LDR XR Update

john vanlandingham Wrote:
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> Paddy, popular yes but enlarging a port means the
> gas velovity in the port slows down. Bad.

Ok, so he should weld his ports down to test tube diameter? I don't buy this...

Hehe...

Question, is the combustion chamber supposed to be round or D-shaped on the turbo head? I need to check mine tonight, but I think mine is D shaped.

Cheers! John

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

I just kept my eye on ebay until I found a used tubular manifold from ATR or something like that. Apparently the SS Autochrome one sucks. The stock ones crack. Was going to make my own, but came upon one for cheap that left turbo in stock location (already had a 3" downpipe for stock location). Many move turbo to center mount.

Porting has always seemed to me to be a bit more work than I cared to do for the level I aim for. Seems plenty of people with stock heads and near 300 ish hp, which is plenty for now for me. If I decide I want to go crazy in the future, I'd probably not bother with an engine that was also used in Cat heavy equipment.

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Grant Hughes

Grant, I hear you. I don't mind port matching etc. Doing much more work is a bit beyond me. 300bhp should be plenty for any of us! ;-)

I don't mind bolt-on enhancements that don't break the bank.

I'll keep my eye on crackbay as I always do! :-)

Cheers! John

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

John Cassidy Wrote:
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> Hehe...
>
> Question, is the combustion chamber supposed to be
> round or D-shaped on the turbo head? I need to
> check mine tonight, but I think mine is D shaped.
>
> Cheers! John
>
>
>
The D saped one is the correct turbo head, Ford does a normal aspirated head which is vaguely heart shaped.
Hi John

Do I have your address to send these sump guard/jack point/tow eyelet things and the nice weld nuts I made to go with them?

Packing to go to FedEx in a few moments.
John

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Sent address via PM.

Thanks John!

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

NoCoast Wrote:
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... I'd
> probably not bother with an engine that was also
> used in Cat heavy equipment.


I found out just today that our campus tractor-based snowplows use a ford 2.3 powerplant on my walk in.

Rallying snowplows! Sounds like a good combo for those of us in the snowbelt.

Thanks again for all the good info guys! :-) Our car will be a combination of what we want to do with your experiences of what we should do.

Hopefully we can listen and keep it simple!

Cheers! John

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

John Cassidy Wrote:
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> Grant, I hear you. I don't mind port matching
> etc.

Don't bother port matching the manifolds, there's no gain ( for the reason John mentioned). However opening up the throat, behind the valve in the port will get you some gains. Not much needs to be done at the port entrance. Also removing the shouding in the chamber as well.

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Scott Manley
Spokane, WA
86' XR4Ti
37

Thanks Scott. Good info.

Cheers! John

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

john vanlandingham Wrote:
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> Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
> Less lift and even less duration than the stock XR
> cam.
While it's true that the cam has less lift, the roller follers have a different ratio then the sliders, so the final lift ends up a wash. The real advantage to the Ranger Roller is that one can add significantly stiffer valve springs and the followers are already setup to except mousetrap springs for running solid lifters. To run a solid slider cam, one would really want to go with the fancy steel insert followers, as high spring pressure tends to increase the likelyhood of cam failure. BTW-
89-97 Rangers and 90-93 Mustangs have the roller cam, don't use the later ones, the valve tips are different and follers don't except mouse traps.
2.0L pinto engines all have solid lifters and mousetraps (nearly free at the pic and pulls)
Racer Walsh sells drop in inserts ( the threaded part) for the solid lifters to work in the 2.3 head and a stockish cam. They and Esslinger also sell the inserts that require machining the head, And that 's for cams with smaller base circles or different valve geometry.

Depending one were one finds the parts, the total cost for a RR cam and solid lifts would be less then $150.

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Scott Manley
Spokane, WA
86' XR4Ti
37

Spent yesterday priming all the spot welds and steel we've added to the car. Kind of makes it look like we're making progress!

Removed the front suspension/cross member and started working on removing the rear. One axle nut is being stubborn and even with head and the 1/2" impact, she wasn't budging. I'll rest up and try it again in a few days.

Is there a better ratio steering rack I can swap in? Mine's in bad shape, so needs replacing anyway.

Merry Christmas you motley crew! :-)

Cheers! John

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

John Cassidy Wrote:
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> Removed the front suspension/cross member and
> started working on removing the rear. One axle
> nut is being stubborn and even with head and the
> 1/2" impact, she wasn't budging. I'll rest up and
> try it again in a few days.

I assume after sucking on the bolt you tried some HEAT? ;-)

> Is there a better ratio steering rack I can swap
> in? Mine's in bad shape, so needs replacing
> anyway.

There were 2 racks for the cars. One with a smooth barrel and one with a waffle-grid pattern stamped in. You want the waffle. Rebuilt ones can be arranged from NAPA, there's something on merkurencyclopedia or 85xr about getting the right part #'s.

Sorry, mis-type! Hehe...

I'll look for the waffle version!

Cheers! John

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http://www.lastditchracing.com
http://www.triplecaution.us

PAddy Wrote:
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> John Cassidy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Removed the front suspension/cross member
> and
> > started working on removing the rear. One
> axle
> > nut is being stubborn and even with head and
> the
> > 1/2" impact, she wasn't budging. I'll rest
> up and
> > try it again in a few days.

John you know the threads on drivers side are left hand threads dontcha?
They're even color coded on the nylon part of the lock nut..

>
> I assume after sucking on the bolt you tried some
> HEAT? ;-)
>
> > Is there a better ratio steering rack I can
> swap
> > in? Mine's in bad shape, so needs replacing
> > anyway.
>
> There were 2 racks for the cars. One with a
> smooth barrel and one with a waffle-grid pattern
> stamped in. You want the waffle. Rebuilt ones
> can be arranged from NAPA, there's something on
> merkurencyclopedia or 85xr about getting the right
> part #'s.

In truth there are also 2.6 turn Cam gears racks.
Here's how it goes:
early 85s got TRW/Cam Gears smooth steel cased 4.1 turn racks
some otherws got smooth cased TRW/Cam Gears 2.6 turns racks

At some point they got a all alloy ZF variable ratio 2.6 turn rack with the waffel pattern.
Auto Zone shows fast and slow in their catalog and JAC rack also indicates fast and slow ratio.

Certain naughty bastards have the motorsport 1.9 turn power packs for their 4x4.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.