Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms CVH engine upgrade

Harris Performance are in Maidstone HPE Motorsport

Or contact Keith or Brett at BHM for ideas.

Arwyn has a very good point - it depends how much extra 'oomph' you're looking for?

I've got the Kent Crossflow in mine - but have done some mild 'bolt on' tuning - lightened flywheel, large bore manifold and exhaust, electronic ignition with drycell coil, electric fan, silicon leads, iridium plugs, K&N Filter, electric fuel pump. May have added a couple of bhp, or at least restored some of those lost over time.

However, to get any large improvements would mean some fairly major (and expensive) engine work - and I would probably get the same gains with a Zetec conversion for a fraction of the time/cost.

TBM .... But wouldn't a Zetec conversion lose you your Historic classification due to a change of a major critical element of the car.?

Seeing as I just checked mine and being historic exempts me from all the low emmissions zones popping up (including the London ULEZ) .... with the possibility of climate justified restrictions creeping in on ICE cars going forward, the Historic status might be worth holding onto.

Cams and minor headwork will get you a reliable 115bhp or so out of a Kent (much more available if that's your thing) .... very tried and tested mods available for that motor.

K

Possibly - however there is a clause that says "they are changes of a type which can be demonstrated to have been made when vehicles of the type were in production or within 10 years of the end of production", As the crossflow 4/4 ceased in 1982, and the Zetec engine was created by Ford in 1991 you may get away with it.

However, I'm perfectly happy with my current set up - I was just saying, if I was after extra power, the Zetec would probably be the more cost effective solution.

I was ¾ of the way through building a tuned CVH engine for my car back in 2006. Kent 130 cams, Ricardo gas flowed head, skimmed block, +.040 bore, adjustable cam wheel, various other bits and bobs, I was aiming for 110bhp. Then I test drove one of Kevin Vernon's 165bhp Ecotec conversions and was instantly smitten, so the CVH got put together with a load of Graphogen, wrapped in plastic and stored at the back of one of my sheds.

If anyone's interested, gissa shout. It would probably need a complete strip and reassessment as it's not been touched in 15 years.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the original engine and upgrade so a swop back is available.
Basically your options are dependant on what your aims are...
a) keeping originality
b) increasing performance
The CVH , as Arwyn said, only allows relatively small power increases. Getting more is ££££££ as major mods are needed. That is the basic conundrum with any engine.
Bear in mind that bigger power can also lead to other upgrades for brakes/ suspension etc to handle the power safely. Don’t forget the insurance/ MOT/DVLA V5 changes too.

If you're thinking of mine, there's no point. The swap was made nearly 15 years ago and so much was done in terms of changed engine mounts, exhaust routing, radiator, fuel system and ancillaries it was pretty much a one-way job. It would be an enormous amount of work to go back to original.

Plus, who would want to do it? If one wanted a tuned, sorted 165bhp 4/4 that had loads of performance and handling mods then mine would be a good one to buy (if it was for sale, which it isn't). If one wanted al 1980's 4/4 with a CVH I'm sure there are plenty around for sensible money. Buying mine and then trying to put it back to original spec would be frankly a bit mad.

Seconded/thirded…..

Having been down the road of all the stages of tuning a CVH from genuine extensive blueprinting through to out and out modification….. it’s a waste of time and money.

The Black-top Zetec-E route is the way to go. A BDA dress up kit will keep it looking period and almost everyone wouldn’t know the difference.

If you want the full details of the swap….. pull up a chair and a glass of red and settle in for a cold evenings read.

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthread...asses-and-engine-along-with-it#Post78408

I think the earliest sections of the thread cover the CVH evolutions.