The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Not much going on, just waiting for that bell housing to show up. I called Quad4 Rods Tuesday afternoon to check on it and add the hydraulic throwout to the order. He said it was about a week from shipping. Of course, I adjusted that to two weeks… I know how it goes.
In other news, I’ve found someone else who’s doing a Duratec swap into a LBC. It’s not a Spitfire, but an MG Midget… close enough. He’s a little further along than I am, and some of the things he’s already sorted out, like accessory drive belt routing, will surely save me a bunch of time.
He got a kick out of this blog, and decided to start one for his own project. Check it out: Midgitec
Oh, I also ran across a source for some useful Duratec parts for putting one into a Lotus 7 type kit car. They have parts to address a lot of the same issues that we’re facing on my car, like a cast aluminum coolant pipe that runs from the water outlet at the back of the head to the front of the engine, allowing for a shorter and neater radiator hose. Definitely worth a look if you’re planning to use a Duratec for a RWD swap. The outfit is called Raceline, check ‘em out.
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May 9th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
A couple of nice sites.
Re the water pipe, I wonder what configuration was used on the Duratec equipped Ranger trucks? Maybe they used a different head with the water outlet on the front? I have the Haynes manual (for my 2001 Mazda B2500), but it’s a bit light on the details of the Duratec trucks.
Also, nosing around on the Raceline site, I saw a photo that confirms the Merkur diff is in fact the same as the Sierra.
I’m currently in Medellin, Colombia on business; lot’s of neat cars that we don’t see in the states, but no Spitfires spotted yet (and only 1 Miata so far!).
Carter
May 20th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I mentioned your Duratec project on the Grassroots Motorsports list, (as Loren’s Duratec Spitfire), but did not want to give any details, like posting the link, without your permission.
I offered the opinion that a complete Ranger Duratec+trans swap into my GT6+, along with a Ford aluminum cased IRS diff from a T-Bird/Mark VIII/Mustang GT would be interesting and do-able.
Meanwhile, I’m in Medellin, Colombia, a very pretty, friendly town. They have a ton of cars we never see here, some I’d really like to drive. The tiny Yellow taxicabs make your Yaris look like a Hummer. And the traffic is insane (I *like* it).
Carter
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
It will be interesting to see what the GRM folks have to say.
I suspect you’d have to hack things up pretty good to get the Ranger transmission to fit. But, you’d have a fair amount of fabrication to do to get that diff in there, too… so, why not?
Latest estimate on my bell housing is first week of June…
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Not much feedback, but some interesting details and pix from Jensenman:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/triumph-gt6/10191/page3/
He has previously built a Spit powered by a T-Bird 2.3 turbo (AKA ‘the Abomination’).
Carter
May 26th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Oh, how I hope I can live with the factory rear suspension and diff for a very long time!
May 26th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
To make the diff live:
1) Thy shifts shall be deliberate.
2) Thy starts shall be ‘measured’ and stately.
3) Thy U-Joints shall never have any play.
4) Thy rear tires shall never be big, fat, and sticky.
Seriously, the torque from the Duratec is not much greater than from the GT6, so you should expect similar durability.
Carter
May 31st, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Yeah, that’s how I view it. Either incidentally through non-optimized intake and exhaust, or purposely through MS tuning, I don’t intend to make more than 120 ft lbs of torque. U-Joints are fresh, diff is freshly shimmed, and tires are narrow. Should be fairly reliable.
June 5th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Hi Loren.
My deepest condolances for your former Spit motor misery. I have been thorugh the excact same round with my 1979 (BRG) 1500 : Bought a stage 3 motor from PRI (www.prirace.com) for a HUGE chunk of money and it lasted for 200 miles before the cam shaft went south. I spent the whole of last summer and this winter rebuilding and after 50 miles the roller rockers, cam followers, cam shaft shattered into pieces…
I have turned to Burton Power (www.burtonpower.co.uk) and want an Zetec og Duratac motor as a replacement. I already have av T9 gear box mounted and I hope the Zetec/Duratec will fit just perfect. Have you had to do any altering to the Spit frame to get the Duratac to fit under the bonnet?
I am very happy to find your blog and will follow closely in the future to pick up some tips and tricks! As I understand this motor is from a 2001 Ford Focus FWD? Is it the same motor as the 2.0 L DOCH 16V is the Ford Monedo (European style…) ?
As for the T9 gear box I can recommend Frontline Spirdget (http://www.mgcars.org.uk/frontline/gearbox.htm)
Good luck and keep us posted!
Lars
Valdres
Norway
June 20th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
What, are Quads4Rods waiting until they’ve drunk enough cases of beer to melt down the cans and cast your bellhousing?
Seriously, what gives?
Carter
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Carter, Idunno what the big hold-up was on producing the bell housing. I know that the casting is outsourced, and they had to call and order it after I ordered the part. So, that was a good portion of it. After the casting was done, they had some in-house machining to do, and this isn’t their only product, so it had to be scheduled. Blah, blah, blah…
Lars, keep your eyes on this blog. Not sure what mods to the frame (if any) will be required to fit the Duratec!
You’ll need to do some research to be sure of what cars have the Duratec on the European market, also be aware that Ford used the “Duratec” name pretty liberally, especially in Europe. The current generation Duratec engine (which has 2.0 and 2.3 liter variants, pretty much the same engine, the 2.3 has a taller block) wasn’t used in the Focus until 2005 in the US. Prior to that, the Focus used the Zetec engine. Nothing wrong with the Zetec, it’s probably actually BETTER as far as aftermarket support goes, but for a LHD Spitfire, the Zetec’s left-side exhaust complicates things.
My engine is a 2.0 Duratec from a 2005 US-Market Focus.