1700 Twincam

PostPost by: Jason1 » Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:11 pm

Hi

Have a look at the twincam just sold on Ebay item 370316157246

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... _914wt_939

This is not an 'L' block; is it special in some way that it is worth that money? Are there better engines than the 'L' blocks that are better at taking the overbore?

Just curious as to why somebody paid so much?

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PostPost by: rjaxe » Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:57 pm

I havent read anywhere that the "L" designation ever applied to 711M blocks, for a detail write up of this and the various other Ford blocks that are relevant to the twin cam engine have a look at http://www.lotus-cortina.com/library/block/blocks.htm. The merits or otherwise of the candidates are explained in this very good article by Bryan Moorcroft.
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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:11 pm

Looks cheap to me. It would cost that sort of money to overhaul your own twincam, and you'd have to provide the engine in the first place! And it provides a lot more geegees.


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PostPost by: bcmc33 » Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:55 pm

I followed this item out of pure interest - and thought the buyer had a very good deal.

The work on the head alone would set you back at least ?1500, and not being an "L" block means nothing.
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PostPost by: gordont » Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:15 am

I was watching this purely out of curiosity but seems like a good buy to me.
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PostPost by: Jason1 » Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:41 pm

Hi

Thanks for the artical Richard lots of interesting infomation. One to print off and keep. :)

Jason
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PostPost by: Jason1 » Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:35 pm

Ok

How much is a "NEEDS OVERHAUL" Twin cam 'L' engine worth?

Item number: 330393196784

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 719wt_1165

It is interesting to see if my engine ever goes BOOM!

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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Thu Jan 14, 2010 11:16 pm

No ordinary engine, that one....I think that the Escort boys will be bidding hard on it.

It looks like it was fitted to a twincam Escort at some stage, as it has the dipstick tube at the rear offside of the block. The Escort had a crossmember going across the front of the engine, so the deep part of the sump was at the back. It also seems to have a dipstick tube where we would expect one to be, and a 'normal' sump, so probably fitted to a Cortina for a while. The whole thing looks like it's been at the bottom of the sea for a couple of months though, and that head looks rough, with no thickness given.

I think there will be better buys than this for an Elan.

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PostPost by: Craig Elliott » Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:42 pm

Hmm ?2,200!...C
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PostPost by: garyhois » Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:05 pm

Looking at the price of this it was cheap even though it was the wrong block. I paid more than this, having supplied a donor engine only 2 months ago, albeit to a higher spec. Also remember that the engine is only a small portion of the investment. You need to cool it, high torque starter, re-jet the carbs, large bore exhaust system, etc. After that it may be a nice engine if put together by someone who knows what they are doing.

Having got the engine together your probably going to destroy the driveshafts, so thats inboard, cv shafts an outboard. Great for Tony Thompson

The list goes on

If your hesitant about the purchase price, don't do it as you'll easily spend more that double this putting it together.

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PostPost by: elansprint » Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:53 pm

Mark very diplomatic head rough cams rusty i'll keep my money in the bank
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PostPost by: sonunet » Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:33 am

meant for a vintage formula racer -- 711's & 691's were both tall block versions of the 701 & 681's. you know how formula guys are. :) it's all about winning -- not that i'm saying buy an engine from ebay and fit it and you'll win races. but reading (without inspecting under) -- it's certainly a solid start to a winning engine. 711 engines are just as if not more desirable to a formula racer then a short height 'L'.

maybe it has hardened chrome cylinders?

although, the oversize is the only questionable part.

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