Ford Duratec.

[Paul McKenzie]

She did though 😳

[AMMO]

Episode 2

 

Today I tried to purchase 5 Duratec 2.3 engines and prices have gone up considerably. Cheap donor engines are no longer available. To the home builder maybe the breakers might work for 2 litre engines, but my experience of breakers has not been too good at all.

 

I have sold 70 Duratec engines to date, so I haven't done too badly.

 

Haven't had a chance to tot up what my new engine would cost at retail prices but I'm pretty sure it will be over 5K, but then I did sell the throttle bodies, injectors, bellmouths, air filter ECU and loom. I have done enough quotes for complete installations to know that the figure of 10K has not been plucked from thin air. If I have time I will post some prices next week.

 

The cheapest engine I have ever supplied was a 275 bhp 2.3 at 4K + VAT but that had no sump or flywheel and clutch. The customer fitted all that himself.

 

I have been hearing more stories of engine builders not making any money and thinking of quitting. One guy who has employees says he has just enough money to pay his staff but at the end of the month he has no money for himself. His wife is not at all pleased that his staff are making more money than him. He's thinking of quitting too. It's not good out there.

 

A guy I used to share a workshop with in Surbiton in the '90's told me that it is easy to lower your prices but it is not easy to put them up again. That is the situation we have. Everything is too cheap to allow anybody to make a living and people are getting out. Great for the consumer but not for people in the trade.

 

Antonella

 

Thanks for the link to Bergholtz Racing. Those guys remind me of our underdog team racing Guzzis against Ducatis and Brittens. I miss racing. I'd love to get a job running a race team again.

 

Neal

 

It doesn't take me all day to do cam timing. 30 to 45 minutes tops. We used to change heads at the race track and ret-time the cams between races. It's no big deal.

 

Mike E

 

The capacities vary between 2 litre and 2.4. I don't want to be too specific as those engines may give away my next engine's capacity. It will be something different that nobody else has done yet.

 

Millingtons cost around 19 to 21 K. The owners are very reluctant to put them on any other dyno than Millington's own apparently.

 

Good for Mountune for charging the correct price for their engine They probably sat down, worked out their overheads and development costs and charged accordingly.

 

I have more or less decided to run Raceco as a side line for pocket money and find a new line or do something else to do that is a bit more profitable. I will still be VAT registered as I don't envisage the Raceco turnover dropping below the threshold so I will still be able to export VAT free to non EU countries or to EU trade customers. I will of course continue to support my existing customers and take on any new ones that would like a Raceco engine.

 

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. Writing all this down has helped me a lot in deciding that maybe a radical change is needed to be able to go forward.

 

AMMO

[CageyH]

I hope Raceco does not vanish, as I am saving pennies up for a nice new exhaust can

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....

[AMMO]

Cagey

 

The silencer side of the business will continue. Don't worry.

 

Raceco will not disappear. In fact it is coming of age. Raceco will be 21 on the 14th of February 😬

 

AMMO

[MikeE]

Ammo, thanks for the feedback/info, while I haven't actually order anything from RaceCo we've spoken on the phone a number of times, the last time about a year ago when we discussed the possibility of building a 280bhp 9,000rpm+ 2.0l for me, and I've known DannyLT from his Cerbera days (remember that very subtle Pink Tuscan at Bedford in 2000 Danny 😳) and know he's very enthusiastic about your engine building and development skills (and he keeps trying to tempt me to upgrade with his generous offer to try his current 307bhp Duranail ) so I really hope you do continue and find a way to make a reasonable living from what you do - good luck to you

 

 

 

 

 

R400 Duratec Build and Modification Pictures

here

 

 

Edited by - MikeE on 25 Jan 2007 22:06:18

[Golf Juliet Tango]

AMMO

Good Luck in your ventures, whatever they turn out to be.

I am sure there will be people who wish you built engines.

(I would never be able to afford one) I'll have to stick to the Supersprint. 😬 More power would only get me into more trouble.

 

Edit to add: re: Episode 1 - quite right, don't do work on which you loose money, I really whole heartedly agree:- all it does is make you a busy fool.

 

GJT Crossflow

524 star of the show

 

Edited by - Golf Juliet Tango on 26 Jan 2007 09:40:23

[RiF]

So what will Caterham do for 2.3lt Duratecs if they are hard to get? Or are they all going to CC?? Doubt that though.

 

All the best Ammo, do hope you keep supporting the Duratec development in one way or the other

 

RiF Flying even faster in my very bright yellow 226bhp Duratec 7, with internal kevlar/carbon panels and pushrod suspension 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon

[Dobuy]

AMMO

It's no big deal

I know, I woz just pointing out that I DO take all day to make sure my cams are degreed in properly, whereas for you it is a moments work during your, long lie-in, coffee drinking, lunch cooking, siesta taking, rich and famous lifestyle, days work 😬 😬 😬

 

 

Duratec SV, built in Dubai

[Mickrick]

AMMO don't go! I haven't started building my Duratec SV yet!

Chassis not turning up untill May.

 

Semper in excreta solum profundum variat.

[Malcolm]

Not sure what this post has taught me about engines but pleased to see that the masculine fasination with size still reigns supreme - in this day and age was beginning to question whether these values had declined - my faith has been restored.

[I.Mupferit]

As our American cousins say..."there ain't no substitute for cubic inches!"

 

Brent

 

2.3 DURATEC SV Reassuringly Expensive

R 417.39 😬

[AMMO]

RiF

 

CC will have no problem buying engines from Cosworth. They are not in short supply it's just that they cannot be supplied by me at the old price anymore. The base units are now costing me more to buy than my retail price. The days of the affordable engines that were coming from the USA have ended. The source has dried up.

 

Mickrick

 

I'm not going out of business. I'm just toning it down a bit. I'm staying in the premises as I really don't want to work from home. I already run an office from here I don't want to feel I'm at wrok 24 hours a day. I've had to do this a couple of times over the last twenty five years when times became difficult and I don't like it. So nothing changes apart from perhaps the lead times for building engines will be longer as I will obviously have to do something else as well. Probably not a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket nowadays anyway.

 

Had a weekend away and some time to think. I like developing engines so I will continue to develop the Duratec as best I can. On the basis of some flowbench work I did last week I am now thinking more in terms of not the next engine that I build but the one after that and the one after that too.

 

One of the frustrating things is that I was building engines with 75 bhp per cylinder ten years ago and if the funds had been available five years ago all this Duratec work would already be done. I suppose it is my competitive spirit that makes me want to do more. Now that I have come to terms that Raceco is just a hobby that pays some wages I am happy to continue but I must also find another way to make a living too.

 

What is happening now in the trade is not a surprise. I have been monitoring the situation for some time and have some other plans that I've been discussing with my accountant for the last few years that should now be put into action. My ex business partner used to work for Goldman Sachs and knows a lot more about money than I do. The fact that he got out three years ago probably means something!

 

I am NOT going out of business. If you want an engine I will still build one for you but it may take a bit longer than before because it is not possible to run Raceco full time anymore.

 

Thanks to those who have wished me good luck for the future.

 

 

AMMO

 

Edited by - AMMO on 28 Jan 2007 20:18:16

[Graham Perry]

[Mickrick]

 

Semper in excreta solum profundum variat.

[DaveK]

My old Vauxhall engine builder reckoned that race engines only accounted for about 20% of his work, despite being inundated with them, and that they didn't make enough money to earn a living from, his main business was reconing commercial gas engines.

 

It's a hard business to be in, although the personal pride when an engine exceeds your expectations must make it a little worthwhile.

 

Good luck in whatever you choose to do

 

Dave