Boingk

Thanks mate, confirms what I was thinking all along. I'll be running 3.50's in the rear with M/T ET Streets so should go okay there with everything else similar. I've read up big time on the cylinder head so should be good for a home port job now I know where the gains and danger spots are.
 
 
More than happy to mate. One of the reasons I like keeping score is so I know what I need to sell the car for if/when that time comes, as well as what to resell a part for. Hmmm, did that intake cost me $50, or was it $250? Mightn't make an earth-shattering difference at the time but it all ads up.
 
 
Seen mates do that, never understood it. Best money for me is always spent on ignition, intake and valvetrain. Exhaust comes a very close fourth. The air pump analogy is always a good one here. I'm hoping with a goal in mind the plan isn't too hard to nut out right the first time, but we'll see where I am inn a few months I suppose.
 
Anywho, onto the build thread - I picked up a ute the other day. I'll make a dedicated build thread in short order.

It doesn't have to be expensive.  You just have to have a good plan and formula and stick to it.  Doing things 3 or 4 times over does make it expensive. 
 
Luke's Cortina runs 7.1 over the 1/8 (after a tune) & 11.3 over the 1/4 (untuned) with 3.45gears. Yes it's light but it's a simple package that just works. I've detailed that package several times on here and his car is proof. Flat tappet, single four barrel with a dizzy. It hasn't been back to the 1/4 since being tuned because Luke races pro stock bike and that's his current focus. It's improved 2 tenths over the 1/8 so the next 1/4 pass with tune and gears should be interesting. 
 
The 11.3 is showing 260 Moroso hp.  Exactly what is needed to run that mid 12 in the xf when everything else is right. Luke's head was done before we developed the latest ports so it would be just over the 210cfm mark. 
 
Spend your our money wisely and you will achieve your goal. 

Look at the engine you are building and decide on the most cost effective way. There will be positives and negatives each way. For a given engine, example a 250 crossflow, a zero-decked flat top might give you too much compression with even a stock head, but a stock piston will give you only average compression with a stock head. If you want something in the middle a mild dish and machined head may be the way to go.
 
There is some evidence floating around that a mild dish helps centre the force of the combustion and helps with initial squish and also pre-ignition. This passes the common sense test in that you will get some good charge distribution from the narrow sides forcing charge into the centre as the piston rises, and have a friendlier shaped combustion chamber floor with regard to pre-ignition.
 
The shape of a chamber is more important than the volume, but there is a limit where a good shape and unshrouded valves of appropriate sizes can all co-exist. Generally this is a nice semi-hemispherical chamber with rounded, smoothed contours focussing on the valves edges.
 
Short answer? See what is reasonably available for your engine and go from there.

Thanks mate, duly noted. I'm starting to think a bit more that way but again I'm also not looking to run 10's or even 11's. Mid 12's would be plenty for me - enough to have a play at the track with some V8 gear and not look shamefully slow. Low 12's would be a bonus but I expect the engine won't be the only thing holding me back by that point.
 
 
Good reading, cheers for the link mate. Nice ride!
 
 
Nah not much. Cheap ute, an engine to build while I drive it and sort the gremlins, and a whole lot of elbow grease by yours truely. I'm not a mechanic by trade but have tackled most jobs so far by myself. This is why I'm starting a year out - the magic triangle: Lotsa time / Lotsa money / Lotsa effort. Pick two and you may not need the other! 
 
Cost list so far:
 
$1000 - ute with reco 250 / 4spd / HD clutch / lotsa rims
$250 - donor XF - motor, radiator, spare trans / housing / flywheel etc
$240 - set of sunraysias in 15x7
$100 - new tonneau cover
$100 - basic service (coolant/filters/oil/plugs)
$50 - new tail lights
$50 - new hardline for fuel system
$100 - new fuel pump
$600 - Aussiespeed manifold
$600 - NX Mainline nitrous kit including plate, AN4 line, etc
------------
$3090 total so far
 
Budget about a grand for the camshaft, rockers and pushrods, another 200 in machining the head, 700 in M/T ET Street's, 150 for new diff gears and all I've got left is the carby... which I probably already have. Call it about another 1200 and I'm set. So whats that 4290 bucks? Not nothing but certainly far from big bucks, only thing missing is a decent ignition. If you have a place to work, some basic tools and a phone with the 'net you can get any job done.
 
 - boingk
 

Two things so far...not enough cam and not enough compression. Last flat tappet I ran had 650 lift and 270 @ 50.
 
Although I had nothing but good results from Mal @ Camtech I suggest ringing the cam grinders to spec your cam shaft.

One has to wonder why you'd even consider using 7/16 stud mount roller rockers for such little lift. The reality is that Yella Terra rate their 5/16 bolt ons to 600lbs of open pressure!!  No guide plates required, no additional machining costs. I've run 5/16 bolt in the real world for many years and never once pulled a rocker thread. That's in consistent high rpm engines that compete in endurance Motorsport and make decent snot.  254@.050 .584" lift Cams.  Secret is good spring control and correct spring pressures. 
 
So without all the pissing competitions about lift, duration, compression and all that, let's look at this with real data and science.  
 
Your stated goal is to run mid 12's (with spray) in a daily driven xf ute, so lets look at the data and facts.  
 
* An xf ute weighs 1350kgs - 2976 lbs, which incidentaly is 120kgs heavier than a crossflow equipped TE cortina in street trim.
* to run a 12.5 second pass in a 2976lb vehicle -  you'd need 260 moroso hp (ref. Moroso speed calculator). 
* a 230@.050 camshaft with a good cylinder head (210+ Cfm) and comp around 11:1 will make 1 hp/cube at the tyres in a manual,    .78/ cube in an auto with a fair stall.  I built a Buick v6 with a 215@.050 that went 214rwhp thru a stalled auto. Good head and 10.5:1 comp. 
* a 100 shot of nitrous is a real world 100rwhp gain.  Yes, it's not Street legal having any nitrous component hooked up, but in a ute you could easily hide the bottle lines etc. 
 
Now thats all assuming decent car set up and hook, but your own goal states to 'eventually' run mid 12's.  So in essence a 230@ .050 with good head and comp and a shot of gas should be more than capable of running mid 12's, provided the set up is good and the car gets the power and torque to the ground. 
 
It all comes down to how much street you intend on doing and how much drag. Also how much your prepared to live with in relation to everyday driveability.  I have customers that street drive 254@.050 Cams and love them. Josh recently drove his corty from Glen Innis to Yamba and back for a rod run. 3 hours each way, good cruise manners etc etc that's with 3.7 gears.  Pat drives his from Port Douglas to Cairns regularly and loves it - his has 3.45 gears.  Ive got a crow hydraulic in the Mad Scientist xflow.  It's a 619 I had lying around 226-232@.050 on 110. It has a nice chop at idle and would I'd say is livable idle and manners. 10.8:1 comp.  next year we will find out what sort of snot it makes.  
 
I think your on the right track track but I would say, don't be scared of putting some compression in her.  With the ally head and a good chamber shape you'll have no detonation issues. Bit more static will help with dynamic when you get around the 230@.@50 and above range. 
 
Good igniton control (especially with nitrous), a proper dyno tune by a good operator, some attention to suspension and set up and should be well on your way.  Either way, have fun with it and enjoy it. 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks mate, solid lead there. 1.75" would be nice, the things I have at the moment look very spindly (press bent 1.5"?) and were bought for a mild hop-up with another vehicle.
 
 
ACL do pistons according to their website:
http://www.aclperformance.com.au/EU/6MKRY9412.htm
 
With the dished set at .020 over, a 50cc chamber, .030" deck height and .040" head gasket at 3.7" bore diameter it all comes to about a 10.8:1 compression ratio by my calculations. That should be plenty for what I want to achieve and still use pump fuel.
 
I also stumbled on some bolt-in style roller rockers which look interesting, they use a 5/16 stud that goes into the head which then enlarges to a 7/16 stud for the rockers themselves. Anyone have any experience with this type of setup? I know its not a proper full 7/16 stud but then again I'm not running a top-spec full-tilt camshaft either.
 
 - boingk
 
 

Cool. Yeah different game with these to the good old mopar stuff. 
 
1"5/8 is about the biggest primary tubes you'll get from the usual places. Mark at Aussiespeed does a big bore 1"3/4 primary set where you build your own secondaries. I can highly recommend them as I've seen good gains.  In the new year I'll be doing some testing on various headers on the Mad Scientist x flow to show the differences. 
 
Stick to the 6al2 Programmable.  Trust me you won't regret it.  I've been beating on about how good they are for years on here and on my business Facebook page. Gerg will testify as to how much I beat on about them, but he has one and loves it. Especially important if it's going to be your everyday ride. With its load based (via map) timing graph you can get very good manners. 
 
Look forward to the build thread. 

You can forget about over .500" lift on standard rocker gear.  It's just not going to happen. Well not with any reliability. If you plan on taking it to the strip and giving it a hard time then just go straight to solid flat tappet. The 'run in risks' are the same with hydraulic flat tappet as solid flat tappet and the solid will make more power all day everyday. Roller rockers can be bought cheaply second hand so I'm not sure why you'd bother trying to make the stock stuff work way past its design purpose. 
 
230@50 is a good starting point on camshaft tho. Your cylinder head will need decent flow but there are various porting and build threads on here to guide you in that direction. 
 
The aussiespeed 4 barrel unit is really the only choice for the power level your aiming for (based on the times you want to run). Forget the street avenger and go straight to a 650dp. 
 
Ignition control is important on these engines so I'd be going nothing less than a 6al2 programmable and a hvc or hvc2 coil. Both are rated for street use and put out decent spark. 
 
A decent exhaust to get the bad stuff out and you should be well on your way. You will need to look at keeping weight down as much as you can but your goal should be achievable. 

Hi mate, I've seen this drawing as well. The sectional drawing reveals a very thin lower intake wall on the short-side radius and runner, so be careful if porting anywhere there. I would limit to a quick swiffer to remove casting defects.
 
What you would be better doing is concentrating your efforts to the outside / top of the runner as it will help with the gently curved profile of the runner in encouraging flow numbers.
 
From a peak of about 180-ish cfm you should end up with 200 to 210cfm is you do a decent job.
 
 - boingk