Engine rebuild

As the car was being set up round the new ECU and engine loom the engine suffered a big end failure and Luke, being the dedicated and technical wiz that he is, took the view that it needed sorting, and got on and did it. A major engine rebuild started with a strip down and diagnosis. There was a lot of debris in the oilways in the engine and even from a brief inspection it was clear that there had been oil starvation in the past which has caused the big end failure.

Luke guessed that the crank would also be bent and proceeded to quickly strip and assess the engine before re-assembling it. The block was cleaned and painted and the original pistons were re-used with new rings. A new crank was specced and new Cosworth big ends and main heavy duty bearings were used. New conrods were installed with ARP2000 con rod bolts and new Ford gaskets were used throughout.

The head was warped so it was sent to be skimmed and reinstalled with an ARP stud and nut kit to hold it in place. The valve seats were re-cut and the valves ground to match. A new alloy drive pulley was installed as well as a 36 tooth motorsport pulley which the ECU uses for timing. As the distributor is now redundant the hole has been plugged. Luke also painted the cam pulleys and installed a bling cam cover in blue.

The end result of the engine work is a reliable and solid race engine designed to produce a sensible amount of power. Reliability is the key here and the engine should work well for sometime.

Spark plugs are NGK BCR 8ES. Oil is Valvoline 20W 50 black racing.

Some shots of block, head and engine in car:

New fuel system

Following diagnosis at Enhanced Performance it was clear that the fuel delivery system wasn't really up to the job of providing a race car with a reliable level of fuel flow on track. The lines were old and fixed with crappy clips, the tank had debris in it, the fuel filter was old, one pump was disconnected and a standard fuel pump was delivering all the fuel to the engine.

Luke at Enhanced Performance flushed the original tank, added a new pump and re-connected the fuel system using Aeroquip fittings and new braided lines that run through the interior of the car. The fuel system now uses two pumps and a swirl pot with fuel filter in line. The return fills the swirl pot. This should be much more reliable and I'm confident that the lines, fixings and pumps are up to scratch.

New braided fuel lines in the engine bay and the interior:








And the panel on the boot floor which covers the standard tank, swirl pot, pump, filter and secondary pump:

Enhanced Performance review

I wanted to say a big thank you to Luke at Enhanced Performance. Luke's been around Cosworths for a long time and is clearly knowledgeable and experienced. He's also very enthusiastic and willing to take the time to explain stuff to a novice like me.

He diagnosed my car on a rolling road, then rebuilt my fuel system around the standard (but flushed) tank, swirlpot, new fuel pump, secondary pump, Aeroquip fittings and new braided fuel lines. The standard of work is very high and the bill was reasonable but most importantly I am confident that the work has been carried out to a high standard and that it will suit the spec of my car.

Enhanced Performance workshop:


Luke's suggestions for my car fitted my budget, and he didn't get carried away with pushing the highest spec kit. He also called me when he said he'd call me and told me what work he planned to do it before he did any work.

It's great to deal with a Cossie tuner who knows his onions and loves the cars. Luke at Enhanced Performance is on 01293 560 291 and at www.enhanced-performance.co.uk.

Technical diagnosis at Enhanced Performance

I went down to see Luke at Enhanced Performance near Gatwick. Luke's an experienced Cosworth tuner. He put my car on his rolling road and we tried to find the hi-rpm misfire that has plagued the car. Fuel starvation seems to be the issue and Luke looked closely at the fuel lines which run under the car, pump, swirl pot, filter and tank and recommended I change them all.

Luke's going to run braided fuel lines through the interior and will replace the tank. I considered going for an ally tank in the boot but this would require a panel to prevent fuel escaping into the driver cabin in an accident. For simplicity I'm going for a replacement Ford fuel tank which keeps the weight down low.

I'll collect the car next week. Here are some pics:
Enhanced Performance workshop on a sunny spring morning:


In good company:



On the rolling road: