My 15 year old daughter refuses to drive a mundane car and wants to do a father-daughter build on something unique (makes me proud) She's a little thing and wants a smallish hotrod. We've looked at many options and I recently suggested an Anglia 105E....she loves the idea. Now I'm sitting here, thinking through it and wondering if it'd be too much of a pain the **** to find a good project car and then what the heck would I drop into it to give it some power. Anyone here on the HAMB done one of these here stateside?
I owned a couple that had small block Chevys installed. They were drag cars. I would look at a 215 aluminum V8 or a built Buick V6, perhaps Kenne Bell supercharged.
I love the 105E but my thoughts for that car tend to lean toward a more traditional tuning build for them (this is a racer but it's about the right look): http://www.racecarsforsale.com/hist...tunning-ford-anglia-105e-period-race-car.html The engine compartment is tiny, so it's kinda tough to go beyond say a 1.6L Kent or maybe a Toyota 4A-GE without real surgery. Cologne V6s can fit, so a 3.1/3.4 Chevy V6 would probably fit. Buick/Rover V8s and Ford Windsors require real surgery. Depends on what you plan to do.
Stock they're so slow as to be downright dangerous in modern traffic. They pop up on the bay from time to time... parts are available, but from the UK. Cool looking cars and since one was the "Harry Potter Car" ive seen some bring huge money. Really cool cars tho.
The 'Ecotec' 3.6 V6 (and smaller variants) are a DOHC design, quite a bit wider/taller, I haven't seen one out of a car but I'd guess it's going to be a tougher fit than one of the 60-degree pushrod V6s. 2.8/2.9 Cologne V6s and GM 2.8/3.1/3.4 are about the same dimensionally. I don't think any of the 3.5/3.9 60-degree motors were ever used in RWD applications and I'm not sure what the block/bellhousing differences would be. Anyone ever used one of those little pushrod Mopar 3.3 V6s for anything? They look tiny and there's about a zillion of them out there. Ford used the 3.0 Vulcan in the Ranger for a while, too. The 4.0 pushrod Cologne has an inch taller deck height and might be a tight fit vertically, factory EFI intake and the limited aftermarket choices for that motor (none of the 2.8/2.9 stuff fits) ***ume Explorer/Ranger hood clearance. i'm going to test-fit a 4.0 Cologne in my mk1 Cortina sometime in the next couple months but I'm prepared to be disappointed, or at least to have to do some intake manifold reengineering. I think the 'Ecotec' fours are too long for the 105E engine compartment without surgery. I might be wrong, and some of the newer ones are great motors. I know a Saab B234 is too big to be a comfortable fit in an uncut mk1 Cortina, and the 'tina's a little bigger than the 105E Anglegrinder. Zetec 2-liter fours from Focuses are a dime a dozen in the junkyards and there's Zetec swaps out there, but the water manifold and bellhousing to make them work in RWD applications can be a bit pricey (especially with the US dollar crawling the bottom of the barrel.) I really hope my daughter thinks a built 105E is a good idea someday, but she's ten years from car ownership...
should be fun. Condsider a cobalt 4 cyl crate motor from GM. They can be hot rodded and it should easily fit.
im currently building the older body style anglia ummm 50-59ish but i found a complete mazda RX7 suspension and rear end was a easy fit its a little wider requireing fender flares and im insert a ford 2.3 liter for motivation it is a tight fit even with a 4 banger but those 2.3's seem rather long you could allways do mazda miata drivetrain besides ford and mazda are buddies so its not totally uncalled for
My first 5 or so registered cars were mk1 and mk2 ford ******s (similar platform to the 105e) and i would suggest a standard or mildly worked 1600 kent crossflow motor would be plenty of power for a learner driver and it should keep the car well balanced. 2 of my cars had the 2 litre "pinto" engine, they were nice and quick but the rear end was light and could be down right scary in the wet. Too much weight in the front of one of these could be dangerous with a learner driver. Another good combo would be a 4age toyota with a 5 speed but i understand they are a little hard to find over there. There is a pommy forum on these cars too, it should have info on brake and suspension upgrades. Just google 105e anglia forum and it should come up. Hope this helps you in some way Cheers Dave
im building one at the minute, there not really the era car im mostly into, but theres always been something special about the 105e. im building mine with a 1600 crossflow as im trying to keep it all periodically tuned for late 60s early 70s era, how the street racers back then would of built it. remember our british cars are so much smaller and lighter than the american cars. even with a stock 1600 crossflow with the right gearing, it will shift!! Sorry i know this is an old post, i just searched for 105e's haha. did you build one in the end??
thought id just show you a picture of mine, nearly finished now. but lifes abit rough and messy at the minute so some projects have been put on hold
All your questions answered and a very good source for parts. They're happy to talk about modifications, unlike many. Grab a brew and find a comfy chair http://www.fordanglia105eownersclub.co.uk/ Hope that helps, Dan
Even though it may be a bit OT to use as a powertrain, a Mazda MX-5 / Miata would probably make a good selection. It would be more L-plate friendly yet still provide reasonable economy and with a little zip. OK, so now flay me for suggesting something non-traditional, and non-US, and............... (Just go a little gently guys)
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