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0 to 100kph?

Started by Brian Crump, 17 April 2007, 02:48 AM

Des

PB; I'm sure you are aware that even a flat 8 second time for a car with so many miles is pretty good.

have you done any work to your engine?

6.9's in euro trim were good for mid 7's when new, so I wouldn't be too disappointed.

As I'm sure you are aware there are so many things that can affect a 1/4 mile or 0-100 time

ambient temperature
tyre pressure
windows all up
you could lower the car as much as practical to gain that 1 hundredth of a second advantage
weight in the car, better to do a run on a nearly empty tank of gas, than a full one

condition of engine
even how well the body on the car is polished, yes I know sounds absurd, but F1's are highly polished before a race to ensure they slip through the air as quick as possible, this point isn't actually new, in WWII, fighter planes were highly polished to ensure they could slip through the air just that little bit quicker.


I know its just a bit of fun testing but I thought I would mention a few points for anyone interested in shaving their times.



Grant V

I chatted to my father about this problem and a few points were raised.

1) The altitude is a factor, and its a fact that road tests up in the Pretoria/ Johannesburg area prove to be slower than if it has been done on the coast.

2) The car hasn't had a good service for a while

3) I should imagine that the timing chain has never been replaced. From what I've read here and on other sites, I think this is probably the biggest problem and that a new chain will definitely change the performance. I still have to do a proper valve timing check.

4) Although the car hardly uses oil, the engine can't be as good as it used to be, now with 230 000km on the clock.
"You've bought another bloody car?!? We should have you committed!" he shrieked, storming out of the room

Des

Grant I have been advised by M100 experts that the timing chain should be replaced every 50,000k's or every 5 years.

Sounds like your car needs a major service + timing chain, I also had my front engine seals done at the same time.

If you have any suspension issues with you car I would source the parts and do that at the same time as well..



Mercules

I am looking forward to contributing 0-100kph & 400m times, fuel consumption figures, in-car footage and burnout videos to this thread as soon as my 280\falcon frankenstein is finished  ;D

I just noticed the Ford has 3.08 diff ratio, where the 280SE is 3.69... Anyone who has driven an EF Falcon will vouch for its (single) wheelspinning ability... this is gonna get messy I can tell  ;D

oscar

Mercules, I didn't think I'd ever get excited over a Fordedes Benz conversion.  Is it finished, is it finished :D :D

Looking forward to some drifting movies and a high speed 200+km/hr run over Moonee Moonee bridge ;D
1973 350SE, my first & fave

Mercules

Quote from: oscar on 30 April 2007, 07:12 AM
Looking forward to some drifting movies and a high speed 200+km/hr run over Moonee Moonee bridge ;D

Drifting... not so sure - I have never actually driven my 280 before so I am really curious to find out how it handles... or loses traction for that matter  ;)  this car is definately the biggest automobile I have owned so maybe I will need all 3 lanes of the F3 to drift it? HA!

I can't decide whether its gonna be a "Fordedes Benz" or a "Bord"... maybe thats another thread entirely!

Cam

Bandolero

I think you will be better off with the 450 diff of 3.06:1 ratio.
Russell Bond - (Adelaide, South Australia)
1978 450SEL 6.9 .... #5166 .... 12/78 (Sold.) [url="//www.ezycoat.com.au"]www.ezycoat.com.au[/url]

Mercules

Quote from: Bandolero on 30 April 2007, 07:43 AM
I think you will be better off with the 450 diff of 3.06:1 ratio.

I could - that would make speedo swap a little easier and give me roughly the same RPM/KPH ratio... but I think I will opt for the faster acceleration of the higher 280 diff - its kinda like getting 30 horsepower for free!

s class

Grant,

I am hardly a 6.9 expert - I have only driven the rusty one in Alberton for about 40km, and yours for I suppose it was 20 or 25km.  From this limited experience, I can say that yours definately felt 'softer' than the other car, and in fact the figures you report seem consistent with my seat-of-the-pants inexpert 25km assessment.  My feeling is also that there is nothing serious wrong with your car.  I would check valve timing, ignition timing and fuel injector performance.  I did not detect any pingingin at all, either when I drove the car or when you drove it more aggressively.  So I suspect that you may be running a little rich due to worn injectors, and possibly that there are ignition timing issues.  I had a similar 'feel' from my 450SL, and I established that the ignition timing wasn't advancing as RPM increased.  It turned out to be an assortment of leaking vacuum hoses.  So I would certainly check your ignition timing both at idle and up to 3500rpm or so.  If ot doesn't look right, start chasing vacuum problems. Since I cured mine, the exhaust note is a lot crisper and the car has a lot more get-up-and-go.

Let us know how you get on.  If all else fails, I can show you a 280SE that can do close to that time  ;)


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

Bandolero

Don't be surprised if the WUR (Warm Up Regulator) needs replacing, or repairing.
If it doesn't work properly, you will lack power.
Russell Bond - (Adelaide, South Australia)
1978 450SEL 6.9 .... #5166 .... 12/78 (Sold.) [url="//www.ezycoat.com.au"]www.ezycoat.com.au[/url]

Mercules

All sorted Pat - the full Ford wiring harness has been removed, trimmed and re-bound. All the uneeded components like lights, airbags, windscreen wipers have been removed and only the absolute necessary plugs & control units remain - the engine starts & runs, the transmission changes gears perfectly, all the gauges including tach & speedo still work as normal.

Quote from: Patrick Bateman on 01 May 2007, 04:22 AM
Quote from: oscar on 30 April 2007, 07:12 AM
Mercules, I didn't think I'd ever get excited over a Fordedes Benz conversion.  Is it finished, is it finished :D :D

Looking forward to some drifting movies and a high speed 200+km/hr run over Moonee Moonee bridge ;D
It also requires input from the PRND321 switch so as to know weather to adjust idle speed for neutral or load.And this switch is just under the gear knob on the falcon not on the transmission.

The EL/EF has it all mounted on the transmission - the shifter is just a stick!

Smart lock control unit will remain intact - just tucked under the dash with the key & barrel attached... might even mount the barrel somewhere for a more intellergent anti-theft device  :o

The Merc speedo cable is now in the bin and I will be pulling apart the Merc dash this week to transplant the Ford speedo & tacho drive motors into the face panels. I will be using vairable resistors to modify the input signal to each gauge so I can get the right RPMs & KPHs on the instrument cluster.

As for the 180kph cutout... would you be surprised if I told you there are speed limit disablers freely available for all Ford models?
Will be ordering one as soon as this bitch is roadworthy!

Just to let you all know - this project has given me countless sleepless nights - working out the way around all the little parts of this conversion! My goal is to be test driving this car in a fortnight!

Photos of all parts in this post will be shown on the engine conversion thread!

Cam