Engine builders

Really don't bother. I love the idea too but it's completely and utterly mad.

Spend two grand on an interesting car and then four grand on an amazing holiday and revel in how good life is :D
 
Expect if you ring some of the tuners listed in PF magazine etc they'd be able to say what package you could get once you tell them how much you're prepared to spend.

Bear in mind that as the power output goes up the price scoots up even quicker and you're often looking at having to upgrade other parts on the engine/car to cope with the power, increase fuel system, exhaust, induction, bigger radiator etc.

If budget isn't massive it'd be more straight forward doing an engine swap to say a 2.0L if there's one which goes in without too much messing and possibly with a more mildly improved spec.

Either way it soon starts getting very expensive
 
Tuning n/a is a mugs game IMO anyway unless you're prepared to do an engine swap to something outrageous. My ST is a perfect example, to get from 150bhp to 192bhp it cost me:
Cams: £300 + fitting
Full exhaust: 620 (Partly second hand too, new would be 900+) + fitting
Map: £250
Induction kit: £150'ish

Put the same money into a turbo engine and you'd get so much more for your money, next step up on my car for example would be ITB's at £2k or Inlet at £500+ and this would only net me 10-40bhp... You have you really love your car to go this far and you have to ask if a basic Ford Focus is really worth it because you aren't going to get anything which'll blow you away unless you spend silly money...
 
If a cheap kit came up I probably would if I had the money sitting around but they are rare used, and I'd want to do the clutch + diff at the same time for peace of mind and it'd cost so much money all in I just couldn't afford it :(
 
Right here :D thanks for the people that helped and for the people that didn't, my mind is still set where it is, seeing as though my dad is a mechanic I know a reasonable amount about cars, and altough in some peoples opinion it may not be worth spending this much on this sort of car but this I what I would like to do :)
 
My Dad is a mechanical engineer and I helped him build motorbikes when I was younger.

That isn't going to change the fact that nobody will cover me if I start swapping engines and slapping 6 turbos onto my Polo. :p
 
Rudeboy1 said:
Hi guys,

I'm looking for someone who could build a high spec engine for a mk1 focus, don't say this is a bad idea because it is my own choice. I've heard of this guy Ian Howell but apparently he no longer does them.

Does anyone know somewhere that could do this?

Many thanks
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I'm guessing you have no idea at all how much a "high spec" engine build would cost?

Just as an example, a 280bhp normally aspirated Mi16 engine initially cost a friend over 10k to have built for his rally car and he's spent a lot more since then.

If you want more power then an ST170 engine is going to be the cheapest route, and above that turbocharging is probably going to be the most cost effective. However, none options are going to be as cheap or easy as simply buying a quicker car.
 
Rudeboy1 said:
Right here :D thanks for the people that helped and for the people that didn't, my mind is still set where it is, seeing as though my dad is a mechanic I know a reasonable amount about cars, and altough in some peoples opinion it may not be worth spending this much on this sort of car but this I what I would like to do :)
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You do realise that what you've asked for would cost several thousand £ for the engine, then you'd still have the expense of uprating brakes/suspension on top?

You're talking about spending 5-6 times the value of the car on this? And then you still have to insure it?


I appreciate you're eager to do something but IMO I would do one of 2 things:
1) Scale back your ideas, rather than getting the engine built look to improve it other ways (handling and aesthetics). It's never going to be that fast in reality so just make it look and drive better rather than spending a fortune.
2) Pick up something else where getting an engine built/swapped would actually make more sense. For instance a mk1 MX5 and add a turbo with the help of your dad. Or an old TVR and shove a different motor in it?



My 2p...
 
Acme said:
My Dad is a mechanical engineer and I helped him build motorbikes when I was younger.

That isn't going to change the fact that nobody will cover me if I start swapping engines and slapping 6 turbos onto my Polo. :p
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lmao

rjkoneill said:
can he not build your engine then?
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lol this

shauncr91 said:
Tuning n/a is a mugs game IMO anyway unless you're prepared to do an engine swap to something outrageous. My ST is a perfect example, to get from 150bhp to 192bhp it cost me:
Cams: £300 + fitting
Full exhaust: 620 (Partly second hand too, new would be 900+) + fitting
Map: £250
Induction kit: £150'ish
Click to expand...

I thought that seemed quite reasonable for N/A tuning tbh!
 
What about working hard and getting a better job, then aiming for something nicer?

Even a 5-10k rise over the year would allow for just buying a nicer car?


Can't chrome plate a turd and all that
 
I'd buy another engine, strip it down and then build it over time with whatever bits you can afford (starting with the bottom end and then moving onto the head). Once its built you'd need to swap it out and add another ECU + mapping.

You'll always get people telling yo it can't be done, or can be cheaper to fit another engine. For me, I was in a 2.0 NA hill climb class. I've ben working to fit a more powerful 2.0 engine (3SGE BEAMS Blacktop) which has required a custom sump, playing around with the orientation of the alternator, intake, etc plus loads of wiring. It can be done but it costs more and takes A LONG time.
 
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