Drag Racing an Escort

[Melz]

Hey guys, what engine would you suggest i run in a purpose built 2 door escort? Taking into consideration that i am only still learning the 'art' of drag racing and that I would prefer to learn how to build up the motor also.

Suggestion on driveline also would be appreciated!!!

Cheers
Melz

PS. Working on a very tight budget so no suggestions on $15000 crate motors!!!! Thankyou

[Bossxr8]

The biggest engine that will fit. I've seen Escorts with 351 Clevelands, but I don't know how much work needs to be done to fit them. Personally I would put a 351 Windsor stroked out to 427. Big Block cubes in a small block with a suitable auto, depending on how much power you have. A C4 auto would be OK for say 500hp but a C6 will handle more.

[Falcon Coupe]

It depends what you want out of it, 302 V8 is a common conversion, but it's not really a beginners setup, are you looking to stay 4 cylinder like a worked 2 litre or go for something bigger ? i recall Brenx built a pretty serious escort engine years ago, maybe see what he thinks.

[LTDHO]

How fast do you want to go?
How much money do you want to spend?
What class do you want to race in?

I'd fit a 351C mild or wild.
Mild i'd run C4 shift kit with appropiate stally.
Wild i'd run Powerglide " " " " " "
9" diff with gears to suit tyres and engine combo.

[Gauntster]

What bracket do want to run in?
Establish this and your budget and you should be headed in the right direction.

Once you know the bracket check out some of the cars in this bracket to see whether or not it is appropriate for your budget. If your like everyone else then you want to be competitive and win one or two as well as compete all year round then the bracket/budget thing goes hand in hand.

I would think that striped down and set up mk1 escy with the appropriate running gear and a 302 based block 400-500 hp running in either Super Gas, Super Sedan or maybe even Super Stock(modified) would be a goog starting point.

Hope this might give you something to research and think about to get you on your way to "quarter mile mania".

Go get em tiger!

[Racecraft]

myself, I'd go for a imported front cut and whack on a nice turbo

[Ghiadude]

sr20det. lotsa boost.

[aimzes]

myself, I'd go for a imported front cut and whack on a nice turbo

i think this would be the way to go. btw ive seen an article on a Mk1 corty with a 460... so i guess one of them would fit in an escort lol...

[302donk]

if it was me i would build a nice
450 to 500hp windsor
a c4 3 speed trans(built by hugos race glides of course)
standard running gear up back as in 9 inch
and would run super gas as its not hard to go 9.90 in a car that weights as light as an escort would

[xdclevo]

If you want to run 12s, put in a new mild 351 and it will be easy if the driveline is set up properly in regards to stall converotor and diff gears. Work out if you want naturally asperated or a forced indcution 6 or 8. A nice naturally aspirated 351 cleveland or Windsor would be a good economical choice, depending on what fit the easiest.

[Perana]

Id go a wheezer... 302 would fit the easiest but would still need a bit of panel work to fit. 351w stroked to 427+ would go very well in a light escort body

[naughts]

289 Windsor
Good fit and lots of revs!!!!!
there is one down my way that runs 12's

[ebxr8240]

Drag only car ???
Id go SOHC 4.0 , turbo and auto...The drive shaft won't be vary long...
Shortened Cortina diff or Toyota Hi ace etc ??
If a std E series can run mid 11's with turbo on std engine then I assume 9's would be achievable with traction and good kook up...Abviously the firewall will need to be fabriacted to accept the engine's back 2 or 3 cylinders...

[12]

Have a look here. Good starting point I reckon.

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by 012

Have a look here. Good starting point I reckon.

Hmmmmm does :

out the rear end a bright pink chute is fitted for those passes above 140MPH.

sound like a good car for learning in ? we don't want anyone to get hurt.

[INJECTED_250]

i would build up a turbo pinto motor..... prety easy to do.... keeping it in the ford family and would run fairly good times, and not be to hard to control

[12]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

Hmmmmm does : sound like a good car for learning in ? we don't want anyone to get hurt.

The car is being sold with no engine, so I doubt it would reach 140 MP/H yet alone 4 MP/H.



How fast can ya run Melz? You could try to get to 140 MP/H Flinstones style. Because that's the only way this Escort would reach 140 MP/H in it's current state.

I posted the link because I thought Melz could be interested in a already prep'd purpose built drag Escort (minus the engine and gearbox.. (if Melz didn't already have one that is)), and Melz could decide on the engine/gearbox combo for herself. But instead, I get accused of trying to hurt people. :yeees:

[Falcon Coupe]

I Didn't go through all the pics, just read easy sub 10 second car etc... :

[JG3282]

The first thing you have to do is rule out a six. the Escort engine bay is not very long, therefore to run a six it would mean cutting out and removing the firewall and radiator support panel. The next question is, do you want to stick with a caveman style v8 with holley carby, edelbrock manifold, powerglide, nine inch and 4.11's (the same as every other tom, dick & harry) or do you want to be progressive. There's a guy called Peter in the RS Owners Club who has a 2.0 litre Zetec in an Esky that flies. I can help you get in touch with him. Something like that, plus weight reduction, hilux or VL turbo diff, a reasonable sized turbo and dry ice intercooler setup would be my suggestion. There's a guy in Ballarat, Andy from Specialised Power Porting who would be a good bloke to speak to about this or Rod at Motorvator Race Engines in Bendigo.

Or you could read my signature and give Frankie a call, tell him I sent ya.

[JG3282]

Originally Posted by 012

But instead, I get accused of trying to hurt people. :yeees:

Mate that is the funniest avatar I've ever seen :

[XRQTOR]

There was a little two door escort at supernats yeasterday with a blown 351 in it, dam did that thing have some balls. If you have ever seen the forza HR do a burnout this little green machine had it well and truly covered.

[jd dad]

302 Windsor for mine as a Cleveland is a pretty neat fit into anything small unless you`ve got good fabrication skills. As you are only learning a 450-500 hp motor for mine is plain silly. Start with a mild combo that is easily upgraded to get you used to it. A small car with a big hp engine can be fairly interesting to drive even when you are used to them let alone starting out.

[blo666]

the white one is nice i think i read some thing about 600+ i could be wrong

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by INJECTED_250

i would build up a turbo pinto motor..... prety easy to do.... keeping it in the ford family and would run fairly good times, and not be to hard to control

Yeah, a turbo EFI pinto would be pretty good and quick, something like this:



That's what I'd do personally, although there are so many options available, N/A or turbo 4, V6, V8.... As cool as a I6 would be, given the size of an Escort engine bay, it would probably be more trouble then it's worth, in my opinion.

The other advantage with going for a setup like that above is that you could do it in stages, start off with a 2 door Escort with a bog standard 2L OHC "Pinto" engine, get a good feel for how different it is to a Falcon engine (this might seem like it's obvious, but believe me, there is a whole world of difference), then source the EFI setup and get it fitted, etc.

The other great thing is that it's not too hard to source replacement diffs, and bolting in a 3.77:1 diff from a "kent" powered Escort (pretty much anything with a 1.6L or smaller engine really, also the kent engines are not OHC, but OHV, just like the 6's in all Falcons before the EA), or even a 4.11:1 if you can find one out of an Escort panelvan (was an option for them), it will make a pretty big difference, although once you start putting a reasonable amount of power through it, don't expect it to last too long, they do cope suprisingly well if you treat them with some respect if the engine isn't making heaps more power then stock - 5000rpm clutch dumps will destroy a stock Escort diff pretty quickly, but more sensible launches will see it last a lot longer then you might expect.

When it comes to transmission, there are many options, and to a certain extent this will depend on what powerplant you choose to go for. A stock 4 speed is cheap and reasonably effective, although the gear ratios aren't the greatest. You can put in a sierra 5 speed box fairly easily, with the only real difference being the overdriven 5th gear, but even with a 4.11:1 diff, you may not need the 5th gear before the end of the standing 400m. Autos can be built up to handle some serious ooomph, ratios won't be as great as a manual, but it's easier to launch an auto consistantly. But there is also the option of transmissions such as a supra 5 speed, which could go on with some mods, and like I said above, if you choose to slot in something else as the powerplant, then the transmission choice will depend to a certain extent on which engine is powering it.

Hopefully that has been helpful I wish I still had my 2L Escort, I'd love to know what it would have ran down the 1/4... :

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by blo666

the white one is nice i think i read some thing about 600+ i could be wrong

Wouldn't suprise me, cosworth DOHC turbo, running heaps of boost can achieve that sort of power, even higher. Pity those engines are so damn expensive :(

[ebxr8240]

As this is in drag section and the question was drag Escort.. The 4 cyl build up would be fairly expensive..But it depends on what you want?
Big lassy motors last and can be bought from wreckers and almost thrown in..But they need to be set back through firewall and some space framing done..
Years ago I fitted a 289 in a Mkl Escort...
Scanned it but not that clear...

;

[THORNSPAWN]

My brother has a T28 turbo and manifold for his Mk2 escort 2L which came off a
Mk2 panelvan which ran a 12.8 with a stock pinto and draw through carby.
I will hopefully be racing my 4 door Mk2 RS2000 at the next AFF drags.
It has a fairly worked pinto and twin 45s, it will be interesting to see how it goes.

[Melz]

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I'm still trying to nut out the different brackets, etc. for drag racing, and what i would like to run in.
My only thought was a N/A 289 with powerglide (obviously i haven't been able to sort out the full set up yet).
The brother-in-law was eyeing off a Holden 6... blah

[jd dad]

Be more room with a Windsor than a str8 six. Saw a Capri with a pre crossflow 250 in it in a wreckers yard years ago and it looked like a ***** of a job to get it in there

[Gauntster]

Originally Posted by Melz

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I'm still trying to nut out the different brackets, etc. for drag racing, and what i would like to run in.
My only thought was a N/A 289 with powerglide (obviously i haven't been able to sort out the full set up yet).
The brother-in-law was eyeing off a Holden 6... blah

Hi Melz, you should get yourself a copy of the ANDRA drag racing rule book for 2005-2006 and you will find everything you need to know. Pretty sure they still cost $20.00, buy one at the next ANDRA meet or go onto the web site.
This should give you a good understanding of the brackets etc.