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Specialised Engines 1.6 CVH stage 2 engine

Fully lightened and balanced , Gas flowed, Big valve head, Overbored, Enlarged air inlets and exhaust outlets - all these tweeks certainly added to a smooth full reving snarling engine. See the bottom of the page for the full spec

Kent CVH22 cam - specialised engines recommended the Kent cam over a Piper one, he said that the Piper cams were inclined to wear more in that engine. This cam certainly made for high speed lift off but one negative result was failing the emissions test as the high lift cam runs rich on idle, the answer to for the MOT people to let the engine idle for longer before testing the emissions.

Weber DMTR carb was topped with a K&N filter - I thought about other filters as I had had a K&N one for a long time, however all the reviews in the magazines put K&N as number 1. The silly large tube you can see in the picture was for winter running, the idea was to get warm air to the carb quickly so freezing air was not sucked into the filter for too long. Previous to this I has also removed most of the pipes which were left over after removing the original air filter apart from the thick rubber one. I also added the Air Vent this was a genuine modification and not just a pose. I had removed the bonnet heat lining and then cut the vent right above the air filter to deliver a better air flow directly to the carb. As you can see I cut away the face of the vent and put in mesh.

Facet electronic fuel pump - I would recommend this cheap modification to anyone. I removed the mechanical pump and set the electronic unit near the fuel tank. Yes, the MPG went though the roof but the engine was no longer being starved of fuel. I also blanked off where the old mechanical pump was, making it more tidy under the bonnet, in the picture the old pump is still in place.

Lucas electronic ignition - My old unit packed up, it was over ten years old! The new one was a fraction of the size and really helped improve performance.

Race coil - A heavy duty powerfull race coil (not shown in the picture) fed the Lucas unit.

Bosch plugs - considered the best at the time.

Hotwires leads - I don't know how much good the hotwires make are but I figured at least trying and replacing the Ford ones had to help.

Transmission - Standard 5 speed with RS turbo clutch. I expect the gearbox should have been nearing the end of it's life but it still seemed precise and smooth. If I had the choice I would have upgraded to a 6 speed.

Exhaust - Piper tornado system came highly recommended, and ***I was advised that the original manifold was better for a CVH unit than a performance one as a little resistance helped channel the vapors vortex like into the larger bore system*** it seems I was advised wrong. I was a little unhappy with the end pipe and thought that the diameter was not great enough and I was thinking the dulling the bright chrome.

Most other parts were new, including all cooling hoses, radiator, water pump.

BHP 130 to 140 (estimate) - the BHP looks low, but the engine had endless torque and full use of the rev. band, therefore stunning acceleration. Couple that with the small fiesta body and it was frantic. At 150,000 miles it was solid: original gearbox, no welding required. Good for 10 years at least, so I thought..

What was wrong:
What the engine did well was accelerate fast, but it was rubbish for overtaking as the power was not there without stirring the gear stick about too much. The grunt-on-tap-with-a-change-down that the car had before the engine mods had gone. I was thinking of changing the gearbox ratios which I think would have helped. I was offered a turbo engine but I prefered a larger engine.

After the crash - The engine was put in Lisa's Ford Escort XR3i. The unit in an XR3i is exactly the same CVH job so it went straight in and gained another 10bhp from having the injection system fitted, which simply bolted off the old engine and onto the one from the XR2. It could easily top 150mph (never tested on public roads of course) although this was it's downfall and caused the head gasket to blow. I think the ratios or something else in the Fiesta stopped it over speeding but was unrestricted in the Escort.

Specialised Engines full engine spec 01 Standard All parts immersed in acid ‘bath’, then chemically ‘hot’ washed and cleaned, with all core and oil gallery plugs removed. Cylinder Head : Completely reconditioned with new valve springs, stem seals, valves, valve guides and head surface ground as necessary. All valve seats re-cut, valve seat inserted and surface ground where necessary. Cylinder Block : Rebored and cross hatch honed. All new core plugs fitted. New matched set of pistons. Mains checked for alignment and ovality. Surface ground where necessary. Oil pump fully reconditioned or replaced. Crankshaft : Reground and polished. All new bearings, seals and gaskets. Camshaft : Reprofiled with new or resized cam followers. 02 STAGE 1 Cylinder Head : Modified and fully gas flowed, with matched spring set, surface ground. Cylinder Block : Rebored to 0.030". Each bore cross hatch honed to exact size of each individual piston. Each ring gapped and graded to each individual piston and bore. Crankshaft : Reground to bottom limits available, with matched set of mains and big end shells. Con Rods : Crack tested and checked for alignment. Checked for ovality in big end housing. Fully balanced and lightened. Camshaft : XR3 blueprinted for BHP gains, or for towing or pulling power, a lower profile camshaft for maximum gains in torque. Plus normal reconditioning process as listed above. 03 STAGE 2 As full Stage 1 specification, but including big valve head - inlet valve size 1.710" and exhaust valve size 1.500". Cutting and throating of valve seat areas. Full engine balance included. Specialised Engines Website

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