Founder Beanoir™ Posted February 4, 2016 Founder Share Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Ok, so i'm not sure if I post this here on non-Porsche car chat, either way if mods want to move it go ahead. I thought i'd post up and keep a running thread of a project near completion. Anyway I thought i'd share with some petrolheads who might appreciate. My Ford Fiesta XR2 (Yep, thats right, an old Ford!) has been 90% restored but due to a spun bearing after just a few hundred miles into it's rebuilt engine it's been sitting in the garage feeling sorry for itself for the last 18 months. 'PRU' is a 1988 XR2 I've had for 13 years, I bought her from an elderly lady down in Devon who'd had her from new (so i'm the 2nd owner). The car has been there with me through thick and thin and when I had the money I decided to bring here back from edge of a rust induced coma with a full restoration. Everything except the bodywork was done by me pretty much, aside from some powder coating of a few parts. I do have a detailed build thread on VAGOC but it's in the members area which requires signing up, but here are a few photos... IN the beginning... And then a few years of spannering to bring her back to health Edited February 4, 2016 by Beanoir 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted February 4, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted February 4, 2016 The reason i've thought to resurrect a bit of a build thread is because I have finally found somebody who is interested in stripping the engine and has some engineering experience and can have the crankshaft re-ground, bearings to fit and and correct any other mistakes i've made in the process of building the engine. So next Wednesday, being picked up and taken away for a week or two, the excitement has returned now at the prospect of having it back on the road for the good weather this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webdunk Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 A mate of mine has been involved with racing these at Knockhill :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Dave Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Nice thread this, will be watching it with interest. Have created a 'Projects' thread for non-Porsche threads and other project threads, will move it over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcc42uk Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Very cool, keep us updated. What the spec of the engine going to be? how much power are you hoping for? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted February 7, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) Cheers Guys! The engine is the original 1.6 CVH, I rebuilt it and replaced everything, bearings, rings, plugs, bolts, ancillaries (water pump, oil pump etc). What I didn't do is measure crankshaft and bearings accordingly, I went for standard spec and that turned out to be wrong. So it's being fixed this week hopefully. As for modifications Cylinder head has been ported and skimmed and matched to the new inlet manifold. Weber twin 40 DCNF Carbs Kent fast road camshaft Kent vernier pulley Magnex 4 branch stainless manifold Magnex full stainless exhaust system Electronic Facet Red top fuel pump and uprated fuel filter Its not mega spec, but it should be enough to give somewhere in the region of 125-135bhp which in a car weighing 850kg is enough for a bit of fun. They're around 96bhp as standard. If I wanted mega power, then i'd have to go with a Zetec conversion which isn't expensive and north of 200bhp is pretty easy and that would be a fast car, but I wanted to keep the original engine and also mods that were of the era. Few more engine pics... Edited February 7, 2016 by Beanoir 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted February 7, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted February 7, 2016 On 5 February 2016 at 08:58, Webdunk said: A mate of mine has been involved with racing these at Knockhill :-) Nice, I know a couple of guys in the XR circles racing them, who is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webdunk Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 12 hours ago, Beanoir said: Nice, I know a couple of guys in the XR circles racing them, who is it? Hamish Smart - piloting the XR2 in my picture under his moniker Haggis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted February 26, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) Ok so, a quick update. Car was collected on Saturday by the guy doing the work on the engine, he's an old school type mechanic and engineer with a background in racing bikes and supporting race teams, I liked him. He said he'd pull the engine out over the course of the week and report back with his findings. Spoke to him this morning and the news is not too bad, but a couple of bits that need doing; - one piston feels a bit lose on the bottom end which suggests a bearing has gone as we thought - No.2 cylinder has had water ingress and nakered the bore - inlet manifold needs attention - thermostat housing needs a new gasket and bung So not a disaster, likely remedy is; - Crankshaft re-grind - re-bore all 4 cylinders with new pistons to fit (i'm guessing +0.5mm oversize) - i'm not looking for an over-bored block particularly or spending out on forged pistons etc. - Balance crankshaft and pistons - rebuild engine properly! Edited March 22, 2016 by Beanoir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Dave Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Have you got her back yet?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted April 1, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted April 1, 2016 no...but I spoke to garage today and reminded them that the MOT ran out today. Good news is that it's up and running! He will get an MOT on it for me and should (all being well) be back with me tomorrow...watch this space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted April 2, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted April 2, 2016 Ok so I have the old girl back home! Running much much better and revving nice and freely now. A fair amount of work done... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Fagan Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 On 03/02/2016 at 22:50, Beanoir said: The reason i've thought to resurrect a bit of a build thread is because I have finally found somebody who is interested in stripping the engine and has some engineering experience and can have the crankshaft re-ground, bearings to fit and and correct any other mistakes i've made in the process of building the engine. So next Wednesday, being picked up and taken away for a week or two, the excitement has returned now at the prospect of having it back on the road for the good weather this year Might be worth putting new diff bearings in at same time as they were a problem with wear which used to stop the speedo working 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted April 8, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted April 8, 2016 Went for a spring evening drive tonight engine now noticeabley better and revs nicely and pulls at 4K really well, can't rev it out much more as I need to bed the bearings in, seeks the camshaft is doing its thing though. All very retro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmoggy Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 that looks lovely, and sounds like it will go equally as well. Brings back a few memories too, although I never owned one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted April 9, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted April 9, 2016 It's certainly a bizzare driving experience what with the tin can construction, offset steering wheel and windscreen an inch from your nose! Its perkier than it was for sure, it's not fast by modern standards, but then I'm not sure I'm keen on traveling all that fast in it to be honest. Does handle surprisingly well though, very 'go-kart' like 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twopointnine Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 I thought I was doing really well when I bought a brand new 'sporty' Fiesta 1100S in 1980. The XR2 when it was launched could only be a dream for me. I did 'tune' my 1100S by fitting an anti-dive kit to the front suspension! Sorry to hijack your thread. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted April 10, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted April 10, 2016 Very sought after these days the Mk1 Fiestas, my first car was similar, I had a blue mk1 1.1 Finesse (no less) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Seems like an old Fiesta was a right of passage for members of the club! First car was a 1985 1100 Ghia, with optional electronic boot release! This does make it a MK2, although I think some guys have a few years on me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted April 19, 2016 Author Founder Share Posted April 19, 2016 A nice find on eBay this weekend, turned up today. A new old stock fog light switch to replace the broken one in my car, very rare to find bits like this these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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