Slow250XC

One day i will put my xflow on a dyno, hope to get 230-250hp out of it with the 600vs carby. But i have done nothing to fix the rusty body it sits in since my last project thread update. Kids and too many other projects, bikes and boat.

Yeah, I get it. You would have to spend a fair amount of coin to get horsepower out of the Crossy, would that much money buy you a stock 230HP Clevo.?  Obviously things are different in everyones home town. Still keen to see the build..👍

Gone past the point of crazy money on this side of the ditch mate. People wanting big dollars for worn out blocks etc etc.

I would love a nice mild 351, hp per cube sort of deal. But ain't gonna happen. Not nicely anyway.

Clevo fits.
 
Just sayin' .....

Common thing is people think barra swap is easy and dead cheap. Till they keep finding stuff thats needed and how much they can not do. Equals expensive. 
 
Xflow needs ALOT to make power and be reliable but its rarely what people do and or use and then when results are not what they wanted there blame the engine, not the combination. 
 
Then people think go barra cos there poor decisions.TBH the barra platform is waaaaaaay better but it has so many more years development on it so it should be too. But people expect Barra type performanceon xflow money. Its not a thing.

Because a Crossy with a carb sounds mint with a nice cam......and you have a mountain of parts.


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Nostalgia, some level of originality, engineering/licensing considerations, emissions considerations and the logistics of keeping a non EFI car not EFI (additional wiring, fuel supply etc).
 
You could say "why would anyone think of restoring a ZK Fairlane AT ALL when a nice BF Fairlane can be bought for less than $10,000."
 
No one ever said car enthusiasts were motivated by fuel efficiency or whether their project is economically a good idea. We do what we want...?

Because you can.

Because you can.

didnt honda cast the crossy heads ? that why they have HF inside them for honda foundry ?

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).

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 !

Well I had stuck a US fuel pump from a 170ci, from a Bronco, it has a vacuum pump built in to help the vacuum wipers.  I didn't get the engine with a fuel pump in it I don't recall.
 
That didn't work.  I spent a day on it I suppose.  I had gotten a motorcraft fuel filter with 2 in, 1 out - and had the overflow on the carb come down to that filter, with the other coming from the tank, and one out to the pump.  I played with all that thinking I created a pressure point or caused it to not get prime.
 
Nope, swapped out to a regular fuel pump from like a 69 mustang with a 250 and she fired off nicely!  The arm on the stock Bronco one was angled higher, i think it was missing the lobe or barely engaging, not enough to pump.
 
I'm in the middle of installing the header and getting clearance.  Also I have a fan issue - since I raised the water pump like 2" going from the 170 to the 250, the stock 14" fan wont work, a derale aluminum 13" race fan will just barely hit the top radiator hose/inlet.
 
Once I get the header clearanced, I may raise the radiator 1/2". 
 
Also, in the US I can't find a Bosch starter BFX456 or 129.  At ALL.  The stock starter had issues hitting the flywheel. I picked up a powermaster 9603, ministarter that you can adjust where the solenoid is (clocking).  The stock ford mini starters over here are all the same, and the solenoid portion hits the block before I can start the top bolt.  The powermaster is working very well.
 
So she starts, then I pulled off the manifold for the header.  I may have a vacuum leak, I threw a gauge on it, and its erractic, but it has a cam - I wanted to dive into that after I got the header on and maybe adjusted the Weber some - or even after getting a fan on it so I can let it idle and not get hot??  I'm going in many directions at once right now, but she did has 40psi oil pressure at idle and sounds great.  I will post pics soon.  Overall, she sounds very healthy with the 38 on it.

The 38 DGMS showed up today, I will be installing over the weekend - it will orient with the bowl towards the firewall, meaning the only real obstruction is one of the idle jets is hard to get too.  It matches real well to my choke cable, and I installed a lokar shift cable, making that easy as well.  The other way the linkages are close to the valve cover and one vacuum port is really blocked - the jeepers say bowl to the firewall is better for inclines off road so this may be best for me.
 
I will plug one fuel inlet and use the other as is, not worried about that location, it would be nice if I could have it enter from the fender side, but that port is not open.  I have seen where someone drilled and tapped it to work, I am not ready to start on that right now.

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.

Normally not required if the 2 faces are square, true and flat...  but, after 25 years, smear a little on with your finger, both sides. It will piss you off later when it starts weeping oil.  😁

Reasons why you'd do this:
- Cheap and easy to get (roughly
$110 from Ripco trade)
- Extra clearance to headers
- Easier, lighter to fit/remove
- Mod is easy... Just need 9.5mm drill and a hacksaw. Die grinder optional if you want it pretty.
 
Downsides:
- You have to do this mod to every one, or swap housings over from old to new.
- You will screw your warranty before even bolting it on (if brand new of course)
- Clearance to the pitman arm/drag link is very tight once installed.
- Starter cable may or may not reach (solenoid sits pointing down, not sideways).
- You get a pissy whizzing sound like a 4 cylinder, not the good old solid "chunk-whirr" like the direct drive Bosch one. Just doesn't suit an old V8.
 
Anyway....
 
Drill out 8mm holes to 9.5 (3/8")
 

 
Mark out where you aim to cut. On the genuine Bosch ones, they had double the amount of ribs and you cut back the first rib all the way to the second.... so on this one (OEX) I would only go halfway to the next one.
 

 
Front view
 

 
Roughed out with the hackasaurus
(Note: I've marked the cut a bit further down to make it a smooth radius to the face).

 
Carved out with a die grinder and half-round file:
 

 
Top view:
 
You really don't need to remove any material below the "at rest" position of the pinion. The amount removed with the hacksaw will suffice. I just made it all look pretty because it was like carving butter with the die grinder on this soft alloy, took no time at all.
 
Pics to come of it installed (showing clearance to pitman arm).
 
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Header clearance



Drag link/pitman arm



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I got scorpion rockers and some stepped studs and guideplates from summit. Was far cheaper than the yella terra option, freight out of the states was on par with out of oz too (New Zealander).

Since you have swapped to a rail, i recommend ironforce flywheels. Billet and half the weight, literally, of the xf flywheel. Swap your ringgear on and go. I had to drill out the mounting boltholes as i have the older block/crank. Ymmv.

And they look great.

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Well, last Saturday was an epic day and has given me and my mate confidence and inspiration to push on harder than ever with the restoration of Granddad's old XC... 
 
After liberally lubricating each cylinder and leaving it for a week, we gently turned her over by hand. 
 
There were NO tight spots, weird sounds or unwanted friction at all and she turned beautifully... 
 
Battery was connected and carby was primed and after about 6 attempts, she briefly coughed and died... 
 
A few more attempts were made until, incredibly, the super fuel that was still in her tank (no, it HASN'T gone off at all) made it to the fuel pump and she ran long enough for me to get this very quick video. 
 
Pretty much a testament to the strength and engineering of the mighty crossflow engine... 
 
 

So first thing to know is the rings rotate in the bores as they go up and and down so don't stress too much. But for the argument I set the oil rings 180 apart from each other and find a spot on the piston im happy with. Then the 2nd ring goe's as far away as you can get it from the "top oil ring" gap. Then the top ring is 180 opposite the 2nd ring gap. 
 
But the rings still rotate in the bores at there own rate anyway so don't be too concerned.

Dont know this guy, no idea of the quality, but, looks very well machined. 
 
 

You can never hurt anything but your wallet with roller rockers, but stock rockers aren't a deal-breaker at 0.500" lift. You will need valve springs at a minimum, seeing as they are very ordinary even with a standard cam. Having a more aggressive ramp on the lobe will amplify any lack of spring pressure.

You may run into issues with pushrod length with the base circle taken off, by how much I dunno but to compensate, I guess you could either run valve lash caps or take a bit off the rocker pedestals. If you choose to go with 7/16” stud adjustable roller rockers, that will let you take up this clearance, but that will need machining of the head. All this is extra expense just to run a cam that will have questionable benefit to power. False economy if you ask me. Unless there's an absolute must-do reason why you have to run it, I would pass on it.

It would ultimately be cheaper, and result in more power and torque, to go with a mild aftermarket cam that's compatible with stock valvetrain components. So, still around 0.500" lift like the one you have, but longer duration and overlap. Build for midrange to capitalise on where the crossy's going to be happy. Something like a 214/214 @0.050", with a nice overlap aiming for a 110 LSA but no more than 0.500" lift to keep your springs and rockers happy.

Roller rockers aren't a power-adder like the manufacturer's always harp on about. This has been proven many times on a dyno. They're insurance against premature wear or breakage when you start going bigger with everything else (springs, valves, cam lift, pushrods), so if you don't need them, don't get them. They'll offer a very poor hp-per-dollar return on your project.

For a first engine, keep things conservative and focus on proper assembly, maximising what stock parts you have, and aim for 15-20% power increase maximum. Balance rods and pistons, shave flywheel, bump up compression a tad. Crossys are pretty lazy in the rpm department so make them work where they're happy; between 2000-4500. The only internal component besides cam that I would change is valvesprings.

Cam: look at crow's catalogue as a guide and look down the column at hydraulic grinds at around the 0.500" lift, then from there choose your duration. I think a stock speedway cam is a good warm streeter with not too much lift but lopey idle and midrange punch.

Springs: stock ones barely test at 80 pounds on the seat. The next step up would be around 110 which would be more than adequate for a warm street engine.

Your mate giving you that cam might be a nice gesture but you'll spend big dollars getting it to work for little gain over stock.

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