Hi,
Been reading this site on and off for a while. Here is my car:
'72 Morris Marina TC Coupe
In standard form with a nice set of period alloy wheels.
I brought the car back in 2006 and was looking to use subtle modifications to make it handle and drive better. I first went down the S/T route and brought a set of HS6 carburettors, pancake filters, S/T manifold, facet fuel pump and 3 branch MGB manifold.
Newly fitted carbs and filters. Oil catch tank was fitted next to the header tank.
I fitted 130lb rear springs and spax rear dampers along with 2" escort lowering blocks to get the trim height more acceptable. The front suspension was tweaked with a later Morris Ital roller bearing top arms and Spax adjustable dampers with poly bushes.
I did go for a front spoiler but couldn't live with it as it looked poo.. So that went out the window!
Late last year I decided I needed more power but on a budget.. I looked at the normal B series tuning routes but that was looking like a lot of money for very little gain. I wanted the car to handle and I wanted to do something about the standard brakes..
I machined a new hub from billet steel and made it to accept the standard Marina bearings with Ford vented discs and callipers. The bracket is a bespoke item also. It all fits together nicely under the alloys.
After a fair few miles the old B series was beginning to suffer. It was getting a little old and really needed to be left out to pasture... I brought a rebuilt B series for £1 off eBay and set about removing the engine. This was when my brain switched up a gear...
I wanted more power and a light weight alternative to the possible Rover T series upgrade.. The K series is a nice engine if looked after but it can be a pricey upgrade if you take into account the caterham bellhousing and finding an engine that has not been ragged.
Then I found this:
1800 Zetec silvertop from a Mk1 mondeo. It has been built and looked after by Omex engines and seemed the ideal choice.
I set about removing the old engine and gearbox to mock up the new power plant. I used a black top engine to check clearances.
I brought a radiator from a Polo 1.0 then mocked that up with a kenlowe fan I had on the shelf. The advantage with using the Marina is that the engine bay is fairly large and the car dose not have a front sub frame/cross member arrangement so the position could be fine tuned. This helped with conversion parts as I was able to re-use the standard thermostat housing.
I brought an ashely escort exhaust but it proved useless in the Marina so that idea was ditched!
New fuel lines were required. I opted for the stainless route!
These were purchased for the fuelling. In the end they proved too long! I need to get a bespoke manifold that takes them up at an angle.
Management system with a build your own loom!
Engine lowered into bay
Mocking up engine and gearbox mounts
After many cups of tea we managed to get the engine lined up and gearbox tunnel relieved of some metal.
Engine mounts being mocked and tested.
Exhaust system parts.
Exhaust system going together. You can also see the custom prop.
Exhaust manifold is a later Focus one. We made a new flange to mate it too.
What became of the ashley... Maybe I will visit it again to make a free flow system..
All fitted up but no room for an air box =(
Even with smaller 80mm bodies there was just not enough room..
New 15" wheels.. 8j wide.
Standard EFI unit from a 2ltr escort.. Will be used to make it move for now.
Fuel system consists of a VW golf swirl pot (I need a new one tho!!) and a lift pump from a standard fuel tank with a modified tank sender.
Gearbox mount is a sierra item. These are the finished engine mounts.
The car is on a bit of a go slow with me moving house and is looking very sorry for itself.. It is booked into paint in April so hopefully that will make me get it finished.
Cheers,
beniboyz.
Been reading this site on and off for a while. Here is my car:
'72 Morris Marina TC Coupe
In standard form with a nice set of period alloy wheels.
I brought the car back in 2006 and was looking to use subtle modifications to make it handle and drive better. I first went down the S/T route and brought a set of HS6 carburettors, pancake filters, S/T manifold, facet fuel pump and 3 branch MGB manifold.
Newly fitted carbs and filters. Oil catch tank was fitted next to the header tank.
I fitted 130lb rear springs and spax rear dampers along with 2" escort lowering blocks to get the trim height more acceptable. The front suspension was tweaked with a later Morris Ital roller bearing top arms and Spax adjustable dampers with poly bushes.
I did go for a front spoiler but couldn't live with it as it looked poo.. So that went out the window!
Late last year I decided I needed more power but on a budget.. I looked at the normal B series tuning routes but that was looking like a lot of money for very little gain. I wanted the car to handle and I wanted to do something about the standard brakes..
I machined a new hub from billet steel and made it to accept the standard Marina bearings with Ford vented discs and callipers. The bracket is a bespoke item also. It all fits together nicely under the alloys.
After a fair few miles the old B series was beginning to suffer. It was getting a little old and really needed to be left out to pasture... I brought a rebuilt B series for £1 off eBay and set about removing the engine. This was when my brain switched up a gear...
I wanted more power and a light weight alternative to the possible Rover T series upgrade.. The K series is a nice engine if looked after but it can be a pricey upgrade if you take into account the caterham bellhousing and finding an engine that has not been ragged.
Then I found this:
1800 Zetec silvertop from a Mk1 mondeo. It has been built and looked after by Omex engines and seemed the ideal choice.
I set about removing the old engine and gearbox to mock up the new power plant. I used a black top engine to check clearances.
I brought a radiator from a Polo 1.0 then mocked that up with a kenlowe fan I had on the shelf. The advantage with using the Marina is that the engine bay is fairly large and the car dose not have a front sub frame/cross member arrangement so the position could be fine tuned. This helped with conversion parts as I was able to re-use the standard thermostat housing.
I brought an ashely escort exhaust but it proved useless in the Marina so that idea was ditched!
New fuel lines were required. I opted for the stainless route!
These were purchased for the fuelling. In the end they proved too long! I need to get a bespoke manifold that takes them up at an angle.
Management system with a build your own loom!
Engine lowered into bay
Mocking up engine and gearbox mounts
After many cups of tea we managed to get the engine lined up and gearbox tunnel relieved of some metal.
Engine mounts being mocked and tested.
Exhaust system parts.
Exhaust system going together. You can also see the custom prop.
Exhaust manifold is a later Focus one. We made a new flange to mate it too.
What became of the ashley... Maybe I will visit it again to make a free flow system..
All fitted up but no room for an air box =(
Even with smaller 80mm bodies there was just not enough room..
New 15" wheels.. 8j wide.
Standard EFI unit from a 2ltr escort.. Will be used to make it move for now.
Fuel system consists of a VW golf swirl pot (I need a new one tho!!) and a lift pump from a standard fuel tank with a modified tank sender.
Gearbox mount is a sierra item. These are the finished engine mounts.
The car is on a bit of a go slow with me moving house and is looking very sorry for itself.. It is booked into paint in April so hopefully that will make me get it finished.
Cheers,
beniboyz.
