Big Brother Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Sandy, Brent Chiswick is currently off the forum for a couple of weeks but Im sure when he's back he will tell you all about whats involved and how huch it costs to convert to a Ford axle. He did this conversion recently and is very very pleased with the result. Steve Se7en-Up! Not going to you know where with you know who in 2004 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Sandy Good to see there is a growing following for Zetec powered sevens. I have just bought a 2.0 litre Zetec engined Seven with a Ford live axle set up. It has a Quaiff LSD and rose jointed A-frame (which I presume is what has been discussed already). The car was built by Raceline, near Guildford, in 1999 and is fantastic fun. The engine is one of Raceline's injected Zetec-R types and develops 200bhp. The torque curve is almost flat 😬. At about 2500rpm it delivers 68 lb ft at at around 6000rpm about 167 lb ft. I'd probably agree that the full power cannot safely be utilised on the road and would be better on track but boy does it give you a thrill when you accelerate off onto a suitable road ❗. I too had the dilemma of whether to buy a de dion or live axled car and, in the end decided that a well set up Ford axle was as good as a de dion - certainly the pundits rate them highly for track use. Buy the car, have fun with it, get used to it and then think about a Ford axle (assuming the Ital lasts the pace!). The Zetec is apparently a very understressed engine and can produce a lot of power and torque for not a great deal of modification. When you're ready, have a chat with Peter McEwan at Raceline (01483 811978 / 810812) also have a look at their website: www.raceline.co.uk They're not the cheapest but are very experienced in Zetec powered Caterhams. Good luck and enjoy ❗ 😬 😬 'Have you any idea what it's like to have the wind rushing through your hair!' (Flashheart to Cpt Blackadder) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Chris, are you talking about the double bearing modification where the halfshaft is bolted in with the big central nut ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevind Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Sandy, Just to echo Doug's points as someone else who bought a tuned (175bhp) 1.8 Zetec live axle 6 months ago, it's fantastic fun. Sure you need to exercise due diligence on the road given the conditions (especially this time of year) and Sunday drivers etc. and you could probably break something if you tried hard enough - but that's true of most things. Take care and enjoy it 😬 My other car's...........in the garage!!!! 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Elie, Yes that's right. We also bought a plate type LSD with large 'Atlas' size splines and it has been very successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I do have an "English" axle casing with new Sierra Calipers and soild rear discs fitted complete with all of the handbrake linkages, which I don't need. I want to keep the diff which is a 4.9:1 and the halfshafts. It isn't set up for a Seven but I could weld on brackets if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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