyd and solid. so my plan is open for discussion and suggestions. either hyper pistons and arp rod bolts or spool rods/ross pistons comp i want around 11-1 but will have to cc the head after i port it to see what i can make it close to. mls head gasket arp studs for head and bottom end already have a cain 4bbl manifold (looks new) i have a 4bbl 600dp carb being built with 4 corner air bleeds and drop leg boosters cam im aiming for around 250ish@0.50 head porting i will do myself ( blending valve seats and radiusing short turn polishing exhaust ports only and port matching) nothing extreme. ignition i have a est dist atm but looking at going tfi/msd6al has anyone used this rocker cover ? http://kustombitz.mobile034.com/p/460373/ford-crossflow-41-finned-tall-alloy-valve-cover---polished-fins-and-sides.html cam choice will be based on where my static comp lands so if it ends up higher than i want i will bleed a touch off with tightening the lsa. some cams comp examples 11-1 250 single pattern 110lsa 560int 580exh lift 11.5-1 255int 260 exh 106lsa 580-600 lift or should i just go with crow 14806 ? these will depend on flow results after porting diff will get upgraded after engine, lsd or tru track with 3.7's any input appreciated yes a barra would be cheaper and make more power but i have been there and like a challenge. if i can make 250rwhp i would be happy.