ST170 and MK Indy
Discussion
Nothing overly interesting to see here really compared to some on here but just thought I would show you my cars.
First up I have my ST170. Not everyone's cup of tea I know but of all the cars I have owned this is by far the best for one reason or another. I have owned wrx's, mr2 turbo's, gti's of varying flavours but this car just does everything so well! It handles unbelievably well, goes' 'ok', by no means fast but enough poke(just) to have fun with. Imo only looks good, other than the usual servicing and teething trouble when I bought the car, it has never once missed a beat. It's comfortable on a run, not hideous on fuel and it's pretty practical. When I decided to buy one, I was very specific in what I wanted, had to be Capri blue, 3 door and have the climate pack(xenon's, heated screen and climate control). To this day I have never seen one the same colour.
It is starting to show its age a little now but can't bring myself to part with it. I bought it 3 1/2 years ago with 56000 miles. It's now done 89000. I have renewed the brakes all round, cam belt kit, clutch and Dmf and imrc solenoid. So in repairs over the years it has cost around a grand. I'm sure you will agree, there is nothing wrong with that! Luckily I can do all the work myself which eases the financial pain somewhat.
Next up is my weekend tool. I was an avid biker, I had a stunning low mileage, early Yamaha R6. At 30 when I was a bit upset to learn that my aching joints was not in fact down to babestation, but arthritis. Try as I might I just couldn't ride a sports bike anymore. It took 2 years before I finally parted with it. I don't mind telling you, I shed a tear when I helped the chap load that bike into his van. So with a wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket where else do you go but eBay! 2 days later I was the proud owner of an MK Indy.
I live in Herefordshire and the car was in Nottingham, a quick look on the map, ah it's only a few inches! Borrow the work van and trailer and off we go. 5 hours later..... The car had no MOT so was taking a chance really but I can wield the spanners so that didn't put me off. The bloke was lovely, had 6 or 7 garages with a car in each, including 2 brabus ML's and a v12 E Type. Quick test drive as a passenger load it up and set off home. The missus really had one on her by now so was glad when the 5 hour journey home was over. It needed a lot of work to get it how I wanted it but it was built well, everything was solid so I wasn't concerned, it was the right money.
It's fitted with a 711M 1700 crossflow, built by Corten Miller. Twin 40's, wild cam, double valve springs etc. true spec unknown. Has a type 9 gearbox and XR4i LSD with independent suspension. Gaz coilovers etc.
Checked the oil and water, booked it in for MOT and it passed with no advisories!
I have to say, although it's only a baby engine, it does go bloody well! A couple of weeks use and then the tinkering started.
First I changed the max power 17" wheels for some 15's with a bit more tyre.
Not only was the ride improved, but it handled so much better. Next up was the dated looking dash(no pics of before but needless to say it was NASTY) so bought a carbon dash, a set of savage billet switches and an etb dd2 digital dash. Much improved!
That steering wheel has since gone and an omp suede item in its place.
Next up was the rear cover, made of chequer plate, it didn't look very nice and was quite heavy so £20 later I had some black Perspex. A couple of hours work and ended up with this.
Before
After
Then I went the aeroscreen route
Before
After, again, carbon fibre.
Since then I have been driving it as much as I can. It's great fun, turns heads and sound awesome at 7500 rpm! She gets a bit frisky if you provoke it too much but normally just a joy to drive. It's not a missile in a straight line but what I lose out on the straights I can make up for with bravery!
Now it has decided the oil wants to be on the outside of the engine, it's seems the rear crank seal and sump gasket has given up the ghost. The engine will be coming out in the next few weeks so I can rebuild it and find out exactly what the spec is. I am quite looking forward to that actually!
If you have stayed with me this far then congratulations!
all I need now is a PH smiley!
First up I have my ST170. Not everyone's cup of tea I know but of all the cars I have owned this is by far the best for one reason or another. I have owned wrx's, mr2 turbo's, gti's of varying flavours but this car just does everything so well! It handles unbelievably well, goes' 'ok', by no means fast but enough poke(just) to have fun with. Imo only looks good, other than the usual servicing and teething trouble when I bought the car, it has never once missed a beat. It's comfortable on a run, not hideous on fuel and it's pretty practical. When I decided to buy one, I was very specific in what I wanted, had to be Capri blue, 3 door and have the climate pack(xenon's, heated screen and climate control). To this day I have never seen one the same colour.
It is starting to show its age a little now but can't bring myself to part with it. I bought it 3 1/2 years ago with 56000 miles. It's now done 89000. I have renewed the brakes all round, cam belt kit, clutch and Dmf and imrc solenoid. So in repairs over the years it has cost around a grand. I'm sure you will agree, there is nothing wrong with that! Luckily I can do all the work myself which eases the financial pain somewhat.
Next up is my weekend tool. I was an avid biker, I had a stunning low mileage, early Yamaha R6. At 30 when I was a bit upset to learn that my aching joints was not in fact down to babestation, but arthritis. Try as I might I just couldn't ride a sports bike anymore. It took 2 years before I finally parted with it. I don't mind telling you, I shed a tear when I helped the chap load that bike into his van. So with a wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket where else do you go but eBay! 2 days later I was the proud owner of an MK Indy.
I live in Herefordshire and the car was in Nottingham, a quick look on the map, ah it's only a few inches! Borrow the work van and trailer and off we go. 5 hours later..... The car had no MOT so was taking a chance really but I can wield the spanners so that didn't put me off. The bloke was lovely, had 6 or 7 garages with a car in each, including 2 brabus ML's and a v12 E Type. Quick test drive as a passenger load it up and set off home. The missus really had one on her by now so was glad when the 5 hour journey home was over. It needed a lot of work to get it how I wanted it but it was built well, everything was solid so I wasn't concerned, it was the right money.
It's fitted with a 711M 1700 crossflow, built by Corten Miller. Twin 40's, wild cam, double valve springs etc. true spec unknown. Has a type 9 gearbox and XR4i LSD with independent suspension. Gaz coilovers etc.
Checked the oil and water, booked it in for MOT and it passed with no advisories!
I have to say, although it's only a baby engine, it does go bloody well! A couple of weeks use and then the tinkering started.
First I changed the max power 17" wheels for some 15's with a bit more tyre.
Not only was the ride improved, but it handled so much better. Next up was the dated looking dash(no pics of before but needless to say it was NASTY) so bought a carbon dash, a set of savage billet switches and an etb dd2 digital dash. Much improved!
That steering wheel has since gone and an omp suede item in its place.
Next up was the rear cover, made of chequer plate, it didn't look very nice and was quite heavy so £20 later I had some black Perspex. A couple of hours work and ended up with this.
Before
After
Then I went the aeroscreen route
Before
After, again, carbon fibre.
Since then I have been driving it as much as I can. It's great fun, turns heads and sound awesome at 7500 rpm! She gets a bit frisky if you provoke it too much but normally just a joy to drive. It's not a missile in a straight line but what I lose out on the straights I can make up for with bravery!
Now it has decided the oil wants to be on the outside of the engine, it's seems the rear crank seal and sump gasket has given up the ghost. The engine will be coming out in the next few weeks so I can rebuild it and find out exactly what the spec is. I am quite looking forward to that actually!
If you have stayed with me this far then congratulations!
all I need now is a PH smiley!
That Focus looks very clean and tidy.
Love the improvements you've made to the Indy. Looks a lot more modern and purposeful. If the engines coming out would you not fancy dropping a more modern lump in?
With the money you'll get for a rebuilt hot Xflow you could drop a Zetec on a 6 speed RX8 box in!
Love the improvements you've made to the Indy. Looks a lot more modern and purposeful. If the engines coming out would you not fancy dropping a more modern lump in?
With the money you'll get for a rebuilt hot Xflow you could drop a Zetec on a 6 speed RX8 box in!
The mk1 focus chassis brilliant, even the base models are a hoot to drive. There are some days when I fancy a thrash and actually choose the focus over the kit car! Pity it doesn't sound as good!
As for tracking the Indy, most definitely. It will be next year now though. I'm not so sure the engine is quick enough to amuse me on track, maybe somewhere like Mallory would be ok but anywhere bigger I think it would be a bit lost to be honest.
I will post pics of the engine "refresh", hopefully some of you guys will be able to help me identify what is done to the engine. Unfortunately the engine was built too long ago for Corten Miller to keep records of it which is a shame. My arse dyno thinks it would be around 130bhp at the moment. I would also like to get the ignition map looked at sometime too. Found an air leak on the inlet manifold last night too so it seems it's time to have a good look at the engine.
Greg, pictures do lie unfortunately. It is by no means a minger but a little rust on the rear arch, boot lid and sills. It could really do with some paintwork but I'm trying to weigh up cost and value at the moment. Maybe the engine could find its way into the kit!
As for tracking the Indy, most definitely. It will be next year now though. I'm not so sure the engine is quick enough to amuse me on track, maybe somewhere like Mallory would be ok but anywhere bigger I think it would be a bit lost to be honest.
I will post pics of the engine "refresh", hopefully some of you guys will be able to help me identify what is done to the engine. Unfortunately the engine was built too long ago for Corten Miller to keep records of it which is a shame. My arse dyno thinks it would be around 130bhp at the moment. I would also like to get the ignition map looked at sometime too. Found an air leak on the inlet manifold last night too so it seems it's time to have a good look at the engine.
Greg, pictures do lie unfortunately. It is by no means a minger but a little rust on the rear arch, boot lid and sills. It could really do with some paintwork but I'm trying to weigh up cost and value at the moment. Maybe the engine could find its way into the kit!
qwertina said:
That Focus looks very clean and tidy.
Love the improvements you've made to the Indy. Looks a lot more modern and purposeful. If the engines coming out would you not fancy dropping a more modern lump in?
With the money you'll get for a rebuilt hot Xflow you could drop a Zetec on a 6 speed RX8 box in!
Thankyou, it's nice to hear people go along with my improvements. It's getting there slowly. I do want some carbon CSR front arches once the engine is sorted.Love the improvements you've made to the Indy. Looks a lot more modern and purposeful. If the engines coming out would you not fancy dropping a more modern lump in?
With the money you'll get for a rebuilt hot Xflow you could drop a Zetec on a 6 speed RX8 box in!
As for the engine, I haven't ruled out a modern lump, quite the opposite to be honest. I have been thinking of building a cammed and ITB'd ST170 motor. 200+bhp would be hilarious with little or no added weight! Again it is down to cost really, the cams alone would be the best part of £800!! If I was to do it, I wouldn't entertain bike throttle bodies so would have to be either an omex setup or jenveys. Though as you say, I have seen recently that the little x flows are worth a fair chunk which would ease the pain.
After all, I'm not a wealthy person, but what I don't spend on drinking, smoking etc, I spend on my toys.
I am probably being greedy to be honest, I don't need that amount of power at all. I'm not a good enough driver to make the most of it so maybe a throttle bodied zetec would fit the bill.
I will refresh the Xflow, make sure there are no issues then decide what to do.
Thanks for the input guys!
Nice cars there mate, love the colour of that Focus, don't think I've seen one in that paint before. Was only looking at ST170s yesterday, love the look of them and I know how good the handling must be after being impressed in a 1.8 Zetec many moons ago.
I'd like a go in an ST170 just to see what they're like, I reckon the delivery must be quite similar to my GTi-6. Every time I read up on them the majority are slagging them off for being underpowered, one day I'll find out for myself. Another fave Ford of mine has to be the Racing Puma, love the sound of those.
I'd like a go in an ST170 just to see what they're like, I reckon the delivery must be quite similar to my GTi-6. Every time I read up on them the majority are slagging them off for being underpowered, one day I'll find out for myself. Another fave Ford of mine has to be the Racing Puma, love the sound of those.
jontbone said:
Nice cars there mate, love the colour of that Focus, don't think I've seen one in that paint before. Was only looking at ST170s yesterday, love the look of them and I know how good the handling must be after being impressed in a 1.8 Zetec many moons ago.
I'd like a go in an ST170 just to see what they're like, I reckon the delivery must be quite similar to my GTi-6. Every time I read up on them the majority are slagging them off for being underpowered, one day I'll find out for myself. Another fave Ford of mine has to be the Racing Puma, love the sound of those.
Thankyou, I do love it. Only people that know what they are can tell the difference between that and a normal focus. The rare colour is the reason I wanted it. I'd like a go in an ST170 just to see what they're like, I reckon the delivery must be quite similar to my GTi-6. Every time I read up on them the majority are slagging them off for being underpowered, one day I'll find out for myself. Another fave Ford of mine has to be the Racing Puma, love the sound of those.
The suspension set up is different to a normal focus, different shocks, springs, arb's etc. it truly is a fine handling car! In fairness, I would hazard a guess at the gti6 being quicker. They aren't the quickest car in the world, I think it boils down to what do you expect really. Once rolling they go ok. The gearing of the 6 speed spoils it a little for outright, straight line pace.
First and second are too long, for some reason it has a torque limiter in first as well which doesn't help, also the Rev limit is lower in first gear. About 6800rpm iirc rather than the normal 7400rpm.
In fact, I had a play with a normal 2.0 focus once. Up until 5500rpm until the inlet changes runners, there wasn't a lot in it, once it is revving, I had the pace to overtake him.
A solid lightweight flywheel is supposed to make a big difference, I can see why as the DMF weighs a tonne!!
FRP's are an all time favourite of mine. I still think they are one of the best looking cars ever built. I'm sure most will disagree. I had the chance to buy a one owner, 32000mile example 2 years ago. The old boy didn't know what it was worth, it was mine for £5k. I spent 2 days trying to beg and borrow the money to buy it, turned up at his house with a pocket full of cash to learn he sold it the night before for £4500. I am still kicking myself.
A little update.
The kit car has been on the back burner for a while after having an operation on my ankle. While laid up I sent the focus off for MOT which it passed with only one advisory on a front brake pipe. I'm quite happy with that as I haven't touched it at all since its last MOT.
I got on the Internet and ordered all the bits to service to focus once I could walk again.
Moving on to yesterday, I had this lot ready.
All genuine ford, total cost, £58 delivered. My local ford garage charges £40 for the oil alone!!
So up on stands ready for some love.
The "power plant" must clean it!
Draining the oil
No pic of the new filter as its a t
t to get at without a ramp.
Draining the coolant, came out a lot quicker than I thought, I could now keep fishes in the garage! It went everywhere.
Everything topped up, warmed through and bled. Then moved on to change the brake fluid, no pics of that but old fluid was still clean but hadn't been changed for 2 years so did it. Only cost £7(genuine ford) and a cup of tea for my glamorous assistant. So a simple, cheap and worthwhile thing to do.
Plugged in my code reader, no codes at all showed so she's still healthy. Still can't bring myself to get rid of it, so it's good to go for another 12 months.
For anybody looking to buy a code reader, I can't recommend an Autel maxiscan enough. It's paid for itself many times over and having the ability to show live data is great for fault finding. Probably the best £40 I have ever spent.
Gave the whole car a once over, still no leaks or anything nasty to note. Happy days!
While the focus was in the garage, due to rain the kit car was taken over to work(over the road) for shelter. Rain stopped and being 12 years old had some fun in the yard at work. Wet Tarmac, LSD and more power than it needs meant I was Ken block for 5 mins!
Next up, need to clean out the garage, get an engine stand and pull the engine out of the kit car. I have a couple of people wanting to buy the engine so may be upgrading to zetec power on itb's. Time will tell!
The kit car has been on the back burner for a while after having an operation on my ankle. While laid up I sent the focus off for MOT which it passed with only one advisory on a front brake pipe. I'm quite happy with that as I haven't touched it at all since its last MOT.
I got on the Internet and ordered all the bits to service to focus once I could walk again.
Moving on to yesterday, I had this lot ready.
All genuine ford, total cost, £58 delivered. My local ford garage charges £40 for the oil alone!!
So up on stands ready for some love.
The "power plant" must clean it!
Draining the oil
No pic of the new filter as its a t
t to get at without a ramp.Draining the coolant, came out a lot quicker than I thought, I could now keep fishes in the garage! It went everywhere.
Everything topped up, warmed through and bled. Then moved on to change the brake fluid, no pics of that but old fluid was still clean but hadn't been changed for 2 years so did it. Only cost £7(genuine ford) and a cup of tea for my glamorous assistant. So a simple, cheap and worthwhile thing to do.
Plugged in my code reader, no codes at all showed so she's still healthy. Still can't bring myself to get rid of it, so it's good to go for another 12 months.
For anybody looking to buy a code reader, I can't recommend an Autel maxiscan enough. It's paid for itself many times over and having the ability to show live data is great for fault finding. Probably the best £40 I have ever spent.
Gave the whole car a once over, still no leaks or anything nasty to note. Happy days!
While the focus was in the garage, due to rain the kit car was taken over to work(over the road) for shelter. Rain stopped and being 12 years old had some fun in the yard at work. Wet Tarmac, LSD and more power than it needs meant I was Ken block for 5 mins!
Next up, need to clean out the garage, get an engine stand and pull the engine out of the kit car. I have a couple of people wanting to buy the engine so may be upgrading to zetec power on itb's. Time will tell!
A bit of an update, I thought I might as well keep everything in the same place.
I have decided to keep the little Xflow for the time being. I have finally got round to sorting the oil leak but might have got a bit carried away!
Rear crank seal was leaking so pulled the engine out. Drained the oil and pulled off the sump. Nice to see the whole rotating assembly has been balanced. Clutch(ap racing), flywheel(very light), crank, pistons and rods have all been balanced.
It has accralite pistons fitted on standard? Rods. Head has been well worked. Port matched inlet manifold, inlets been ported and polished.
As the sump was off I thought I might as well take the head off as well so I can change the valve stem seals. I don't have a compressor so can't do it that way. I'm guessing it has big valves as I don't think you could squeeze anything bigger in there! 41mm inlets. The cam I am still unsure of at the moment. There are no markings at all on it to say what it is. I have measured valve lift at 11mm but can't find any cam the same. I have found monsters with more and other fast road cams with less. It does have the duplex timing gear and vernier pulley though which is a plus.
I'm happy to report that there are no issues at all and it's a cracking little motor internally. It's been very well cared for in the past so I am doing my best to keep it that way.
I will put in a big order with burton power tomorrow and order everything I need for the rebuild.
Anyway, everyone loves pics!
I also had a visit from a friend who used to race Xflow engined cars and he has found some spare bits for me. He may be along on here soon as he has just bought a clan crusader race car. I have pointed him in this direction. If any of you know of a straight cut box for a hillman imp then please let me know.
I have decided to keep the little Xflow for the time being. I have finally got round to sorting the oil leak but might have got a bit carried away!
Rear crank seal was leaking so pulled the engine out. Drained the oil and pulled off the sump. Nice to see the whole rotating assembly has been balanced. Clutch(ap racing), flywheel(very light), crank, pistons and rods have all been balanced.
It has accralite pistons fitted on standard? Rods. Head has been well worked. Port matched inlet manifold, inlets been ported and polished.
As the sump was off I thought I might as well take the head off as well so I can change the valve stem seals. I don't have a compressor so can't do it that way. I'm guessing it has big valves as I don't think you could squeeze anything bigger in there! 41mm inlets. The cam I am still unsure of at the moment. There are no markings at all on it to say what it is. I have measured valve lift at 11mm but can't find any cam the same. I have found monsters with more and other fast road cams with less. It does have the duplex timing gear and vernier pulley though which is a plus.
I'm happy to report that there are no issues at all and it's a cracking little motor internally. It's been very well cared for in the past so I am doing my best to keep it that way.
I will put in a big order with burton power tomorrow and order everything I need for the rebuild.
Anyway, everyone loves pics!
I also had a visit from a friend who used to race Xflow engined cars and he has found some spare bits for me. He may be along on here soon as he has just bought a clan crusader race car. I have pointed him in this direction. If any of you know of a straight cut box for a hillman imp then please let me know.
Just a little update for myself to keep a check on what I have actually done.
I have rebuilt the engine. The little Xflow is exceptionally good internally. Everything is bang on spec. I've replaced every gasket and seal. I've also id'd the cam at last. It's a Kent 244. So the engine is hotter than I originally thought.
The cam's powerband is between 5 and 8k. The rev limiter is set at 7500rpm. With it running the correct gear to rev harder(forged Pistons, balanced crank, clutch, flywheel, pistons and rods and the head has had ALOT of work) when it goes on the dyno when it's fitted I may turn the wick up a bit and see what it's capable of safely.
I've used a full cometic engine gasket set and an Ajusa head gasket. I bought a cometic mls but it didn't fit. I expected better from them if I'm honest.
Here is what it looks like now.
I have rebuilt the engine. The little Xflow is exceptionally good internally. Everything is bang on spec. I've replaced every gasket and seal. I've also id'd the cam at last. It's a Kent 244. So the engine is hotter than I originally thought.
The cam's powerband is between 5 and 8k. The rev limiter is set at 7500rpm. With it running the correct gear to rev harder(forged Pistons, balanced crank, clutch, flywheel, pistons and rods and the head has had ALOT of work) when it goes on the dyno when it's fitted I may turn the wick up a bit and see what it's capable of safely.
I've used a full cometic engine gasket set and an Ajusa head gasket. I bought a cometic mls but it didn't fit. I expected better from them if I'm honest.
Here is what it looks like now.
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