1972 Ford Escort MkI – engine rebuild latest
I’ve just returned from Burton Power’s Ilford workshop with a boot full of parts for my 1972 Ford Escort’s engine rebuild. The crankshaft, con-rods, pistons, clutch cover and flywheel were in for a full dynamic balance (£141), but having flicked through the new 2008 Burton Power catalogue on the counter – almost as dangerous as the adverts in Classic Cars magazine – I also came away with new cylinderhead bolts, core plugs, a Felpro head gasket and a steel front pulley (the standard ones fall apart).
The flywheel is one of Burton’s own CNC-machined steel flywheels (£175), weighing in at 5.9kg compared to the standard Ford’s hefty 9kg. Allied to the balanced internals, it should ensure that the rebuilt engine will rev more eagerly, more smoothly, and put less strain on its bearings.
Guy Turner, who's been building engines since his early teens, soon got to work fitting a starter ring gear and dowels to the flywheel and setting up the crank on the balancer – a trusty device that Burton has even used for 27-litre V12 Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines. The con-rods were blasted, pistons weighed, the lightest of each found and all others machined to match. Everything that reciprocates, including the con-rod bolts, the flywheel bolts and clutch cover bolts were also balanced – so they can go back on in any order. I love attention to detail, and now know that the guts of my engine are in the best possible health.
To get that compulsive spending feeling too, request your free copy of the 2008 Burton Power catalogue from www.burtonpower.com or call 020 8518 9136.
Posted: 4:46pm, 16 January 2008
Words: Mike Goodbun
1 comments on 1972 Ford Escort MkI – engine rebuild latest
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"Very interesting."
Posted by: mattclarkeDate: Wednesday January 23rd, 2008, 2:24 pm