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Ford Cortina

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Jody,
Major problem - the Contour's FWD East-West, the Cortina's RWD North-South. I don't think that's an easy fit!
 
aeronca65t said:
A great (and often overlooked) engine for this type of application is the Ford 23 Duratec MZR. The engine tends to be overlooked because it's a "truck engine".

This 2.3L Duratec is a 16 valve all-aluminum engine that is normally found in the newer Ford Rangers, so it is a North/South setup.

The Duratec MZR is actually Mazda designed and uses a 5-speed Mazda manual trans (or automatic). They have about 150 HP.

Another good choice is a 1.8 Miata engine/trans. They have 140 HP (or more). A recent magazine article (I forget which mag?) showed this swap. Easy to get and if you want to create the illusion of a "Ford" engine, the Ford-badged, twin-cam valve cover of a 1.8 Escort will fit (or at least it sure looks like it will fit...I have both of these cars).
Click to expand...
A couple of good Web sites for the Duratec 4-cylinder and its comparison to the crossflow Cortina engine and the Zetec:

https://home.comcast.net/~cobar/duratec.htm
https://www.kansasracingproducts.com/Price_List.html

The Duratec VVT 2.0 may be a better starting point than a 2.3. The Ford 2.3 was designed with lower compression and may not have the max-HP/rev potential of the 2.0. But I like the idea of getting a complete alloy, 16-valve, N-S drivetrain without modifications, especially since the tranny should handle any reasonable torque increase. So, if the Mazda version of the truck has the VVT/balance shaft version of the 2.3, it sounds like it is the best option.

I saw an article on a Miata engine swap also. The one I remember was in Classic Motorsports and was for an MGB, I think.
 
Wow, umm, d'uh. (on myself that is)

I got so excited about the idea, that that small fact fell out of my head.

Reminds me of the time I had the bright idea to put a Kawasaki K1000 motorcycle motor into a Nash Metropolitan. It worked so beautifully in my head until someone asked how I was going to connect the motor to the rear end. :smile:

You could always go for the Lotus 907/910 motor then. :smile: i've always liked those.
 
I've one here as landfill...
 
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