Pushrod Shootout - Classic Ford

pushrod shootoutIt takes a brave man to put their classic Ford on a rollingroad for a power run. Luckily for us, we found 10 of them!Welcome to the ultimate pushrod shootout.Words Simon Woolley Photos Jon HillNo celebration of the pushrod motorwould be complete without a good-oldrolling road shootout. So, with a gentleprod from Toby Kent, and the timely opening ofHT Racing and Vulcan Engine’s swanky newrolling road, we gathered together 10 classicFords running both Pre-Crossflows andCrossflows, and lined them up outside HTRacing’s workshop for a day of screamingpushrods and their ever-so-slightly worriedlookingowners — if you’ve ever stood next toyour car while it’s doing 7000 rpm, you’ll knowwhy — in a bid to compare and contrast thedifferent builds, and ultimately, of course, findout who has the most-powerful, dog’s bollockspushrod in the UK. Bring it on!“we gathered together10 classic fords fora day of screamingpushrod madness”A word about power figuresRolling roads are principally for calibrating (iesetting up) the fuel and ignition systems onstandard and modified vehicles. The fact thatthey can prove a power figure is just a bonus.In simplistic terms, power figures are createdby recording the horsepower at the wheels,then measuring the ‘drag’ in order to calculatethe power lost through the transmission. This isadded to the power-at-the-wheels figure toprovide a power-at-the-flywheel figure.This power figure can be pretty accurate, butnot all rolling roads calculate power outputs thesame way, and may even be calibrateddifferently. Hence you can take your classic Fordto one rolling road, obtain a power figure, thengo to another on the same day and receive acompletely different set of results. This is whyyou should always use the same rolling roadevery time you need to have your car set up. It’salso quite easy for the operator to manipulatethe figures to show more (or even less) powerthan the engine is actually producing... Which iswhy in the United States, power figures arealways quoted at the wheels.Here though, we still go on the calculated-atthe-flywheelfigure. So treat rolling roads as atool for setting up your classic Ford, andproviding a power figure that’s great to use forshootouts like this one where you can comparedifferent specs of the same engine. But if youwant an extremely accurate power graph foryour engine, have it set up on a properlycalibratedengine dyno (where power ismeasured from the crank), with all the ancillariesattached (ie manifold, alternator), then feel freeto show the power graph at the next club meet...72 February 2009February 2009 73

pushrod shootoutIt all looks periodrace-spec, but theengine was built withroad duties in mind.Ex-Hot Rod motoruses downdraughtDCNF carbs mountedon a rare manifold.Tom Lailey de VilleAnglia 105EDon’t get confused — this is theroad-car twin to Tom’s well-knownred Anglia Historic racer. The latteris powered by a Pre-Crossflow to conformto period regs, while this one getsCrossflow power!Tom built this 105E up a few years back,when he decided the spare shell he hadsat around really ought to get some use.There’s lots of period goodies hiding underthe ultra-solid shell, all sourced from hisextensive collection of parts, but theCrossflow was new, with Tom asking PaulFisher to build him up a decent-specengine to have some fun around thelocal lanes.The final spec is based around a 711M,and running 45s it produced a reasonable130 bhp at 6000 rpm, though it revvedright through to 7000. Tom was happyenough with the result, and put thelower-than-expected figures down to themotor needing setting up again — it’sbeen built three years and he hasn’ttouched it.“there arelots of periodgoodies hidingaway in here”Peak power131.2 bhp @ 6026 rpm122.3 lb.ft @ 5009 rpmOperator’s comments“It’s very rich, especially low down.Sounds sweet though, with niceprogression.”Owner’s comments“I’m quite happy with that!”Engine1658cc Crossflow, +0.060 Powermaxpistons, full-race head, Piper BP285cam, twin 45s on port-matchedmanifold, 4-2-1 manifold.Built by: Paul Fisher EngineeringTransmission2000E gearbox, 3.9:1 diff.Wheels And Tyres5.5Jx13 steels, with 186/60R13A048 tyres.This is the road car. Tom’s got an almostidentical race one to play with, as well!Jim Cooper Anglia 105EDespite being built and featurednearly 10 years ago, Jim’s Anglia isone of our favourite-ever 105Esand almost single-handedly responsiblefor me going on the hunt for an angry box,the moment I clapped eyes on it!It’s a cracking mix of period touchestopped off by some custom touches tomake it stand out, like the full cage thatruns into the boot, the Recaros retrimmedwithout their headrests, and the intake letinto the bonnet.The offside position of this clearlyindicates that there’s no longer aPre-Crossflow under there. In factpropulsion comes courtesy of a 1660Crossflow that Jim pulled out of an oldoval racer many moons ago. This featuresa big-valve head, 262 cam, and a pair of 40DCNF downdraught carbs.Jim made it clear from the start that theengine was getting on a bit, however, wewere all curious to see what, if any,difference the downdraughts would maketo the graphs. Sadly it wasn’t to be, aswhile on the rollers the engine startedthrowing out copious amounts of waterand the run was aborted. It still made over90 bhp at the wheels prior to this.Jim was obviously disappointed, but atleast it gives him the excuse to give theengine the rebuild it deserves.Peak power91.2 bhp @ 5253 rpm*91.3 lb.ft @ 4861*Operator’s comments“The engine’s pinking its nuts off. Itclearly needs some tlc.”Owner’s comments“It smells hot and looks hot. It’s notbeen set up for years.”Engine1658cc Crossflow, big-valve head, Kent262 cam, 40 DCNF downdraught carbsTransmission2000e ’box.Wheels And Tyres5.5Jx13 steels with 185/60R13s.(*Run aborted. Figures recorded at the wheels)Jim’s 105E looks like a period dresser, but thereare some trick custom touches if you look closely.76 February 2009February 2009 77

pushrod shootoutTidy engine bay andnicely detailedCrossflow that putsout 160 bhp...Richard BoultonAnglia Classic Hot RodTake one look at this Anglia and youknow not to mess with it (or theowner for that matter). Richardcompetes in the hugely-popular ClassicHot Rods series, and while the cars maybe old, that clearly doesn’t mean thedrivers hold back, as this 105E has plentyof battle damage to show off.Hot Rod-spec Crossflows have areputation for producing serious power,and the list of mods in Richard’s enginecertainly revealed that it could be one ofthe most powerful of the day. Originallyput together by race Crossflow gods,Mass, Richard rebuilt it last year, the 1700all-steel and dry-sumped bottom end nowrunning an A6 cam. Fuelling is taken careof by 45s and there’s the distinctive Massexhaust manifold with its equal-lengthprimaries squirming its way around theengine bay.Just manouvering the Anglia onto therollers revealed we were in for a treat, andit didn’t disappoint with just shy of 180 bhpshowing on the dial at 8500 rpm (it will revto 9000!), plus an equally impressive 134lb.ft at 6000 rpm, making it the mostpowerful engine on the day still running anexhaust system. Impressive stuff.Peak power179.1 bhp @ 8427 rpm134.1 lb.ft @ 6046 rpmOperator’s comments“Yep, that’s a good one!”Owner’s comments“Did you like that!”Engine1700 Crossflow, steel crank and rods,Mass head, A6 cam, twin 45s with 36mm chokes, Mass four-into-onemanifold, H&H distributor, dry sump.Built by: Richard BoultonTransmissionTwo-speed Hot Rod ‘box, 4.44:1 diffwith LSD.Wheels And TyresRevolution 10Jx13sRichard’s a regular on the oval tracks with hisClassic Hot Rod 105E. Well worth checking out!Battered shell hides areal brute of aCrossflow that revs to9000 rpm. We want.Kev KeatingEscort 1300GLIf you want an example of what anoriginal South London car shouldlike, take a look at Kev’s MkII, it’s gotit down to a T — single-colour and originalpaint, all the standard trim inside and outstill intact and deep-dish, Revolutionfour-spokes. Perfect!But this MkII isn’t all about the looks asKev is well into the Old Skool Ford DragRacing Challenge and so it has the powerto match — courtesy of a 1760 Crossflow,built by Kev’s mate who goes under thename of JB Racing.Only recently built, the engine neededsome serious setting up, but with no timefor this, Aaron and Steve set the timing asbest they could and went for a power run.The result? A superb 162 bhp and 130 lb.ft.Unsurprisngly, Kev was pretty chuffedwith the result and after a quick run up theroad, confirmed that the car was muchbetter to drive. We left him speaking toAaron about booking the car in for a properset-up later in the week...“the engineneeded someserioussetting up”Peak power161.9 bhp @ 7380 rpm132.2 lb.ft @ 132.2Operator’s comments“It needs seriously setting up. We’vealtered the timing to get a bit moreout of it.”Owner’s comments“The engine builder’s gonnabe chuffed!”Engine1760cc Crossflow, forged pistons, fullracehead, twin 45s, Mass manifold.Built by: JB RacingTransmissionFour-speed Pinto gearbox, 4.1:1 diffwith Tran-X LSD.Wheels And TyresRevolution 7Jx13s with 175/50R13s.Stock beige paint and trim hides a pretty rapidCrossflow that makes this a 13-second car.78 February 2009February 2009 79

pushrod shootoutHome-built Crossflowproduces a rather tasty(and usable) 163 bhp.Ron Harris put this onetogether. It’s still goingstrong despite Steve’sheavy right foot.Nick ProudlockMkI EscortNick competes in the same raceseries as Andy. Unlike Andy’s MkIhowever, Nick’s Escort wasoriginally built as a hillclimb and sprint car,but with three championship class winsunder his belt, he decided it was time for anew challenge, and so turned it into arace car.Nick has a long history of buildingsuccessful Hot Rod engines, but thesedays working for the family business,Seahaven Caravans, takes priority.However, he clearly hasn’t forgotten howto put together a strong engine, asthe 1700 Crossflow in his Escort is aproper stormer.Still running its cast-iron internals (albeitlightened and stress-relieved), this engineis still happy to rev to 8000 rpm and wasgood for 163 bhp on the day, with anice power curve despite the fairly lairy264 cam.“the 1700 innick’s escortis a properstormer”Peak power163.5 @ 7726 rpm117.6 lb.ft @ 5722 rpmOperator’s comments“It’s running a bit rich, but that’s agood, strong powerband.”Owner’s comments“Pleased. I think!”Engine1699cc Crossflow, lightened andbalanced, stress-relieved rods, Hot Rodspechead (with standard valves), Kent264 cam, twin 45s, Aldon twin-camdistributor, Mass-style manifold.Built by: Nick ProudlockTransmissionQuaife four-speed dog ‘box, 4.4:1 diffwith plate-type LSD.Wheels And Tyres6Jx13 Revos with 7-21-13 Avon slicks.Once a successfulhillclimb car, thesedays Nick takes itcircuit racing.Steve BennettAnglia 105ESteve’s Anglia is a proper tool that’sbeen around for a long time, and isa veteran of many a Street RacerSunday at North Weald. The Angry Box sitsjust right over those old-school Two Gatesalloys, and it’s a look that’s been copiedmany, many times since.The rear panel has proudly worn a‘Pushrod Performance’ decal for as long asSteve has owned the car, as there’s noway it’s ever going to be powered byanything else. Six years ago, Ron Harrisbuilt him a lively 1700 to go racing with,and Steve has given it some proper abusesince then — he’s not one to hold back,with hard launches and doughnuts on tap!Consequently, Steve wasn’t expectingtoo much from the engine on the day, ashe was claiming it was tired and overduefor a rebuild. In fact, we nearly didn’t get torun it at all, as the slammed stance andlow-profile rubber meant the leaf-springswere clouting the rollers. But a bit of quickthinking and some borrowed wheels andtyres from Jim Cooper’s 105E savedthe day.Putting out 145 bhp when first built,Steve may have reckoned the engine wastired, but it’s only dropped 15 bhp over thattime, and with a decent set-up Aaronreckons it could probably claw a few ofthose horsepower back. Fair play!Peak power130.1 bhp @ 6540 rpm109.5 lb.ft @ 5122 rpmOperator’s comments“It’s running unbelievably rich.”Owner’s comments“Six years of abuse — it’s longoverdue a rebuild. I’ll be contactingRon soon!”Engine1700 Crossflow, lightened andbalanced, ported big-valve head,Kent 244 cam, twin 45s, four-into-one manifold.Built by: Ron HarrisTransmission2000E gearbox, 3.9:1 diff withTran-X LSD.Wheels And TyresTwo Gates 7Jx13s with 175/50R13s(rears swapped for 5.5Js and185/60R13s on the day)Steve’s a proper classicFord hoarder: his Angliais just one of a numberof tasty blue ovals.80 February 2009February 2009 81

pushrod shootout1000s of hours of thinkingand development have goneinto this engine. It’s unique!Toby KentMkI Cortina GTFor a long while, Toby was almostsingle-handedly flying thePre-Crossflow flag with hisbeautiful MkI GT. He refuses to give up onthe pushrod engine, and spends an almostobscene amount of time thinking up anddeveloping ways of making it producemore power, usually bending Aaron’s earover whether an idea will work or not!The almost 2-litre bottom end spec ofan over-bored L-block (we’re beingsimplistic here, the level of work gone intothis block is immense), heavily modifiedBDT pistons and a stroker crank haveremained the same for a few years, butthe head is all-new, and as everyoneexpects this engine to make good power,Toby was understandably nervous.The first run didn’t bode too well — peakpower was 140 bhp and the engine justdidn’t want to rev. Something was up andafter a bit of head-scratching, Aaronconcluded that the exhaust could bepartially blocked. As Toby’s was the last carto run, there was only one thing to do:whip the exhaust off and have another go.The noise from the unsilenced motorwas ear-bleedingly bad, but Aaron’sprognosis proved to be correct, as thepower jumped up to just under 180 bhp,making Toby’s unofficially the mostpowerful car on the day.Peak power(With exhaust)139.1 bhp @ 5460 rpm134.3 lb.ft @ 5376 rpm(Without exhaust)179.8 bhp @ 7392 rpm141.9 lb.ft @ 5628 rpmOperator’s comments“On the first run the exhaust wasclearly strangling it — it just didn’twant to go. It got to 6000 rpm thentailed off.”Owner’s comments(After the second run) “Not bad! It’snever enough though, is it?”EnginePre-Crossflow L-block, 1924cc, BDTpistons, Doug Kidde steel crankand rods, massively-reworked,big-valve 1500GT head, Kent 264cam, twin 48 DCO/SPs.Built by: Toby KentTransmissionPinto four-speed with home-madegearset, 4.1:1 diff, Tran-X LSD.Wheels And TyresCompomotive ML, 5.5J and 7Jx13s,with 185/60 and 195/60R13 tyres.You’d be grinning too, if yourPre-Crossflow engine had justmade a tad under 180 bhp!Dean RileyCorsairWherever Dean and his CorsairDeluxe/GT go, people stop andstare. It’s stunning and made allthe better by the Lotus steels and thatabsolutely perfect stance. Poor Jon Hillcouldn’t take his eyes off it!Dean bought the car still running its1500 engine a couple of years ago. Thebodywork was in great shape but wasbeing seriously let down by the lacklustreperformance, so Dean got Vulcan involvedin building a hybrid with a 1700 Crossflowbottom end, but still retaining thePre-Crossflow head. Fuelled by a DCDcarb, the casual observer has no ideathere’s a later block hiding in there, whichjust adds to the car’s charms.Dean’s never been entirely happy withthe performance, and running the Corsairup on the rollers confirmed thatsomething was indeed amiss, with theengine clearly sounding strangled. A quickpoke around revealed that the likely culpritwas the exhaust, which is based aroundthe original 1500 system, and actuallyshoved up inside the manifold!Unsurprisingly, Dean is now sourcinganother system, and once sorted theCorsair should be putting out over 100bhp, making it a nice, tractable unit withenough poke when Dean needs it.Peak power85.2 bhp @ 4758 rpm103.3 lb.ft @ 3588 rpmOperator’s comments“I can’t run any decent ignitionadvance, as the exhaust is stranglingit. We could easily see 15-20 hp morewith a decent system.”Owner’s comments“Looks like I’ve got work to do!”Engine1700cc 711M block, modified1500 Pre-Crossflow head,Kent 234 cam, Weber 28/36DCD carb, Janspeed manifold.Built by: Vulcan Engines.TransmissionThree-rail gearbox with 2000Einternals, 3.54:1 diff.Wheels And Tyres5.5J steels with 185/60R13 tyres.It’s all about the looks:Dean’s early Corsairwears its ’60s heritagewith pride.Pre-Crossflow head but aCrossflow 1700 bottom end.That’s the kind of lateralthinking we like!82 February 2009February 2009 83

pushrod shootoutResultsBHP Torque50 100 150 200123456789Richard BoultonAnglia 105EAndy PipeMkI EscortNick ProudlockMkI EscortKev KeatingEscort GLToby KentCortina GT* without exhaustMatt WardEscort GhiaTom Lailey de VilleAnglia 105ESteve BennettAnglia 105EDean RileyCorsairJim Cooper10 Anglia 105E109.585.2103.3Run abortedRun abortedThanks toMassive thanks to Aaron Tucker of HT Racing and SteveCurson from Vulcan Engines for letting us take over their newrollers for the day. The 2wd rolling road based at HT Racing’spremises next to Brands Hatch circuit in Kent is a jointventure between the two companies, and compliments theexisting engine dyno facilities on site.They can set-up and map all carb-fed and aftermarketECU-equipped cars, and as an example, prices start fromaround £100 to set-up a typical Crossfow or Pinto-poweredclassic Ford. To book a rolling road session, contact HT Racingon 01474 872888.134.1129.6117.6132.2139.1134.3141.9*137.3118.6131.2122.3130.1163.5161.9179.1177.1179.8*the 200 bhpCrossflow?There have been various claims over theyears that the magic 200 has been achievedon a Kent engine, but we’ve yet to seedocumented proof.Over 10 years ago, HT Racing thoughtthey’d have a damn good go though, whenthey put together an engine for DaveEdmand’s MkI XR2. Featuring all manner ofone-off mods, the engine called for everylittle trick that HT knew at the time, withmost of the work being done to the head.They never managed 200 bhp, but all thiseffort still resulted in one of the fastestacceleratingFiestas of the time, with FastCar magazine famously pitting it against thestopwatch and a Ferrari 308GTB in 1994. TheFiesta beat Maranello’s finest hands-downin a show of blue oval strength, and the car,Dave and HT became overnight legends.Sadly, the engine was broken up, but thecrucial cylinder head still survives and liveson in Bunman’s MkII Escort hillclimb andsprint car.Bunman reckons he could now be closeto getting 200 bhp from the engine, and isplanning on bringing the car over from hisJersey home to let HT build a bespokemanifold and set the car up. We’ll bring youthe results just as soon as we get them.84 February 2009