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Engine upgrade

Michael Oritt

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When I bought my Elva MK IV it came to me with a Coventry Climax FWE (1218 cc's) as the seller wanted the FWB (1460 cc's) engine he had been running in it to put in his Lola MK I. I have been running the FWE for the last two seasons with pretty good success though I cannot compete with well driven sports racers that have the larger engines.

Though it took a bit of looking I was fortunate to buy an FWB engine from a fellow last year and to make a long story short I installed it in the car today and expect to run it for the first time at the upcoming Wild Hare race at VIR next weekend.

I engine dyno'd the engine a few weeks back both to break it in and to get power curve, fuel/air and other information and we were a bit disappointed in that it only put out 110 HP with a flat curve from about 5800 up to 7500. It is the consensus that the cam has a rather mild grind and I intend to reprofile the cam that was in the FWE with a more aggressive grind and put it in the FWB, but since this is still about 20 more HP than the FWE supplied I will have the opportunity to get used to the increase in power on an incremental basis.

I'll also be able to run against my seller at the Wild Hare and he claims to have gotten 130 HP on an engine dyno so it will be interesting to see how numbers translate into on-track performance.
 
Michael -

I envy you, I bet an engine swap in the MkIV is a one man job. It takes three men and boy to to r/r the big lump in my Healey. Good luck at your next outing.
 
DALE--

I never dyno'd the 1220 and do not know what HP it actually made but most claims are for 90 HP so if that is true then the increase in HP to 110 about corresponds to the 20% increase in displacement. Of course all this must still push through the same tire patch (Dunlop L204 500-15's) so learning to get the power down without swapping ends will be the immediate challenge.

The forecast for tomorrow in Danville is for rain in the AM but hopefully clearing in the afternoon and for the balance of the weekend.

More news as it occurs....
 
Dougie--

You're right--it is a very easy thing to do, about 2 hours in and out with two of us.
 
Michael -

Good luck this weekend, wish I was there. I still have 2 weeks to go before our season opener in Seattle. I've been getting my racing fix on viewing all of my vintage racing programs. I caught a few glimpses of you in the Vintage Racing Today video...
 
I ran the new engine at the VDCA Wild Hare event--for about three laps. Unforunately a water hose was located too close to an exhaust pipe and a hole melted in it, dumping the coolant. More unfortunately I did not shut down in time to avoid blowing a head gasket and slightly warping the head. It--the head--is going to a shop tomorrow that has an oven and a press and I am hopeful that after that procedure and a slight skimming all will be okay.

BTW for the one clean lap I got in the car ran very well and the increase in power was quite noticeable. I expect to have all back together in time for the upcoming Jefferson 500 at Summit Point and give it another go.
 
Michael - I hope it all goes back together with minimal damage.
 
Michael,

Best of luck getting your FWB bedded in. I am quite envious as over here (Europe) I'm not even allowed to run an FWE and the FWA simply can't keep up in a straight line with the Lotus Elevens, Elva MkVs and Lola Mk1s which all run at least 1220cc. If only father Frank had competed with an FWE in a MkIV before jumping ahead to the MkV.

KInd regards

Rod
 
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