54 and 65 in Australia

[Willa]

 Hi Serge
The manifolds are from a Holden 6 cylinder which have been heavily modified. The Holden has massive inlet ports, way too big for high velocity so have been filled up with metal then smoothed out to match the port shape on the head. This was probably the most time consuming process of modifying the head, that and raising the inlet ports should provide the most benefits of course time will tell. As soon as I have the exhaust flange and gasket made I will let you know how it all works.
Cheers
Willa.

[Willa]

The head has been flow tested to develop 127.5 hp so we think 125 is the running target at this point. This however is with small valves, inlet at 35mm and exhaust at 30mm. My engine builder thinks we could get 150hp from the head however we would ned to increase the bore size which according to our rules for historic racing we can by 1.5mm over standard, this is to allow the bigger valves required for the extra flow some breathing room.

Regarding the red car, I took it for a run up our drive to see how the reconditioned  slightly modified original head performed. It runs well although I still have a small flat spot during the transition to the main fuel circuit on the 45 Dcoe which I will iron out. This was my first with some power in the car, it pulled badly to the left. Have a look at the pictures to see why.... Now replaced, however I am looking for a set of lower a arms for the 54, if you have any or know of some please advise.

[jbcollier]

Banks had 'em when I was looking.  I see they also make tubular ones now for the 46/54 cars as well.

[Willa]

Just posing a quick update on the Europa.

AVO's fitted along with bushes which transforms the car, it is fun!! and quick through the corners. The new head/engine is still not fitted which is frustrating and the car needs the extra power to get between the corners more quickly. The biggest problem we are facing is that the bore in the 1470cc engine is so small that fitting bigger valves is difficult because of valve shrouding. Once sorted it should move quite well.

more posts to follow as changes occur.

Cheers,

Willa

[BDA]

Very nice S2 and beautiful Elite! Are they both yours?

[Willa]

Yes both part of the family.

The Elite has been unused for far too long so I am just beginning to give it some attention with a view to showing it at a Vintage meet in November. It may be part of the display cars at meet, the car has a very good racing history here in Australia and was mostly raced with a Coventry Climax 1500 which had been replaced with the original 1220 race engine prior to it coming into our family. The car was purchased by my father in the mid sixties, he sold it and eventually we found it and got it back. It is a remarkable design and delight to drive, very different from the Europa.
I hope to have the Europa ready for the meet / road rally in November and whilst it handles superbly it's not quick enough, hence the effort going into the engine trying to sort it out. Because I want to vintage race it I am locked into the rules so need to maintain the wedge head which I am sure we can make very effective with perseverance. It is indicating the ability to produce 135hp so far via the flow testing and porting. I have just ordered a set of headers from RD and may fabricate a custom inlet manifold if the one I have (see previous pictures) does not do the job properly.
Either way the Europa will end up an exciting car with a lot more power than the original, and the Elite something to cherish and use as and when the time is right. If you are ever in Australia let me know and come and have a look.
Cheers,

Willa.

[Willa]

Hi,
Just a quick update on how the car is progressing and the event I have just completed.
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival was 3 days of road rally in different classes. Given I do not have a roll cage cage fitted yet I entered the 'spirit tour' which still meant that we could go flat out on most roads, where it was straight we were forced to slow in via our trip computers. The car was ... Interesting, we dyne do the new. Engine the two days before the event using the most gasket I had made, fitter an oil cooler and remote oil filter, replaced the fuel tank and all fuel and oil lines and passed scrutineering. At the end of the first day, I broke the engine!! Actually I bent a pushrod see the pic. I think this occurred due to the rocker assembly moving slightly and more growth on the parts when properly hot. I missed a few stages, fixed the issue and returned for the start of the following day. I had electrical problems as well as a faulty radiator cap and poor cooling. Despite the issues we ran well and even came 20The outright on one of the tight stages against much more powerful cars than our Europa.
Please see a few pics,
Cheers
Willa.

[BDA]

Congratulations on your 20th but it sounds like you could have done a lot better without the bad luck. Thanks goodness your "broken engine" was only a bent push rod! You might want to make sure there is no valve, head or piston damage. Hopefully, you'll have all that sorted for next time.

You forgot to post your pictures!!!

[buzzer]

I'd also check the cam/follower too as it could have caused a failure of the coating on the cam/follower, so the cam lobe will wear, depending on what caused the failure.

[GavinT]

[...] Because I want to vintage race it I am locked into the rules so need to maintain the wedge head [...]

G'day Willa,

What class are you considering? . . Class Sb?

I haven't looked at the Historic rules for a long time but could you not use the 1565cc capacity as delivered in the Type 65 in the USA?

Cheers,
Gavin

[Willa]

Thank you for your comments,
In total there were 200 cars in the rally so I think the Europa acquitted itself very well. I will be replacing the wireing with a new loom as well as a new electric water pump and fan. I will post some  pictures of the car asap.
 Is it possible to post a video in the forum as I do not have a YouTube acc yet.

Regarding historic's I will be in group sb which allows for 1.5mm extra bore on either engine. Given that, I have also been working on another engine based on the 1565 for additional Powerade torque. Like the current engine I will lighten and balance everything as well as increase the bore. I will post pics as it Progresses.
Cheers,
Willa.

[Willa]

Here are a few pictures of the bent pushrods and the car at scrutineering
Cheers
Willa

[BDA]

That's quite a bend! Are you sure there is no collateral damage? A leak down test might be in order.

[Willa]

Hi BDA
My thoughts exactly, when it happened I put a compressor on the cylinder and it showed excellent compression as well as trying to move the car forward in 4th gear. From that I concluded that it was not damaged, inserted another pushrods allowed the car to come to temperature and re set the clearances. So far the car has run well, this is with driving it hard with two people during a rally and on a track. My rev limiter was at 7000 which I was hitting regularly and I think the rocker assembly has moved because the springs are not strong enough to hold it together at high revs particularly on the limiter. I moved the limiter to 7500 and did not hit it for the rest of the rally and I will be making solid spacers to prevent this occurring again, so far so good.
I need now to keep the car cooler and sort the electrics.
Cheers,
Willa.

[Willa]

Just a quick update, I have had a new radiator made and have an electric water pump to fit, both will help to keep the engine cool. I would have liked to enter an event at the end on the month at a new track called the bend. It is the second longest track at 7.7km long, is brand new and will host international events in the future, seriously looking forward to running around it.
On the weekend I ran the car at Collingrove hillclimb, the car ran well, didn't break and I had a good day. On Friday I received a call advising that I had in fact broken the course record for the class.... So am feeling a little proud that that we achieved that. I plan on some additional developments to the engine over the next few months, may fit a quaife lsd and will fit a lighter flywheel. Has anyone had any experience with lsd's and their benefits on a Europa?
Please see a few pics.
Cheers,
Willa.