twin cam engines

Post by **ratrodmog** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:22 pm

Hi guys & girls. Does anyone have experience with a Lotus twin cam or a Toyota twin cam into the mog? What are the good and bad points with these? I thought that the Lotus twin would be something interesting and different or am I mad for thinking this

. Thanks in advance. Ben

Thu Nov 26, 2009 8:14 pm

it might be worth getting in touch with this guy..

he was at one point dropping a 4age engine into a moggy and had a few pages of stuff.. i can not find the page any more but might be worth dropping him an email..

http://www.spagweb.com

Post by **MartinB** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:13 am

I Think the Lotus Twin cam engine was good in its day but no way near as good as the more modern 4 valve engines such as the 4age, Zetec, Fiat 16 valve etc. The fuel consumption of the older twin cam designs such as the Fiat (8 valve), Lotus (8 valve) and the older Jag engines will never be as good as the newer 16 valve designs, this is mainly due to improved combustion from the more compact chambers with the 4 valve engines with the central spark plug, narrower valve angles etc. I think your better off with the most modern twin cam engine you can find.

You can't stop progress!

Martin

Post by **twincamman** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:50 pm

There's a Minor in the next issue of Practical Performance Car with a Toyota 4AGE in it.
Also, Ed Hall from the mag has recently bought a Minor (off someone on here apparetly).

Post by **Jefftav** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:56 pm

Have a look at this

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=29316

If I haven't done the link correctly it is from the General Discussion forum under Twim Cam Traveller.

Post by **twincamman** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 11:12 am

Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I noticed the post after I'd posted a reply!

Post by dp » Sat Nov 28, 2009 6:46 pm

I had a Lotus Twin Cam Escort back in the 'eighties (not a genuine one though). It's basically a pre-crossflow Ford engine with an alloy cylinder head. If you're asking because you have one lying around then sell it as they make good money these days.

If not, I wouldn't recommend buying one all as it's going to be expensive to buy, expensive to repair, not be all that reliable (it's overstressed to start with) and uneconomical. Even with wodges of money it won't be that tunable for the effort of fitting it.

Some info here:
http://www.burton-power.com/technical_1 ... am_8v.aspx

Post by **ratrodmog** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 12:58 pm

So rather than the Lotus engine would something like a Toyota 4age be better, more reliable ect?

Post by **ohc_turbo** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 2:33 pm

a Nissan CA18DE (non turbo)or CA18DET (turbo) could be a good candidate as its fairly compact and with a out the box figures of 135BHP and 165BHP respectivaly there very peppy and respond well to tuning and there is a lot of aftermarket parts avaliable

Post by dp » Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:15 pm

ratrodmog wrote:So rather than the Lotus engine would something like a Toyota 4age be better, more reliable ect?

It would. Don't know how easily it could be made to fit versus another modern engine but with a reliable modern engine, the headaches would end once you had found a way to fit it. With a Lotus the headaches would begin once you had fitted it.

This thread discuss engine possibilities:
http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=10557

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 4:30 pm

As dp says - if you have a Lotus Twin Cam engine lying around - you're in the money!