[Spliff]

sure, ric-woods 400bhp one be enuf for ye?

[Capri V8]

let me get the charger on then im game :-)

[chap foose]

gutted for you andy.essex all the way mate

[r2d2hp]

Fix the V8 Andy, your going to regret going back to an Essex.

Mac had a high powered Essex and if I recall correctly while it was a very quick car it was not nice to drive in traffic.

I had a fairly high tuned Essex done by Oselli and it cost me a fortune and its nothing compared to the Rover V8

[Copey]

good luck with the build Andy!

[28mattv6]

why not try doing a 24v cossie motor in it andy fairly cheap motor reliable and good bhp aswell soon as my 2.8 gives up im going to put one in mine lol

[chriscapriman]

just had a catch up of your troubles and woes, always the optimist tho andy, so as ever, onwards and upwards car still looks good on the back of that recovery truck, if your gonna get recovered, mayswell do it in style

[AndyF]

Andy, as per our conversation the other day regarding the Essex + FI this is an excerpt from Wiki:-

In South Africa, the engine continued in production from 1982 up to April 2000 for use in the Sapphire Saloon and Sierra vehicles, and Courier pick-ups. Late in its production life it was fitted with Lucas controlled electronic fuel injection designed by SAMCOR (South African Motor Corporation - now Ford SA) in co-operation with the University of Pretoria's engineering department. This conversion resulted in a power increase from 103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp) to 110 kW (150 PS; 148 bhp) of the standard 3.0 version, and 117 kW (159 PS; 157 bhp) for the fuel injection version, plus a useful boost to fuel economy. Only about 1,600 of the EFI variants were produced during 1992 and 1993. In October 1997, the 3.0L was enlarged to 3.4L to be better suited to 4x4 vehicles. The 3.4 version produced 108 kW (147 PS; 145 bhp) and 260 N•m (190 lb•ft). All 3.4 variants used the 38DGAS Weber carburetor with 29 mm (1.1 in) venturis. Production tooling at the factory was scrapped and sold in 2000, to make way for the production of a new four cylinder OHC engine. From 1966 to 1998, the 3.0L was also used in industrial applications such as generator plants, airport vehicles, milk vans, and even river barges.

I know from the Marcos webby that you can get hold of the 3.4 variant imported crate short engine and heads.

http://marcosforum.o...an-imports.html

when I was rebuilding mine I looked in to uprating the displacement to 3.4 with a kit supplied by these guys.

http://www.essexengi...rsion%20kit.htm

however it appears that they now only do this as a finished item at ~£2,200.00 not what you’re looking for anyway I suspect.

I'll go through my receipts and give you a rough estimate of what it cost me to rebuild mine


I think the Essex is a good choice, something a bit different, you never know you may come up with a little spark of genius that the rest of us 'essex' boys can blatantly plagiarize

[AndyB]

chap foose, on 28 August 2010 - 06:17 PM, said:

gutted for you andy.essex all the way mate

Hey ho mate, these things are sent to try us, worse things happen at sea...

r2d2hp, on 28 August 2010 - 07:29 PM, said:

Fix the V8 Andy, your going to regret going back to an Essex.

Mac had a high powered Essex and if I recall correctly while it was a very quick car it was not nice to drive in traffic.

I had a fairly high tuned Essex done by Oselli and it cost me a fortune and its nothing compared to the Rover V8

Cheers Reg, you speak wisely mate - and tho I'd love the V8 to just f-ing work, no amount of staring at it will cure its woes, and I spent another day trying to fix a problem that wasn't a problem after all - hehe. I've just had enough mate.

My ultimate would be a 302 or even a 289 but for now I'll content myself with an old Essex. I understand what you mean about tuning them costing large amounts perhaps for little return, but as always, I aint after mega horsepower, just a strong reliable engine that looks good.

Copey, on 28 August 2010 - 08:22 PM, said:

good luck with the build Andy!

Thanks Tom

28mattv6, on 28 August 2010 - 11:44 PM, said:

why not try doing a 24v cossie motor in it andy fairly cheap motor reliable and good bhp aswell soon as my 2.8 gives up im going to put one in mine lol

Hey Matt, yes the 24v is a cracking engine and if boght in BOB format (see WaxDaddy's thread) are good looking too. I did the 12v conversion a few years ago and was very impressed by it, and if Capris were in production for another couple of years, I'm convinced this is the motor they would have had fitted as standard. Anyhow, I have the Essex bug right now, but the 24v is on me list of engines to try later on

chriscapriman, on 28 August 2010 - 11:55 PM, said:

just had a catch up of your troubles and woes, always the optimist tho andy, so as ever, onwards and upwards car still looks good on the back of that recovery truck, if your gonna get recovered, mayswell do it in style

Hehe, yeah Chris it was a day out to remember mate. The recovery driver was well into his Capris so we had a good natter on the way back in, and I resisted the urge to punch my neighbour in face for sniggering at my banger - I just felt for sorry for the smug git, he drives a French car (sorry, don't know what make tho )

AndyF, on 29 August 2010 - 09:35 PM, said:

Andy, as per our conversation the other day regarding the Essex + FI this is an excerpt from Wiki:-

In South Africa, the engine continued in production from 1982 up to April 2000 for use in the Sapphire Saloon and Sierra vehicles, and Courier pick-ups. Late in its production life it was fitted with Lucas controlled electronic fuel injection designed by SAMCOR (South African Motor Corporation - now Ford SA) in co-operation with the University of Pretoria's engineering department. This conversion resulted in a power increase from 103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp) to 110 kW (150 PS; 148 bhp) of the standard 3.0 version, and 117 kW (159 PS; 157 bhp) for the fuel injection version, plus a useful boost to fuel economy. Only about 1,600 of the EFI variants were produced during 1992 and 1993. In October 1997, the 3.0L was enlarged to 3.4L to be better suited to 4x4 vehicles. The 3.4 version produced 108 kW (147 PS; 145 bhp) and 260 N•m (190 lb•ft). All 3.4 variants used the 38DGAS Weber carburetor with 29 mm (1.1 in) venturis. Production tooling at the factory was scrapped and sold in 2000, to make way for the production of a new four cylinder OHC engine. From 1966 to 1998, the 3.0L was also used in industrial applications such as generator plants, airport vehicles, milk vans, and even river barges.

I know from the Marcos webby that you can get hold of the 3.4 variant imported crate short engine and heads.

http://marcosforum.o...an-imports.html

when I was rebuilding mine I looked in to uprating the displacement to 3.4 with a kit supplied by these guys.

http://www.essexengi...rsion%20kit.htm

however it appears that they now only do this as a finished item at ~£2,200.00 not what you’re looking for anyway I suspect.

I'll go through my receipts and give you a rough estimate of what it cost me to rebuild mine


I think the Essex is a good choice, something a bit different, you never know you may come up with a little spark of genius that the rest of us 'essex' boys can blatantly plagiarize

Thanks for that Andy, and thanks for popping down, it was gud to see you again.

Yeah I've had a look at the Essex boys site and it seems they do some good stuff, but that 3.4 conversion is roughly £2.198 outta my price range

[Nick]

Look forward to the pics matey. Good luck with it

[2.8jonny]

Well i am sorry to hear that things are not as you would have wished and the latest chapter in the story of you capri is not as it should have been.
Still every cloud has a silver lining (for me at least), as your posts are one of my most anticipated parts of this forum believe it or not!!

The attention to detail and the comprehensive pictures make this truly inspirational reading and viewing.

I for one cant wait to hear how you progress with this scenario and continue to improve your already enviable capri.

All the best mate and keep up the excellent work.

Jon.

[r2d2hp]

Hi Andy,

Just seen a friend at an air show and he has a Ricwood powered Essex 3.4 in a Savage Cortina that was dynoed at 280bhp. But for that it cost him 5.5k.

With all the work you have put into the build are you absolutely sure you can not resolve the current issues quite quickly and cheaply, seems such a shame to take a backward step after all the effort you have put in.


regards
Reg

[AndyB]

Nick, on 30 August 2010 - 07:09 PM, said:

Look forward to the pics matey. Good luck with it

Thanks Nick

2.8jonny, on 30 August 2010 - 08:50 PM, said:

Well i am sorry to hear that things are not as you would have wished and the latest chapter in the story of you capri is not as it should have been.
Still every cloud has a silver lining (for me at least), as your posts are one of my most anticipated parts of this forum believe it or not!!

The attention to detail and the comprehensive pictures make this truly inspirational reading and viewing.

I for one cant wait to hear how you progress with this scenario and continue to improve your already enviable capri.

All the best mate and keep up the excellent work.

Jon.

Hey Jon, thanks for that mate, very kind of you to say so

r2d2hp, on 30 August 2010 - 09:23 PM, said:

Hi Andy,

Just seen a friend at an air show and he has a Ricwood powered Essex 3.4 in a Savage Cortina that was dynoed at 280bhp. But for that it cost him 5.5k.

With all the work you have put into the build are you absolutely sure you can not resolve the current issues quite quickly and cheaply, seems such a shame to take a backward step after all the effort you have put in.


regards
Reg

Hehe, I'm having a look Reg. When all said and done though, it aint the end of the world; I do know what you mean, cos there really has been some hard graft gone into this and no-one is more deflated than me.

If I had my logical head on (I have no idea where the hell I left it), I would pull the motor, sort the ring (or whatever it is), buy another gearbox, and slot it all back in - hey presto. But really, if I was only half logical I wouldn't have pulled out the 2.9 in the first place - it wasn't the fastest or most powerful or most refined, but by god it was a great all round motor and it suited me and the car perfectly.

But I'm not logical (though I do try), and I have to live with the decision I made. I don't want to travel the length of the country again for another gearbox which may also be knackered, and I am trying to find the fault with the motor if only to satisfy my own curiosity - if I've built a bad engine I have to know why so it don't happen again. But to find the fault, I'm having to gradually strip the engine down - which is leading me to where I was last week: a bunch of nicely polished engine parts to sell which will hopefully fund my next motor.

I perfectly understand that none of this will make any sense to a lot of folk in CP land, and I'm not sure it makes sense to me sometimes... Anyway, let's see what the fault is first.

This is how the motor looked until recently



Then I'd convinced myself that the problem was not one cylinder off, but was all of them - I thought the carbs were somehow leaning out and the only thing that could do that other fuel pressure, was a sticking float. And by God I was right!



You can see the casting is smooth on the corner and there's a corresponding smooth bit on the float. Job done!





Didn't make a farts bit o difference.

It's got to be a ring. I'll try to upload a couple of vids. Bear with me.

[AndyB]

Have a listen to this. It's recorded on a mobile so the sound quality is a bit naff. You can hear it missing slightly just as I take it off idle and just before I rev it a bit (cos you've got to aint yer, hehe) And don't ask me why everyone always goes round to the back of the car to listen to the pipes, it's just daft



Here's another one with her clothes off. Forgive the torchlight, bit dark in me garage. As you can see, all the rocky bits rock okay. But listen again, can yer hear the tapping? (it's on choke here, then I pause it to drop it to almost off choke).

Hmm, I wonder where Trev is, wouldn't put it past him to be lurking somewhere with a toffee hammer, the git



And this is how I've left it for tonight

[mk3laserboy]

Blimey Andy, seems like i've missed a lot of recent events mate..I'm not to clever with engines, but get where you're coming from in the vids.
I really do hope it can be sorted out, I wish i could give some advice, but what i know about engines, you could put on a stamp
..knowing your work, and craftmanship..it'll go right

[Spliff]

check the dizzy drive, too much play in the drive could make the engine run funny.

also, if ure looking for something cool to do with the essex how about fitting a holley carb, they look awsome on the essex.

http://www.youtube.c...u/0/m2D_rw_RGQk

check this guys, love how hes got a remote filter. the americans will have all sorts of attachments/bling for the holley. just an idea

[AndyB]

mk3laserboy, on 30 August 2010 - 11:48 PM, said:

Blimey Andy, seems like i've missed a lot of recent events mate..I'm not to clever with engines, but get where you're coming from in the vids.
I really do hope it can be sorted out, I wish i could give some advice, but what i know about engines, you could put on a stamp
..knowing your work, and craftmanship..it'll go right

Hehe, thanks for the support Si... I'll get there in the end, I hope

Spliff, on 31 August 2010 - 02:46 AM, said:

check the dizzy drive, too much play in the drive could make the engine run funny.

also, if ure looking for something cool to do with the essex how about fitting a holley carb, they look awsome on the essex.

http://www.youtube.c...u/0/m2D_rw_RGQk

check this guys, love how hes got a remote filter. the americans will have all sorts of attachments/bling for the holley. just an idea

Wow, how nice is that! Didn't sound too lazy either did it! They made a lovely job of that inlet as you say Chris, very skillful... I'm gonna try something a tad different. From inside my head it looks fantastic, but only time will tell.

[Capri V8]

sounds fine to me mate,
you should hear mine if that slight tap worries you

Was going to say try running it with the soldered up returns removed so they can flow again,
but its to late and only noticed the thread today when we came back off the hols.