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.....changing the camshaft, but by the time you have finished telling the customer that the pistons will need relieving and that the engine will have to come out, he's disappeared!
"We actually started work on the layout you've tried today in December '11. Although we have not put this particular engine on the bed, I know from that previous work that there should be a minimum of around 160 b.h.p. and that the torque curve is improved over standard from 1,500 r.p.m. onward. It is Ford policy that the engine should go through emission tests (it's not strictly necessary on this after-market addition) and we do not anticipate any problem with meeting the ECE 15 standard. After all, these are the same carburetters that Aston Martin resorted to when their fuel injection layout was having a hard time meeting such standards!"
All said with cheerful good nature and the characteristic understatement that is expected of a company engineer. In fact the three-carburetter layout showed every sign of being quite exceptionally well engineered and developed. There were no holes of any kind in power delivery, and the throttle action itself was rather better than production standard: light and dependable, though I feel I detected a slight increase in throttle travel.
The white Capri rolled on 205 section Dunlop SP Sports, mounted on 7-in. Ford alloy wheels. A ZF limited-slip differential was installed, and the struts were actually of the type used on road-going RS3100s. Ventilated disc brakes (as for Group One racing) were installed, complete with competition pads that very definitely did require warming up, even on a warm spring day. Inside there was a mechanical water gauge, which didn't register over 90 degrees when running, though Meade does say that a bigger radiator could be a good idea, and there was also a four-spoke sports steering wheel installed for evaluation. One final comment from Meade regards fuel consumption of this hard-driven machine, "I normally get 17.5 to 19.5 m.p.g., and that's quite good for this kind of performance, especially as you find a lot of the time is spent chasing along hard in third gear."
Road and track impressions
I had two or three sessions with each car, but I do not intend to say very much about the Group One Escort RS2000. I have already praised the modified car in previous issues. My regard for the agility of the chassis, promptness of the brakes and amazing torque from the engine remains high. I did have some nasty moments with the car on the track, not quite spinning after prolonged bouts of understeer, and this reinforces what I felt in 1976: the handling is prone to understeer if the big 205 Dunlops are allowed to heat up in continuous track use. Where hard racing circumstances exist it is better to use Dunlop's steel-braced SP4. The other point about this RS2000 was that it was also set up for rally use, so it does tend to pick up wheels rather readily!
I did work logically through the power available, beginning with the 1.1S Fiesta. First impressions were good, the bucket seat clasping me firmly but comfortably, and not suffering from the low-mounting that can restrict vision of us 5 ft. 8 in., and under, conductors. The gear-change was not quite as good as standard, the short-shift clacking away mildly and occasionally baulking at going across the gate from 2nd to 3rd.
The Fiesta was down to its absolutely consistent 66 seconds time within a lap or two, so can fairly be described as easy to drive quickly. The little engine seemed happiest from 4,000 to 6,000 in track use, but gently accelerating from 2,000 r.p.m. is a more satisfactory exercise in top than for a standard car, owing something to the small tyres hiding within those ferocious wing extensions. Third gear seemed to hum from 50 m.p.h. at Clearways to an indicated 75 m.p.h. before the pits. With the engine sounding about the same as a standard unit you could then slot into top and encompass 84 indicated m.p.h. before Paddock. Here the standard brakes coped beautifully, just as they did at Druids: I came to feel they were probably superfluous, save at Druids, anyway!
The car honestly felt as though it was on racing rubber, hardly moving at all under either harsh braking or cornering. As I said before, these tyres are not available here (who are Phoenix anyway ?), so the option offered British customers will be the 195 Goodyear assessed on the 1300S.
Overall the little silver 1.1 Fiesta S brought a complete feeling of safe yet surprisingly rapid motoring. It's not like a Ford Mini-Cooper really, being a rather more refined concept, but compared to a Renault Five or a VW equivalent, yes, then it is a Mini-Cooper of the age, having the handling of a roofed-in skateboard, and certainly emphasising the joys of spirited motoring with youthful vigour.
Those remarks applied especially to the 1.1S. By comparison I was disappointed with the 1300. That engine certainly had extra power, but in a straightline race (which we organised the wrong way around the GP circuit, thanks to BH's management) the smaller car would hold on until both were stretching out of 2nd for 3rd gear: then the 1300 took over.
Again the brakes were outstanding, but I would be lying if I said I really noticed any difference between them and the 1.1S production units. In fact the modified 1300 had more tail-end weave, and this made Clearways a hit or miss exercise on occasion, as one fought to turn inward while the rear end favoured straight on!
The Goodyear tyres had been scrubbed-in by Barry Lee, the champion hot-rod driver, and they naturally allowed the car tremendous reserves in cornering. However, they were a slightly larger diameter than the mysterious Phoenix and, together with the numerically lower final drive, this made the acceleration a little more leisurely. The engine did compensate by allowing 2-3 m.p.h. extra in top gear toward Paddock, and a noticeable 3rd-gear acceleration bonus, but I think the rather specialised rubber of the smaller-engined Fiesta gave it a far more secure feeling in mid-corner.
In both machines there was a surprising amount of lift-off oversteer, and I wondered if this could be the product of the anti-dive kit, for that quality is noticeable by its absence on the road.
Summing up, I thought the 1300 twin-carburetter engine and the Goodyear tyres were both better ideas for road use. I think the Goodyear will prove itself in everyday use, especially under wet conditions where its deep tread pattern may well enhance Good-year's reputation considerably. The 1300 engine with double carburetters should provide a satisfying element of Q-car surprise in the small-car league, the 1300 S Fiesta already boasting good performance for the class: the twin-carburetter model should be good for nearly 105 m.p.h. and, I would guess, remove at least 1J seconds from its 0-60 m.p.h. times......
Captions -
Top-Right - A familiar vehicle for J.W. was this RS2000, with bolt-on Group One 145 b.h.p. modifications.
Bottom-Middle - The productionised Group 1 Pinto engine, with twin Webers etc.
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