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Which engine? RWD conversion.

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Focus4Z

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I want to make a Focus track car. It will be used strictly for a track car. It will not be road legal, but that might change some day.

My question, is what engine? Its going to be converted to a RWD set up. Its going RWD because I want it to be capable of drifting.

So far here are some engines I have thought of:

V8's:
-Ford 4.6l (over used in my opinion)
-Ford 5.0l
-Ford 351 Windsor (also over used)
-Chevy 350 Small Block (never seen this done)

4 Bangers:
-Nissan KA24DE (turbo'd, making it a KA24DET)
-Nissan SR20DET
-Ford 2.0 Zetec (RWD configuration and turbo'd)

It will have either a 5 speed or a 6 speed tranny behind the engine. With a 4 bolt 8.8 Mustang rear end (probably out of a fox body).

Thoughts, questions, and complaints are all welcome.
 
#2 ·
RWD zetec boosted with a T5 and an 8.8 out of a foxbody. cool thing about the RWD zetec is the the wiring will be as simple as extending some plugs. crappy part will be making a subframe and mounts for it. only thing thou is i dunno how well that solid axle will work with drifting. prolly be best of you could use a newer model mustang independent rear from say a cobra but would just have the issue of it being 5 lug. im sure the independent rear would handle better.
 
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Discussion starter · #4 ·
svtcliff said:
RWD zetec boosted with a T5 and an 8.8 out of a foxbody. cool thing about the RWD zetec is the the wiring will be as simple as extending some plugs. crappy part will be making a subframe and mounts for it. only thing thou is i dunno how well that solid axle will work with drifting. prolly be best of you could use a newer model mustang independent rear from say a cobra but would just have the issue of it being 5 lug. im sure the independent rear would handle better.
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I'm sure I can have the wheel hubs on the cobra IRS drilled and the studs put in to make it a 4 bolt.

If I can find a multi lug wheel that will accept the focus 4x108 on the front and the Nissan 240sx 4x114.3 on the rear, that would be a good option also and I bet I can pick up one of those cheaper.
 
#5 ·
I say go with the good ol 5.0 for the win. There is alot of aftermarket performance stuff out there for it. And they sound awsome.
 
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#7 ·
Since your finished car will still be fairly light and not need a lot of low end torque, a 351 Cleveland 4V. While Ford loosely used 2V and 4V to refer to 2 bbl and 4 bbl carbs, in this case the 4V had larger ports and more hp potential. Beacuse of weight, Mach 1s were Cleveland 2Vs.Think DeTomasa Pantera. I think the Boss 351's might have been Cleveland 4Vs. Powerband pretty faint below 4,000 rpm, but then the rush to redline is awesome.

I just found this in a web search and I quote it here:

"If you have any doubt about the Cleveland heads breathing well, compare the valve diameters to the 390, 427, 428 and even the 460 Police Interceptor. The Cleveland 4V has a bigger intake valve than any of the other engines except the 460 Police Interceptor! The 351C 4V exhaust valve is only 0.020" smaller diameter than the 460 PI, and only 0.010" smaller than the high performance 427. Even the lowly 351C 2V has intake valves larger than the high performance 390's and 428's, and the exhausts are larger than all 390's and some 427's, 428's and 460's."
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
I imagine the 240 rear diff would hold up to what I want to do because I see 240's with ls1's swapped in all the time. I'm heading off for the night. I'll put some more thought into this and post back in the morning.
 
#11 ·
Hands down I say Duratec, simple as finding a ranger donor truck, it's RWD configuration already, getting more power is easy, and last but not least I've been wanting to do it. Also it's light and ready for a fight lol
 
#15 ·
^^Not true, remember the one that had the whole motor and tranny moved to the back of the car? It's from a long time ago. Technically that was a RWD zetec, you said nothing about rear engined lol. Ether way I would love to see the zetec or duratec turned sideways in the engine bay of a focus. It would be the #$@! IMO!!
 
#18 ·
my focus is a sbc..

not a P[:)]SS ol 350. but a ls is sbc none the less.

my vote goes to either a 5.4 dohc out of a navigator or a rwd zetec. depends on what you want.

good luck
 
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Discussion starter · #20 ·
I'm going to run the engine with megasquirt. So it's going to have to be fuel injected.

The inline 6cyl 2jz or RB's are tooooo long to fit under the focus hood.

Should I do this to the hatch back or a sedan? The sedan would be the ultimate sleeper with this kind of thing, it wont be too top heavy for drifting, and I love my DD sedan.

For the v8's, I'm going to narrow it down to either a 4.6l Ford, 5.0l Ford, or a Chevy 350. I'm looking for a multi port fuel injected engine and to my knowledge, there never was a multi port 350 chevy. So that leaves me with the 4.6l and the 5.0l Ford engines in the v8 lineup.

How many people would like to see the SVT Zetec in a RWD focus?! Turbo'd of course.

Custom rear subframe for a Nissan IRS. Custom drive shaft. Custom exhaust.

RS front fenders and quarters to make it a bit wider and meaner looking. Rally lights on the front. The rally lights will either be mounted on tabs that come out of the bumper or a dune buggy type baja bumper. Stretched tires. Lowered. Etc etc.
 
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