Big Valve conversion

[Arno Church]

Just for info, the Duratec engine has the inlet manifold on the left and the exhaust manifold on the r/h side of the engine, . In the Europa this should not be a concern but it just maybe in the Elan
Arno
Besides Zetec the new Duratec (200+HP) is an great looking option. I do not
know anyone has fitted one yet. I friend is considering for a Europa
conversion.

[types26/36]

Hi Ken,
If BDA's & BDR's are based on the 711 blocks what are BDG's? and
which cars/engines used the alloy blocks at what size?
Regards Brian,
64Elan/72Sprint/J.P.S.Europa



In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

[simonknee]

Talk to QED Steve. They are at the top end of the price range but they are
worth it.
If your head needs new valves then you could go for the "big" but them
you'll need new cams and stuff for your carbs too.
Boils down to the depth of your wallet.
However any level of twin cam will be loads of fun when in good fettle.

If you are new to the Elan what have you run before?
cheers

Simon
'67 S3 FHC

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Waterworth [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Tue, Jun 03, 2003 16:13
To: ***@***.***
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] Big Valve conversion


I also hear that the Ford BDA has been used in the Elan and Spyder are
putting the new Ford Zetec in as well. Not really looking for masses of
power, the engine will need a rebuild anyway so I thought I would tweek
a little while I was at it.

***@***.***e:

[Arno Church]

IIRC, the BDG was based on an alloy casting of the 711M block , fitted withliners and just under 2000cc capacity
You can of course buy a new alloy BDG block from Burtons, and fit the twinchead , you'll get the capacity but retain some originality- a quick glancefrom a "novice" will not reveal the secret
Arno
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Goodison
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 11:57 AM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Re: Big Valve conversion.... Now Engines


Hi Ken,
If BDA's & BDR's are based on the 711 blocks what are BDG's? and
which cars/engines used the alloy blocks at what size?
Regards Brian,
64Elan/72Sprint/J.P.S.Europa



In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

[steveww]

Before buying the elan I had a porsche 911 (964 C2) for 3 years. Before
that there were MGBs 1800 and V8, I also had a Mk2 Ford Escort rally /
sprint thingy with lots of trick bits and a Holbay Warrior twinc. That
was really quick back then and it is a miracle that I did not kill
myself in it. I found some old pace notes for a 12 car and drove the
route in my Porsche, there were corners marked as "absolute" which would
have been 100mph+++ in the escort and I dare not try it at that speed in
the Porsche! I think I must be getting old

Simon Knee wrote:

[lotuselan2]

Good point! LHD and RHD may be different as well.

[twincamman]

you wont have to run the line across the front member and back to the cylinders for the rear brakes just pick it up from after the brake switchand run a line to the front for the front brakes ed
----- Original Message -----
From: ***@***.***
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 7:39 PM
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] Big Valve conversion


Good point! LHD and RHD may be different as well.

["Ian Hebblethwaite&q]

Brian,
IIRC,the only road car in which the BDG alloy block was homologated was the
MK2 Escort RS1800 which used a standard BDA crank ( 77.6mm stroke ) and
86.75 mm pistons to give 1835cc.For competition use,the liners could be
replaced with ones for a 90mm piston to give almost 2 litres for Formula
2/Group 5 applications.
Best Regards
Ian

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Goodison [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Wednesday, 04 June 2003 11:58
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Re: Big Valve conversion.... Now Engines


Hi Ken,
If BDA's & BDR's are based on the 711 blocks what are BDG's? and
which cars/engines used the alloy blocks at what size?
Regards Brian,
64Elan/72Sprint/J.P.S.Europa



In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

[gobw2]

Ian - would this fit in an Elan, or is it too tall? George

On Thu, 5 Jun 2003 09:27:30 +0200 "Ian Hebblethwaite" <***@***.***>
writes:
Brian,
IIRC,the only road car in which the BDG alloy block was homologated was
the
MK2 Escort RS1800 which used a standard BDA crank ( 77.6mm stroke ) and
86.75 mm pistons to give 1835cc.For competition use,the liners could be
replaced with ones for a 90mm piston to give almost 2 litres for Formula
2/Group 5 applications.
Best Regards
Ian

[lotuselan2]

George
I think the BDG has same external dimensions as the BDR. Ian can correct me
if I am wrong. I fitted the BDR to my +2 with two mods, simple ones. I
slotted the motor mounts maybe a 1/4", 5mm to RAISE motor and clear the front
pulley from front cross member. Second, I added a hump to the hood to clear the
cam pulleys. I suspect an Elan may need a bigger hump than a +2, but I do not
know. I made the hump quite simply, I cut the fiberglass with a "U" shape,
squared of U. The bottow of the U is just in front of the cams. The hump is
really a wedge shape. I used a coarse sanding disc / cutting wheel to weaken the
underside of the fiberglass at the top, open-end of the U. Then I inserted a
wood block to hold the bottom end of the U up high enough to clear the cams.
Then I glass the sides of the U to make the wedge rigid. I removed thw wood
block and glassed the bottom of the U (front of car), and finished off with
filler and such to make quite a nice appearing wedge shape.

I do not have a digital pic but if you send a direct email to me I will get
one over weekend. I'm kinda' proud of it.
Ken
'69 +2 with BDR.

[+2R160]

Ken, I wondered what power your engine produces with a 7,500 rpm max?

I almost bought a +2 with the 'reverse' of what you have - an alloy
RS1800 escort (BDA?) block, but with the Lotus Twin Cam head. I think
it had been bored to ~2 litres and apparently produced around 175bhp
on fuel injection and mild cams.

Regards, David.

--- In ***@***.***, ***@***.***e:

[lotuselan2]

David
Peak torque will come in well before 7500 RPM, so I have all the torque of a
190HP motor. If you make the assumption that max . torque is at 7500 and
constant from 7500 to 9000, you can calculate that HP is 158. I believe max
torque is reached somewhere between 5-6000 RPM and falling between 7500 and 9000.
That being the case the HP at 7500 is probably 175-180. Believe me, it is
more than enough!! I raced for 12 years, sports cars, FF2000, Sprots 2000 and no
car has ever accelerated like this one!! If you plant your right foot, by
the time it gets to the floor it is time to shift and that is in 1st, 2nd and
3rd!! It is pretty scarey getting it to 7500 RPM in 2nd, it just keeps wanting
to rev. I can't imagine what 9000 would be like.
Ken

[gobw2]

Damn - that is unbelievable - I have never been in anything that fast -
by the way - are you slow in getting your foot tothe floor?
Question, Ken - The gearbox and diff were originallydesigned for
something like 37 hp. What do you have to do to the driveline so it can
take 180 hp? seems like that would twist the gearbox to a pretzel. What
do you use for halfshafts? I doubt the donut system can take 180 hp.
Very interested George who wants to figure out how to get his S3 that way
at an affordable price.


On Sat, 7 Jun 2003 15:46:25 EDT ***@***.***es:
and 9000.
That being the case the HP at 7500 is probably 175-180. Believe me, it
is
more than enough!! I bet I raced for 12 years, sports cars, FF2000,
Sprots 2000 and no
car has ever accelerated like this one!! If you plant your right foot,
by
the time it gets to the floor it is time to shift and that is in 1st, 2nd
and
3rd!! It is pretty scarey getting it to 7500 RPM in 2nd, it just keeps
wanting
to rev. I can't imagine what 9000 would be like.
Ken

[lotuselan2]

Well
I might be a little slow to the floor, but only because of my body being
thrust to the rear and the effect of the roar on my pysch!

I have stock g-box, diff and half shafts!! The gearbox is making some
strange sounds and I do not predict long life for it. I think the diff is good for
this power for occasional use. I sure wish I could find a 3.55! I have the
torque to pull at any revs, so 3.55 or lower would suit me fine. As for the
half shafts..... I knew what I had under the hood so I took some precautions.
I built my own design system to "contain" either end of half shaft if the
donuts failed. My design is simple and cheap. I have film pics of parts, no
digital pics. After having run the car at my local drag strip I headed for an
autocross to spectate. I developed a loud clunking noise in the rear but on the
street I could not identify the problem. I managed to nurse the car home,
about 30 miles. What I sound was one SNAPPED BOLT in the donut!! And I was
still able to drive home. My design works real well!! But yes, if I was to use
the torque consistently the donuts are VERY underdesign for the motor. I need
CV / U-joint set up as soon as I can find them reasonalby priced on ebay! For
the moment, my slow foot to the floor is plenty fun and gets around on
weekends.

As for my times on the strip. This may give you some indication of
performance; remember this is a +2 with at 2000 lb. Note that I had NEVER been on a
drag strip before in my life. A cousin explained the lights and for a "stick"
car he told me when you see the next to last amber light, GO! That was my only
instructions.
My reaction times were good buyt my 60 foot times were pathetic, that is the
donuts killing me! My best time at each interval was:
RT 0.591 sec
60' 2.432 sec
330' 6.581 sec
1/8 mi 73.12 mph
990 12.723 sec
1/4 mile 15.309
89.28

Above data is the best component from three runs, not all same run. I am
told that this is about equivalent to a STOCK 5.0 Mustang on stock tires.

I think I can make big improvements on the 60' time which will make good
gains elsewhere. By the way I was on Yoko Avid A4 tires!

Ken
'69 +2 with BDR

[gino1]

This is going to make you sick, but I just bought a 3:55 diff on e bay in
the ford section.
Gino
----- Original Message -----


Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 3:34 AM
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] Re: Big Valve conversion


Well
I might be a little slow to the floor, but only because of my body being
thrust to the rear and the effect of the roar on my pysch!

I have stock g-box, diff and half shafts!! The gearbox is making some
strange sounds and I do not predict long life for it. I think the diff is
good for
this power for occasional use. I sure wish I could find a 3.55! I have the
torque to pull at any revs, so 3.55 or lower would suit me fine. As for the
half shafts..... I knew what I had under the hood so I took some
precautions.
I built my own design system to "contain" either end of half shaft if the
donuts failed. My design is simple and cheap. I have film pics of parts,
no
digital pics. After having run the car at my local drag strip I headed for
an
autocross to spectate. I developed a loud clunking noise in the rear but on
the
street I could not identify the problem. I managed to nurse the car home,
about 30 miles. What I sound was one SNAPPED BOLT in the donut!! And I was
still able to drive home. My design works real well!! But yes, if I was to
use
the torque consistently the donuts are VERY underdesign for the motor. I
need
CV / U-joint set up as soon as I can find them reasonalby priced on ebay!
For
the moment, my slow foot to the floor is plenty fun and gets around on
weekends.

As for my times on the strip. This may give you some indication of
performance; remember this is a +2 with at 2000 lb. Note that I had NEVER
been on a
drag strip before in my life. A cousin explained the lights and for a
"stick"
car he told me when you see the next to last amber light, GO! That was my
only
instructions.
My reaction times were good buyt my 60 foot times were pathetic, that is the

donuts killing me! My best time at each interval was:
RT 0.591 sec
60' 2.432 sec
330' 6.581 sec
1/8 mi 73.12 mph
990 12.723 sec
1/4 mile 15.309
89.28

Above data is the best component from three runs, not all same run. I am
told that this is about equivalent to a STOCK 5.0 Mustang on stock tires.

I think I can make big improvements on the 60' time which will make good
gains elsewhere. By the way I was on Yoko Avid A4 tires!

Ken
'69 +2 with BDR