Words and photos: Jon Hill

An excerpt from the article showing how to fit our engine mount kit MNT-ENG1.

  

There's a strong argument for keeping your classic Ford in an all-Ford state of tune, but ignoring the rest of the pack and denying the wealth of other powerplants out there, is sheer folly. That's because you could easily get your doors blown off by something that was cheaper to fit than yours. Now, we're not dismissing the mighty Cosworth YB, not the Zetec and Duratec I-4 but there really is a very, very strong case for fitting a twin cam from the land of the Griffin. For a start, the Vauxhall XE's deed cheap right now, plus, get the right engine and they're not difficult to wring cost-effective power from either – particularly when you compare the price of converting a YB to normally-aspirated form.  

 

On top of that, the XE is basically a Cosworth engine anyway. Those with narrow minds might take the piss but all you have to do is ask them what a Cosworth KBA is and they'll shut up quicker than welding their lips closed with a blowtorch. In effect, all that matters is producing a car that's quick, handles right and sound awesome – in essence who care what the badge says on the rocker cover? Even if it is Vauxhall!

 

Despite its fame for making rear-wheel-drive Zetecs, and lately Duratec installations so easy that even Dale Winton could do it, Dave Colledge at Retro Ford knows a bargain when he sees one. So this is how we came to follow along as Dave fitted an XE into a customer's Mk1 Cortina. Here it is in complete details so that the less blinkered can also scream to the Vauxhall beat.

 

ENGINE MOUNTING

1. A Cortina's standard Kent engine is located on rubber mounts, which are an integral part of the front crossmember. Standard XE mounting practise is to remove the mounts – in our case from a modified Escort crossmember we've used in place of the Cortina's – and chassis mount the engine using an SB Developments kit.

 

2. The SBD kit is very competitively priced and contains everything you need. The actual block mounts are the only bits that need fabricating, although the chassis mount sections are already made up (3).

 

4. These simply fit over the top of the rails and are trimmed and welded in place.

 

5. Before Dave starts welding though, the engine position needs to be determined. With the front crossmember fitted, the engine and gearbox are lowered into place. Basically, the engine needs to sit as far back and low down as possible for better weight distribution – ideally, you need to have the first spark plug hole as near as you can to the centre line of the front struts, this obviously isn't always possible without removing the bulkhead. Height is usually determined by sump-to-crossmember clearance.

 

6. The XE will go a long way back in the engine bay, but the main problem is the heater bowl on the bulkhead. It sticks out further than the bulkhead lip and hits the cam cover.

 

7. Dave cuts and re-shapes this area to loose the paunch before re-painted it. Clearance around this area should be about the thickness of you hand – roughly 12-15mm.

 

8. Gearbox position needs to be determined before final welding (see the next section). Once that's done the block-to-chassis mounts can be made. Dave begins by bolting the provided plate to the block and welding the provided spacer to make the plate sit flat. Next is the chassis-mount the bush, then the provided section of steel tube can be trimmed to length and welded in place.  

 

 

Reproduced with permission of Classic Ford Magazine