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Cars and Car Conversions - Technical: 1300cc Fiesta Rally Car
"At The Clinic - Girl Power"
December 1997
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Technical: 1300cc Fiesta Rally Car




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.....Cosworths and Rover V8s, handling is critical. The Fiesta is good, in fact it's very good. You don't have to tackle too many turns before you come to the conclusion that it could handle more power - a lot more power. The diff is what makes all the difference. Going into a corner you can turn-in quite sharply and there's a little roll before the car settles in its cornering stance. Then you can power up and the diff pulls you in at the front-up to a point.

When you start to get too greedy the steering feels like it's going over-centre and the oversteer begins to turn into understeer. Get very greedy and the front starts to scrub out and knock the speed off at the same time because there simply isn't enough power for the combination of forces involved. It took a few tries to reach this point and you are going pretty quickly. With practice you soon realise that balance point and try to aim your cornering technique to suit. The relative lack of power is the real limiting factor here. The four-speed 'box doesn't help.

Going through the snake the road speed wanted fourth gear, but third had to be used to provide sufficient torque for the car to really work. Or was I doing something wrong? I decided to take a chance and break my own self-survival rule. I was going to let a readertake me out in their car.

This is a pretty risky business because in my experience readers like nothing better than to play a game called: 'frighten-the-Technical-Editor-witless'. I figured (correctly) that a female wouldn't have the same ego/macho mentality problem that afflicts the male gender so I should live to tell the tale (which I did).

A rally car is not driven solo so a co-driver test was in order. Sara's regular co-driver, Nigel Mollet, is allegedly heavy enough to balance out Sara's weight advantage over the opposition. All I can say is that the co-driver's seat was broken on its mounts from the previous Sunday's event. It's a funny feeling sitting back, almost behind the driver, with your feet planted on this big plate inthefootwell.

After a couple of corners I came to two conclusions. First I was right about the gearing/power trade-off and secondly Sara can drive (did we ever doubt it - Ed). Obviously knowing the car inside out, each corner was balanced to the point of the oversteering turning into speed-robbing understeer and we made good progress. Apparently the co-driver always complains that Sara brakes too late - but I think this is always the feeling when you haven't got the brake pedal on your side of the car.

CONCLUSIONS

Throughout the day the one subject that came up time and again was costs. I came to understand that this was not racing on a shoestring budget, the Church team can't afford such luxuries as shoestrings. So how could the car be improved without spending any money - or very little money at any rate.

The real problem with the car is the engine. It isn't quick enough for the handling and with the four-speed 'box there is also a ratio problem between third and fourth. More power would help the handling and if you could extend the rev range it would help the gearing.

It is no secret that in the CCC offices there is a box, known to readers as the: 'Box O'Shite' which contains all sorts of priceless treasures. In my workshop I have a: 'Box 0' it-might-come-in-handy-one-day' full of not-so priceless treasures. In my box I found Sara a ported Crossflow head minus all the valve gear. It's not a brilliant head (are you trying to say it isn't one of yours?-Ed) but it flowed okay-ish on the bench.

Over the winter I would suggest an engine strip and re-build. A set of 1lOOcc pistons would give the engine some sensible compression, even allowing for some valve pocketing if it were needed, and this would make the cam and exhaust work better. A set of 1.625 inlets and 1.34in exhaust valves could be used with the existing double springs and the BCF2 camshaft. If it all looked good after initial setting up you could try turning out the chokes to 32mm for a little more top-end. This would give good power up to 7000rpm and help the gearing problem, as well as make the car quicker in a straight line.

ENGINEER'S REPORT
recommendations

1. Raise compression with 11OOcc pistons
2. Fit big-valve ported head
3. Turn chokes out to 32mm
4. Re-tune on rolling road
5. Replace tie-bar bushes with uprated rubber
6. Balance wheels
7. Slot top of bonnet for cold air inlet

APPOINTMENTS

Clinic appointments are completely free: you are just responsible for delivering the the car - to our test site in top condition. Tech Ed Dave Walker will then begin conducting his survey of your car's very innards. If you want your car to be considered, send in details with a colour photograph to the usual address and leave the rest to us. The Editor then decides...

Captions -

Top-Left - Steering a touch heavy, quick rack gearing may be the problem here