Words and Photos Jon Hill

Zetec InsideThink you can’t afford to fit a Zetec? Use standard management and you can — here’s a way which proves modern power can be as cheap as chips.

In-depth Tech

112 August 2009

ur recent Engine Swaps Made Easy guide in the June 2009 issue uncovered that it costs the

fat end of four grand to swap a Zetec into virtually anything rear-wheel drive. To be fair, a whopping chunk of this is the induction and ECU because you can’t run a Zetec on standard injection can you? There is no choice but to fit either sidedraughts or throttle bodies, and this can make a two grand-sized whole in your wallet.

And when you do, there’s the fact that the master cylinders are in the way in virtually everything, meaning a bias pedal box, loads more malarkey and a phone call to a debt counsellor...

Or does it? Actually no, because legendary engine transplanter, Steve Taylor is here to prove everyone wrong by doing it his way.

“Why throw away a perfectly-good fuel-injection system, which Ford spent millions on perfecting and developing, in favour of at worst, carbs or at best, a mega-expensive set of throttle bodies?”

Controversial stuff maybe, but he’s got a point and a good one, too. Let’s think for a minute — what if all you want is a car with good power that starts first time, every time — very much like your modern car sitting on the drive? What you need is the guts of said car transplanted into your classic — exactly like a standard Zetec’s EEC IV-based fuel injection system...

Yes, it does go against the grain but it’s not such a daft idea. Popular belief is that you can’t tune it — well you can. In fact, the standard fuel-injection system is good to around 155 bhp — that’s virtually a full-race Crossflow and you haven’t even taken the head off! Let alone the convenience that fuel injection brings...

Steve guided us through the process he’s chosen using a customer’s Consul Classic; a car that looks very much like a sleeper yet will catch a few out.

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Steve Taylor’s well known for building modified cars that look like they’re not under the bonnet. Yes the car may well have a 24-valve Cosworth or in this case a Zetec, but whatever it is, Steve’s way is to make it look like it belongs; and belongs in a factory-fitted style.

Thus wherever possible he uses a mix of Ford-produced hardware, selected to fit the best possible way, perform better and adapted so it does all of the above... Using this method, when you need to replace a part, chances are, all you need to do is drop in at your local Ford parts department, and you’ll be in luck because they will have what you want. OK, you might get some air sucked through teeth when they hear the car’s not standard but chances are... you get the gist!

THE TAYLOR ETHOS

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10This is the bit that puts people off but it’s actually pretty simple. However, it’s best to

work in conjunction with a proper fuel-injection data book, which will give you the information you need for proper pin and wiring identification.

There are two main systems that are used on the Zetec — the early (Silver Top) Escort/Mondeo engine uses EEC IV, while the later Black Top Focus/Mondeo one uses EEC V. Generally, this is to be avoided since it uses PATS (Passive Anti Theft System) and makes things a lot more complicated — you need a red-coded ignition key for a start.

11So for an easy life use EEC IV, which will be written on a printed label on the ECU. There

is also a huge amount of ECU variants which all have weird names — this example’s called DEEP. Suffice to say, if you can, break the car yourself. That way, you get all the wiring from the same vehicle — it can be difficult and frustrating to mix and match.

While you’re there get as much as you can — the fuel-injection rail loom, the engine loom and the car loom — although this latter bit, you’ll bin most of. But unless you know what to bin, it’s best to get as much as possible and work through it. You’ll also have a nice collection of Ford-code wire too!

12The engine loom is pretty straightforward to wire up — Steve uses a fuel-injection

data book, but all you need is a Haynes manual of say a ’93-’00 Mondeo, and it tells you exactly where the wires go. You may not use all the wires and you can cut off what you don’t. There’s some adaption you’ll need to do too (such as the water rail sensor) but we’ll come onto that in a bit.

13This all connects into this plug, which slots into the ECU — obvious stuff, but...

14On the other end of the engine loom are three plugs, which correspond with...

15...The main car loom — the male versions on the main loom are the critical bits you

need. Every pin is numbered, which can be identified using that data book.

To be honest though, you could leave about a foot and cut the rest off.

16This is the main car fuse box, which you could use, but look at the size of it and,

unless you’re using the loom to rewire your car, it’s pretty much irrelevant — Steve bins it in favour of...

17...This small bank of relays with fuses covering the fuel pump and ignition.

18From the main loom though you will need live feeds for the fuel pump, ignition, brake

circuit and an earth, which are easily separated or spliced into — Steve actually identifies these wires first, saves them at full length then removes the rest of the main loom.

1There are dozens of Zetec plenums and most are big, plastic and meant for front-wheel-

drive. The best is from a Mk5 Escort or Mk3 Fiesta — obviously with a Zetec! These are alloy and more than likely attached to an 1800, but they bolt straight on to a 2-litre.

Their best quality is they site the throttle body directly over the top of the cam cover. From there the induction pipe exits straight out the side, meaning you can place the air filter wherever you want to put it.

2Next, the throttle body — the 1800 is pretty small and a bit of power potential’s always

worth it, so it’s best to use the Mondeo 2-litre throttle body, which is 55 mm as opposed to 42.

3The throttle position sensor (TPS) is mounted on the base of this and they’re all basically the

same although they differ in configuration — here, the Mondeo’s on the right (plug socket facing down), Escort on the left (socket facing upwards).

Depending on your application, you can switch these around; it doesn’t really matter — use what works best for you.

4 Under the throttle body is the idle speed control valve — the Mondeo’s isn’t

particularly attractive, so in this case Steve’s used the Escort one.

5Moving on, you can use a section of silicone hose between the original Ford inlet pipe to

connect to the airflow meter, which Steve’s mounted on the right-hand-side (facing the engine); making a bracket for it to fit to the engine.

6From here, he’s fitted a K&N 57i induction kit in place of the cumbersome Ford airbox — this is

one of the only components Steve’s swapping in for looks (and future performance) rather than use an original piece (although these can work well with a good-quality panel filter too).

7For convenience, Steve’s used a Mondeo fuel rail and injectors, which comes with its own

wiring harness — there is no special reason for this although it does come with 2-litre injectors.

However, the harness itself works out better for this application but in truth, you can use either; it doesn’t matter.

8Within the fuel rail is a fuel-pressure regulator, into this is the feed from the fuel tank system

— they’re all the same; usually using the supplied unit on the fuel rail.

9This is the MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor, which you need to connect to

measure the air’s density and flow rate in conjunction with the airflow meter.

Steve mounts this on the car’s inner wing within easy reach of the loom’s wiring.

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InductionFitting it: WiringFitting it:

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22 19 Virtually every Zetec installation needs a redirected water rail and there are several

on the market. In this case, Steve’s using a Raceline manifold, which puts the thermostat housing at the front of the engine.

There is also provision for the various water temperature sensors too, for which the engine loom may need adapting. In our case it was a simple matter of unpicking the loom, re-routing the wires and then re-taping the loom back up — easy stuff.

20 Don’t forget the Lambda sensor either, which will need to be fitted into the

exhaust system. However, Steve’s left out the cat in the name of performance...

21 Another reason why Steve’s method is cheaper is because you don’t need to

replace the alternator — you can use the standard system. The reason it’s normally replaced is because the control system is contained within the ECU, so if you bin it in favour of carbs or an aftermarket system, there’s obviously no system of control; dictating a conventional alternator.

The same goes for the water pump which is generally swapped for the Escort system, which runs the conventional way as opposed to the Mondeo, which runs backwards. Keeping the alternator means you can also retain the standard water pump too...

22 This little chap’s the speed sensor, which you need otherwise the ECU will go into

limp-home mode. It’s easy to hook up with the MT75 ’box Steve’s used but slightly more head scratching with a Type-9. However, the very last Type-9s had such a unit, which can easily be retro-fitted to earlier boxes.

23 For non- fuel injected cars, a suitable fuel tank or system is needed. In this case,

Steve’s used an in-tank pump, which he’s actually adapted into the Classic’s original tank. We won’t necessarily have these skills so the alternative is

to use a lift pump such as a Facet-type; feeding into a swirl pot, which then feeds to a fuel-injection pump before directing along a fuel line to the pressure regulator via an in-line filter. You will also need a return feed back to the tank.

Fuel SystemFitting it:

Adapted SensorsFitting it:

Steve Taylor/Performance Conversions07931 426815

Using Steve’s method, you could actually shave about £2000 off the £4000 cost of fitting a Zetec into say an Anglia.

However, that’s using conventional, readily-available engine mounts — Steve made his own to correspond with the sump and ’box he’s using.

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