fitting a ford z-tech in a morris

[jonathon]

I believe that the plenum is now available from Jenvey, but its just over £500, not really suitable for N/A engines. Not sure about weight but its very light.
The slight dent was due to a 60mph impact with a GPO van about 5 years ago. The car was totalled but the running gear lives on in Doris, now with a 170bhp Zetec.

[minor_hickup]

There's a lot of negativitey towards bike carbs here. I think a lot of people miss the point that with a bit of working out, cutting and welding you can have a very effective set of side draughts for as little as £100. Combined with megajolt ignition (which is cheap) you can put a modern engine in a classic for quite little outlay. But of course it involves more time and knowledge than splashing out on purpose made items.

[jonathon]

Depends on what you are starting out with. If your motor has a std injection system why mess with it. No need for throttle bodies unless you are tweeking the power output. Likewise with carbs.
Not a fan of Megajolt, a customer has just had his (factory ) fitted with the airflow meter taken off the servo feed ?? an good indication that they clearly do not know what they are doing and causing potential serious problems as the servo no longer has a dedicated vacuum feed.
I'm not against bike carbs on engines, but the do need to be suitalbe for particular applications ie inlet length and flow rate, and balance.
If wanting to fit cheap power just keep it to standard manufacturer spec.
Personally my reason for staying with injection is simplicity, power, torque and economy, Over 50mpg from a 2.0L Zetec with 145bhp and associated performance leap over a std Minor cannot be bad.
We also have to warranty our products, and one off engineering solutions will always be expensive in the long run, unless of course you are a capable engineer able to do the work yourself, with all of the required test and machining equipment.

[dp]

Not a fan of Megajolt, a customer has just had his (factory ) fitted with the airflow meter taken off the servo feed ?? an good indication that they clearly do not know what they are doing and causing potential serious problems as the servo no longer has a dedicated vacuum feed.

If some company has factory-fitted a Megajolt in the way you describe then it's the fitter that is at fault, not the Megajolt. Similarly if some garage had fitted a set of carbs backwards it wouldn't be Weber's fault.

Megajolt is made by Autosport Labs in the States as a self-assembly kit that you solder together. They don't install the kits themselves - it's a DIY thing only. Someone might be making them and installing them as a service over here but they should not be claiming to be Megajolt.

I've made and fitted one, it's a bit more involved than a Maplins Velleman kit but the assembly guide and online help here:

http://www.autosportlabs.org/

is second to none.

[dp]

There's a lot of negativitey towards bike carbs here. I think a lot of people miss the point that with a bit of working out, cutting and welding you can have a very effective set of side draughts for as little as £100. Combined with megajolt ignition (which is cheap) you can put a modern engine in a classic for quite little outlay. But of course it involves more time and knowledge than splashing out on purpose made items.

I think it's horses for courses, neither way is wrong. That said, If you have a carbed engine with dizzy, it's extremely cheap and effective to fit bike carbs. F.I. would be ultimately better but a lot more expensive and fiddly as you have to acquire fit an oxygen sensor in the exhaust, a coolant sensor, air intake sensor and a custom engine management system.

If you already have a F.I engine though you have all these sensors already. If you aren't modifying it then you should already have the engine management too. You can just drop in the whole thing. If you want to add more power, part of that process will be to buy or make an engine management system that's programmable to allow for the parameters you are changing.

Another element for the DIYer is the existing skills. If you are already good with carbs and maybe welding then bike carbs will be easy. If you're of the playstation generation and good with a soldering iron then programming the engine management might be the way to go...

[jonathon]

If some company has factory-fitted a Megajolt in the way you describe then it's the fitter that is at fault, not the Megajolt. Similarly if some garage had fitted a set of carbs backwards it wouldn't be Weber's fault.

Quite agree

Megajolt is made by Autosport Labs in the States as a self-assembly kit that you solder together. They don't install the kits themselves - it's a DIY thing only. Someone might be making them and installing them as a service over here but they should not be claiming to be Megajolt.

That's why I bracketed (factory) Maybe the installers have set themselves up as a megajolt specialist ?


I also agree its horses for courses, and wouldn't discourage anyone from what they want so long as they know what they are doing. Most injection ECU's will require the use of the key elements of the original car ie key fob activation, immobilizers locking systems etc, bit of a pain unless you are a electrickery wizard

[minor_hickup]

Depends on what you are starting out with. If your motor has a std injection system why mess with it. No need for throttle bodies unless you are tweeking the power output. Likewise with carbs.
Not a fan of Megajolt, a customer has just had his (factory ) fitted with the airflow meter taken off the servo feed ?? an good indication that they clearly do not know what they are doing and causing potential serious problems as the servo no longer has a dedicated vacuum feed.
I'm not against bike carbs on engines, but the do need to be suitalbe for particular applications ie inlet length and flow rate, and balance.
If wanting to fit cheap power just keep it to standard manufacturer spec.
Personally my reason for staying with injection is simplicity, power, torque and economy, Over 50mpg from a 2.0L Zetec with 145bhp and associated performance leap over a std Minor cannot be bad.
We also have to warranty our products, and one off engineering solutions will always be expensive in the long run, unless of course you are a capable engineer able to do the work yourself, with all of the required test and machining equipment.

The standard injection seems the best way to go for a transplant. The only person I know who has done this was quite succesful, the only issue he had was with the speed sensor or lack of, which wasn't really a problem. I don't know if there is a way around this now or if he had just not figured it out.

However you can't deny that with a bit of fiddling bike carbs are still a cheap way of getting side draught carbs, even with the current 'scene/ebay tax', they also sound great.

[jonathon]

I agree, if you want a simple install then go with the original injection system,(so long as it fits in the enginebay), but I'd ditch the original ECU and fit the likes of an OMEX. This deals with the basic requirements to make the engine perform rather than deal with imposed criteria of emmissions and the like. Most aftermarket ECU's fit directly onto the original engine loom, and programs are usually available for relatively little cost.
Re bike carbs, as I said before I'm not against them but they are no match for a good set of throttle bodies, and far more reliable. Just depends on one's ability to perform a good job, as so many mods we see are simply poor 'lashups'

[bmcecosse]

Back to the 'Megajolt' reference - it won't be an 'air flow meter' - it will be a vacuum sensor connection - and therefore no harm connecting it to the same connection on the manifold as the servo!

[jonathon]

I think I'll agree to disagree BM

[minor_hickup]

Just depends on one's ability to perform a good job, as so many mods we see are simply poor 'lashups'

Unfortunately that usually seems the way, especially with cars like the Minor. Unfortunately cheap (relatively) cars often attract cheap people.

[dp]

Megajolt can run off a vacuum or throttle position sensor but you need to choose which and build accordingly.

[shorty1970]

Hi, i have been reading about the zetec conversion and am about to start on mine. I have a pretty good idea on things but it would be cool if someone had some pics of the bulkhead and x member areas on how much was cut out. It would be great to see. Thanks

Kev

[Alex'n'Ane]

There are a few of us doing this or about to start.. http://morrisminorowners.co.uk/about2167.html Also this thread could be helpful http://morrisminorowners.co.uk/about2882.html and mine which will soon start http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=37849

[shorty1970]

Thanks for that they are looking good !!! Does the type 9 fit straight in or does the steering rack get in the way ?

[Mogwai]

Would be a good idea to speak to JLH about this conversion

http://www.jlhmorrisminors.co.uk/

[morrisfixer]

Hi,
I'm fitting a Ford Focus ST170 into my Morris at the moment and its bassically a zetec with a fancy cylinderhead,as conversions go it's relatively easy. Yes you need to cut the crossmember for clearance but you need to beef it back up for strength. I'm using the type 9 gearbox as it bolts straight up to the engine, but you need to change the clutch and flywheel also cut a slot to clear the steering rack.I've also changed the sump for an alloy one for better clearance the new sump is 3" shallower in height. I can't fit the standard injection system because of clearance so I'm using bike carbs on the standard st manifold Im also using a megajolt ignition system ok I've got to make up my own loom but it's straight forward with the instruction. I say go for it, it's not anymore dificult fitting this engine than it it is fitting a fiat twincam?
stevie

[Alex'n'Ane]

Stevie do you know if its a general problem in not being able to fit the standard injection system? Or is it something specific with your car due to mounting position or different pedal box etc?

[morrisfixer]

Hi
The only reason I'm fitting bike carbs is that I've got the peddal box and sevo in the way. Plus the injection set up on the ST engine is a wee bit bigger but I think the standard 2l zetec or 1.8 zetec injection system is perfectly ok to use. I've chosen the bike carbs for slightly more power! I'll post some pictures up at the end of the week as I'm using my iPhone just now
Stevie

[morrisfixer]

Here's a couple of pictures of my ST170 conversion[frame][/frame]
The fiat twincam and the st170 engines side by side. The st engine is only 1" longer than the fiat but much taller [frame][/frame]
The st170 engine is in just a couple of ajustments to do[frame][/frame]
As you can see the engine looks good, but when I fitted the bike carbs they were fouling the servo so I've had to cut 1" off the st manifold so that the carbs clear[frame][/frame]
And here is the engine painted, i've fitted my new sump and I'm waiting on my alternator coming so that i can modify the bracket[frame][/frame]
Anyway thats it for now
cheers stevie