cortina upgrade

ian activ8 · Post by **ian activ8** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:54 am

hi all newbie here, my cortina begged off the banger racers,[ too good to race ] CAME WITH NO ENGINE, now ihave a v8 rover with no box. and just wondering what would be the best way to fit this in my mk3, all the welding and poly bushings been done, lowered .... just waiting to see what would be the best way to go, any info would be great ......

chodjinn · Post by **chodjinn** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:10 am

Probably use an LT77 gearbox or if you can afford a bit more a T5. Stevieturbo on here had a granny with an RV8 before he fitted the LS1.

Does the engine have EFI or carbs??

What are your plans for the motor; racing, street etc??

thanks

ChrisJC · Post by **ChrisJC** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:13 am

Not sure we've had a V8 cortina on here yet....? Got Capris & Escorts, but I expect a Cortina is different.

Just remembered Demo2 and his Mk1 Cortina.

I would try for an R380 box as it's better than the LT77. Might be a mix & match though between a 4x4 V8 version and a 2WD Sherpa van version unless you can find a 2WD one.

Chris.

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:40 am

ChrisJC wrote:Not sure we've had a V8 cortina on here yet....? Got Capris & Escorts, but I expect a Cortina is different.

Just remembered Demo2 and his Mk1 Cortina.

I would try for an R380 box as it's better than the LT77. Might be a mix & match though between a 4x4 V8 version and a 2WD Sherpa van version unless you can find a 2WD one.

Chris.

I feel all upset now,

and of course there was StormyStormrider

Nightmare with his Mk3 van , and Insane ron omes on here with his 9 sec Mk3 estate, oh and ME

Firstly welcome to the forum, I am sure there is plenty of usefull info on this site, and If you cant find what you want ASK we can probably help

I was going to say have a look on BSC but I see you are allready there,

chodjinn · Post by **chodjinn** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:52 am

Yes the R380s are nice but they are rare and over priced in my opinion. You can get an LT77 for very little, and use the right oil and look after it and it can handle a fair amount of stick (well i'm hoping lol!).

Sorry misread the earlier bit about your car being a cortina!

ian activ8 · Post by **ian activ8** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:35 pm

wow thanks for the info guys

running carb twin choke webber 38 d/gas . trying for a cruiser with a little more go, but mostly subtle body mods, no bonnet bulge and keeping those flowing lines.

chodjinn · Post by **chodjinn** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:59 pm

Excellent start, carbs are easier to set up with regard to they dont have an ECU or fancy fuel pumps etc etc., but can be a bind to get the needles right.

Guess for fuelling you'll only need something like a Facet Red Top and a low pressure filter.

What other bits have come with the car - or is it complete minus the engine/box??

ChrisJC · Post by **ChrisJC** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:04 pm

ian.stewart wrote: I feel all upset now,

Sorry

Please forgive me!

Chris.

chodjinn · Post by **chodjinn** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:21 pm

More poke can be derived from changing the cam, upgrading the carb/inlet manifold to e.g. Weber 500 (cost circa £500), plus a decent air filter and decent exhausts.

More power would come from Staged heads, but depending on budget these can be expensive, although ebay is very good for bargain Rover V8 parts - I recently saw some Stage 2 heads for about £250 which would work very well. (Just had a thought, I may be getting rid of my Stage 3 heads after xmas depending on how something works out, if you're interested let me know and i'll keep you in mind!)

What is your budget mate?

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:56 pm

I may well be selling a brand new TH350 after xmas if you fancy going to automatic.

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:22 pm

ChrisJC wrote:
ian.stewart wrote: I feel all upset now,
Sorry Please forgive me!

Chris.

Of course

ian activ8 · Post by **ian activ8** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:14 pm

well thankyou for all the parts lists that i have added to my santa, letter, but seriously, i still trying to sit the engine and box in, and trying to find out about body mods, cutting and shutting kind of thing . picked up a lt 77 box and a sdi sump tonight, to late to fit them tonight, but eagerly awaiting tomorrow night. till then any info will be great.

ian.stewart · Post by **ian.stewart** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:06 pm

Right, lets put the sensible speaking voice on,
First rule in building a fast car is get the brakes thought out and sorted, the standard setup is deffo not up to it, a MINIMUM would be Vented Carpi discs and calipers, These are no better than the standard brakes on your car as they have the same swept area of pad and same displacement calipers, but they are resistant to fade, as they are vented, Fit GOOD pads as well, I like EBC GREENSTUFF, a bit expensive but they are a really good fast road Pad, but I do like BIG brakes on my cars, a bigger disc will give you better feel and more swep area of disc, The brakes are only as good as the tire contact on the road, have crap tires that dont grip the road and they will lock up at the first oppotunity. Buy GOOD grippy tires especially on the front.

Engine should fit without too many problems, the sump will need to be cut and shut as I think the Bowl is too long to clear the X member, Gearbox tunnel will probably have to be sectioned around where the lever comes thru the floor, as ford boxes were quite slim around the gearlever, if you cut a slice along the top of the top of the tunnel around 25mm either side of the lever hole right around behind it and forward about 300mm, tapering out slightly to follow the shape of the tunnel should give you enough clearance, What you will have to find is a LT77 Sherpa Remote or a Jag XJ6series 3 5 speed remote this will move the gear lever forward about 200mm, the gearlever will need to be located in about the same position as the stock lever, This should not cause too much of a bulkhead problem, Clutch could be more of a bother, and Tony AKA TheV8Kid, should be able to tell you how to convert from Hydraulic actuation to cable as he has done this on his capri, its not too major as far as I can remember,
The Rad that you may get away with on the Mk3 from a manual engined car so you dont have the trans cooler taking up extra water capacity could possibly be a 2.3l V6 rad from a Mk4 & 5 Cortina, another thing worth looking at would be the Heavy Duty axle from the same car, or possibly from a 2l estate, I think this is a HD axle as well The advantage of this is you can at a later date fit a LSD out of a 2.8 Capri which is too big to fit in the lesser casing, Prop will have to be fabricated, I have never had any success with the CV jointed SDi props, so you will need to get a slider juint from an P5 or 6 Rover, RWD Austin or perhaps a sherpa or even a FX4 Taxi, the gearbox flange/flange is the same as Jaguar so there may be one on Jags as well,

Come to think of it there is a Fella breaking a XR6 Cortina on BSC that will have a bigger rad to cope with the 3litre essex engine, Post a question up on BSC about the logevity of the parts on your car there are plenty of people who run GoFaster Cortinas on there

Now what was the question, Ive forgotten??
Ian

ian activ8 · Post by **ian activ8** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:11 am

thats more like it, ian thankyou for taking time out to explayn that to me, just what i was after

way past my bed time but taking that with me, seem to think things over when asleep

many thanks again ian
from IAN...

Post by **Coops** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:45 am

not a very good picture, but will try and get round the garage the weekend for you,

Right,
the clutch master cylinder can be seen to the left of the picture, its mounted on a lever assembly, so when you push the pedal the cable pulls the lever in thus operating the master cylinder,