Intro - Tokyo Motorsports

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Tokyo Motorsports

New member
Hello. I'd like to introduce myself.
My name is Jamie and I run a business in Western Australia called Tokyo Motorsports. We primarily specialise in the servicing, modification and tuning of Mitsubishi Evo's, five through ten (Please see 'Tokyo Motorsports.com.au) and we are very well respected on the 'Evo Oz' forum in Western Australia.
One of our good customers is a HUGE Lotus enthusiast and has recently bought a very nice Lotus Cortina. He has subsequently charged us with the task of giving it a bit of a tidy up and pepping it up a little.
I have personally owned numerous MKII Escorts (when I lived in the UK) but nowadays my brain is full of mostly Evo know-how so I'm tryng to learn 'Lotus Cortina' as best I can in a very short time (Sounds like a reallity TV show, I know..! :wink: ).
I was finding it difficult to find any single knowledgable resource on the matter, and then I discivered Lotus Cortina.net...
I'm hoping that the enthusiasts here might be able to offer some guidance on what what to do (and equally, what not to do) to arrive at a nicely modified car. In return I will upload pictures and progress for all to see so that everyone can see what they're contributing to.
In a nutshell, we're looking for an end result that is 'in the style of the time' (i.e. could have been built in the 70's) and good mix of increased power, improved handling and uprated brakes. Above all though, we don't want to detract too much from the originallity of the vehicle so we're not going to go nuts on it.
If this is OK with you guys I'll post up some pics and a slightly more detailed outline of what modifications I'm considering so we can discuss the best way forward.
Thanks in advance...
Jamie.
 
Hi Jamie. Welcome. It would be useful to know what parameters you are working to as that can effect the advice you are given, ie whats the intended use of the car , ie Road , Track , Rally , sprints , endurance etc and will it be subject to any local race series rules? Also budget comes into it.

Once all that is worked out I'm sure the advice will follow.
 
Thanks for the 'go-ahead' Steve. Much appreciated.
OK, here goes... (Not sure if this thread is in exactly the right section but here goes anyway... :wink: ).
First a little more about the car. It is a 1966 MkI. It has the steel body panels, leaf spring rear suspension and later style front grille (plus all the other normal features of a late MKI, (was there a steel or ally gearbox case option..? This has steel if it makes any difference).
(Pictures of the car to follow shortly...).
The car will be used in Historic Rally (Tarmac) but nothing really competative, the owner knows the value of the car and clearly doesn't want to destroy it. At this stage we have a budget of approx GBP6000 on parts (might be able to stretch this depending on how we go). Not sure exactly where the best place is to source the parts but perhaps someone could recommend something (preferably 'a one stop shop' :D ).
Perhaps I should deal with one part of the project at a time (lest this post will be never ending..! :wink: ).
In more detail then, here is an outline of what I'm considering and a few questions that I have at the moment...

ENGINE BOTTOM END:
This needs to be completely rebuilt. Pistons, rods, bearings, water pump oil pump, gaskets, chains & tensioner.
CYLINDER HEAD:
The cylinder head will be ported + polished with new seats/guides. New cams, guides, springs, retainers, cam wheels also. Stronger rocker gear.
FUEL & IGNITION:
40's serviced (and eventually tuned), electric fuel pump.
Electronic ignition of somekind.
Q's,
Will I need a new crank..? Are they prone to problems..?
What is the maximum safe overbore..? Is +0.090" ok..? Can I go bigger..?
Is there any real need for forged pistons or will cast do the job OK.
What's the best way to raise the compression to 10.5:1 or 11.0:1..? Flat top pistons..? Deck the block, deck the head, or both..?!
Am I likely to have problems with the head casting..? (Are they prone to cracking or will it just have turned to swiss cheese by now..? :wink: ).
I'm considering 280 or 285 cams with adjustable wheels. Any suggestions on this one..?
Are there Lumenition systems still available for this engine..?
Are the any other considerations regarding the engine (pit falls, common problems etc...?)

The other parts of the project I'll post up once we've specified the engine build. Roughly as follows though...
2, Front suspension and brakes.
3, Rear suspension and brakes.
4, Wheels n tyres.
5, Gearbox, axle and LSD.

Thanks,

Jamie.
 
I think what the original question may have been was can we know a little more about the original car.
What I can tell you, and I'm in Sydney, is that I am having my MK2 engine rebuilt and my crank is ok but of course its been crack tested, but I'm doing most of what you have suggested except none of the "go fast" mods as I am keeping my car standard and my engine will be about the budget you have mentioned including labour. There are people in Australia with the expertise and I'm happy to supply names but you may prefer to bring parts from UK and do it yourself, but if I had to guess, and this is an uneducated guess, think at least double your budget for parts by the time you get them here and then labour. $A25k minimum would be my guess and it could easilly be 50% more.
 
Thanks for the advise Peter.
Just did a browse through the Burton Power web site and found all the engine parts there for a shade over GBP2200 (+shipping +duty):
Forged pistons - Cosworth
Rods - H-Beam
Bearings - Crank + Cam
Water pump kit
Oil pump - High pressure, high capacity
Gaskets
Cams - 280 Burton
Cam Followers
Cam chain
Head studs - ARP
Main studs - ARP
Flywheel - 3.5kg
Flywheel bolts
Lumenition.
Pipercross filters and back plates.
Fuel pump - electric.
Not sure if I'll need anything else, any recommendations..?
Am I likely to need a new front cover..?
 
Best advice-follow the advice from here!
Didn't see a water pump on your list. Almost guarenteed to need and if you chose to go the way of an easy replacement unit, you are up to 3000 pounds, shipping will be 300-400 and GST another 400 pounds and you are getting closer to my original guess!
 
you will need to check the head for hardness before

starting any sort of rebuild as they are old now and suffer

years of use and become soft many are not suitable and are throw away

before going offshore you can check with local specialist here in melbourne

Larner Engines give them a call

they have all the stock and parts you need as well as engine dyno facilitys

there is workshop images and video tour of the workshop HERE



.
 
Also Paul Truelove at
FOURD PERFORMANCE
LICENCE NO. 38506
UNIT 7 10/12 WINGATE ROAD
MULGRAVE NSW 2756
PH. (02) 45 777 511 MOB. 0408 076 992
E-MAIL: info@fourd.com.au

He does lots of race engines and is a perfectionist. Also has most parts.
 
OK. So I think I'm starting to get somewhere with the engine.
With regard to the front suspension and brakes...
I'd like to fit slightly larger wheels (Probably 15" Minilites) and therefore larger brakes.
Is there a larger brake conversion available..? (Aftermarket perhaps or maybe even something from a different model Ford..?).
What are the recomendations for a front suspension upgrade..? (Suitable for fast road use and some tarmac rally).
 
Best to check the regs on the historic rallying before you start changing wheel dia and brakes etc as you might not conform.
 
Hi Jamie,
Coming in late on this thread, (but great to read so far).
As said above complying to any regs is most important. Looking at the engine spec and that your staying on 40's, I seriously doubt you'd need to go bigger on wheels just for bigger brakes.
A company called wilwood (i've bought via www.rallydesign.co.uk) you'll probably have a nearer stockist. Do a lot of different caplier/packages comparable with the princess 4 piston system very popular with the escort rally boys.
Cheers
Louis
 
Hi Louis, Thanks for the info.
I think the owner is more interested in having a pepped up, cool little 'cafe racer' than a serious historic rally competitor. If it were in any historic rally it would likely be in one of the 'non competitive' classes (more fust for fun).
Definately considering throwing a pair of 45's into the mix :D
Could you tell me a little more about what the 'princess 4 piston system' is all about please..?
Is the Cortina stuff compatible with the Escort stuff..?
Is there a disc brake conversion for the rear..? (Do the Escort rally boys have a good solution for this too..?)
 
Time for some pictures...
Here are a few picture af the car as it is today.

Cortina002.jpg


Cortina004.jpg


Cortina006.jpg


Cortina007.jpg


Cortina008.jpg
 
Back in the day, fitting austin princess 4 piston calipers was very popular on the escort's, these are now hard to get hold off, but a few companies offer modern (and lighter) alternatives, if you go for a full conversion make sure you tell them it's for a mk1 cortina, because there are a few differences in the kit, metric vs imperial fittings etc. etc.
Same pretty much go's for rear disk's, might be overkill but kit's are available, it's just sorting something out for the handbrake that will need a bit of thought.
 
Also , if you start changing the front suspension keep the original bits , as these are unique to the Lotus and very hard to source. Don't go sending the front struts off for a coil over conversion. Get some standard MK1 struts and convert those !

The same would apply to any bits you remove. I'd store them somewhere incase the owner ever wants to revert back to original spec.
 
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