An update. Hope your somewhere on the net,
Parkwood60!
I got sumpin' brand new for that
For me, racing Fords is about Fords winning. They can do that only when the information goes to the racers at a grass rootes level by technical links and engineering advice. GM has always done this better than Ford at that, with an engineering depth that beggars belief. I know this first hand because of my work in suspension and road ride measurment, GM Proving Ground engineering papers by GMR are simply better than anything Lotus, Lamborghini or Ferrari has, but it comes at a masive cost of paying the Rent.
Proof is waht Holden had to do to the Opel Rekord/Commodore B to get it to survive Australin Roads
see this article
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/street-b ... =prof-post
See also this
/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=71407
xctasy":3btkgflb said:
When it starts costing, Ford want's OUT. For GM, its its unsigned, out of action engineers on retainers who make Government Motors still the place to be. From the nested loop options hidden in options packs, to the general (sic) advice, its a procurement method that has always worked for GM, all over the world.
Anyway, back to:- Why do we keep blowing motors?
How about
"XP Falcon: The crazy 70,000-mile gamble that saved Ford Australia and why didn't we blow motors?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juTj5gS3xUI
How about "12000 miles, and why didn't we blow motors?"
http://www.shannons.com.au/club/news/ho ... l-victory/
Back in 1979, the first four cars accross the line in a 12 mile race around Australia were a 202 XU1 Torana powered Holden Commodores,
and fourth after a 1-2-3 of Commodores, an Alloy Head Crossflow Cortina 250.
It took an age to find the Commodore engine specs, but it was
an upgraded to 12 counterweighed crank pre production "blue" engine with the Red engine Bathurst XU1 intake mnaifold, head and iron exhaust. Carbs were most likely CDS 175 Zenith Strombergs, but were stated as being 1.5" Strombergs, which I doubt, as that was the 186 GTR XU1 carb set up. Don't know the cam specs, but they had a range of them from mild to wild.
The Ford was using its years 1980 Honda cast alloy head with an M code 250 Bendix Technico W 2-BBL and a 1972 Y code 302 2V 230 HP air cleaner.
Both cars had the same kind of sump design as Mike1157, essentially a Fox Ford style sump, but with baffles and windage trays.
Pistons were Duralite for the Falcon, and the 1972 on wards solid skirt Mahale hi silcon XU1's
Clockwise form left:
Mike1157'S US 250 Fox bottom left
Jack Collin's Fox2503vpan top left
James Dingas' 200 Aussie X shell top right
Cortina 200 and 250 Six bottom right
VB Holden in line L6 sump
And the best of them all, the XU1 GTR sump
And this one again
GM Holden won the battle not because of significantly better product (although the concept of putting the most reliable racing engine ever in the best sorted V car more or less made it a dead certain win).
The Ford Cortina was much faster and able to hack the rough just as well with its suspension changes and much more torquey engie in the same weight car. It was indeed a "Repco Repairability Trial".
It was the inability for Ford to supply back up parts and to rebuild the cars as GM-H John Sheppard run operation did., hence the "Repco Repairability Trial" quip made by some.
We are talking practically total rebuilds during Parc Firm. Fords support was constricted by budget and the use of archaic, bone crushing Transit beam axle vans. GMH had made everything to their disposal with a bunch of Holden utility vehicles. Having a team boss in one of the three Fords didn't help. This is not sour grapes, its just how it was, and has always been in Australian racing...often for Ford, its a refusal to spend extra for the win. For Holden, well, 500 and 621 mile circuit racing wins over the last 56 years, the lions share has gone to Holden because FoMoCo decided to pull the funding to meet its global budgets. When it did fund, it was funding in excess. Holden has always been far more smartly and consistantly funded by a co-elition of the willing Holden Dealers with back door technical links and procurment through Chinese wall's via Repco, Chevrolet, Peter Brock, Uniroyal, Tom Walkinshaw. Ford has not operated through any actuaries in Australia except Repco (via its head hunting of engineers) and informal links with NASCAR and its former Total Performance, Tickford or Prodrive and FRP.
Main issue was none of these engines blew pistons or ran main bearings or threw rods.