Ford Ka...

[bigstraight6]

Ah well, that was a close escape! these things rot as well if not better than '60's Fords, those big plastic bumpers (especially the rear one) often hide the fact that the metalwork to which they were once attached have rotted away completely....

[Cavcraft]

Frigging hell Billy. I deliberately think you are saying this just to wind me up! Get another and give me a shout will you? I fancy dicking about with one.

I'm not M, honest. I actually get (or got, since I no longer own a truck) a perverse pleasure from watching the crane at my nearest yard lift the cars I despised off the back of the truck.I'll admit it was painful to watch some come off (inc. an XM estate) but what the hell, there's plenty more cars on the road.I'll keep an eye out for any mate but I get offered all kinfs of shit at random occasions so I don't know when the next one will turn up. There's not much value in weighing them in now for various reasons so you might get lucky.*Are you sure you don't want a wanky Renault Extra van instead?

[Negative Creep]

Never knew they rusted so badly, seems very out of place for a modern car. Surprisingly good little cars though, driven a couple and have been very impressed

[Volksy]

*Are you sure you don't want a wanky Renault Extra van instead?

Renault Extra's are great, I had one as a campsite hack a couple of years back, GR8 4 CHAZING WILD BOAR

[Cavcraft]

Hmm. Want to buy one on the cheap?

[MrRegieRitmo]

That's the engine alright j-j - but once you get to shite age/prices, the simplicity, lack of electronics and more importantly a cambelt make it a winner.

I thought belts were 'something to worry about' & to be avoided where possible or at the very least not something to count as a positive?

[Guest]

That's the engine alright j-j - but once you get to shite age/prices, the simplicity, lack of electronics and more importantly a cambelt make it a winner.

I thought belts were 'something to worry about' & to be avoided where possible or at the very least not something to count as a positive?

Generally speaking Regie yes, though less of a problem on engines where the pistons and valves wouldnt hit each other if the belt breaks. However the Ka has a timing chain which is likely to outlive the rest of the car

[MrRegieRitmo]

That's the engine alright j-j - but once you get to shite age/prices, the simplicity, lack of electronics and more importantly a cambelt make it a winner.

I thought belts were 'something to worry about' & to be avoided where possible or at the very least not something to count as a positive?

Generally speaking Regie yes, though less of a problem on engines where the pistons and valves wouldnt hit each other if the belt breaks. However the Ka has a timing chain which is likely to outlive the rest of the car

Oh lack of a belt! Duh...

[MrRegieRitmo]

So why can't they just fit chains to all cars?

[garethj]

So why can't they just fit chains to all cars?

You mean when the engine is being designed or as an aftermarket fit?In a new engine a belt is a good idea because it's quiet, doesn't need any lubrication and it's cheaper than a chain.In an old engine, you can't really do a conversion because you need to move it inside the engine to get some lubrication.

[Richard]

Timing chains aren't indestructible, though they do tend to give a bit of warning before it all goes wrong.

[gallondrunk]

.

[Rocket88]

Lot of high performance Yank stuff uses gear drive. Pretty much indestructable, will handle huge amounts of power, and makes a fantastic noise.[sounds a bit like a supercharger] Obviously more expensive than a chain or a belt.

[garethj]

but it seems such a simple idea that I can't believe it hasn't caught on.

It was used years ago, even back in the 1930s when the first twin cam engines were being made they used a gear train (and an Engineer with a massive headache afterwards) to get the camshafts turning up in the heads.And olde worlde engines used gears on the cam, then pushrods of course. So gear driven cams have been around for a while

[Richard]

I can't find any specs, and I might be wrong, but I'm sure I saw an alternative for cam belts on a Scorpio diesel when looking to buy one last year. Instead of chains or belts it used timing gears going from the crank to the cam. I'm not sure how it would fare with high revving petrol engines, but it seems such a simple idea that I can't believe it hasn't caught on.

I believe quite a few motorcycle engines use gear drive including, I think, Ducati.

[Milford Cubicle]

The VM diesel in the Scorpio is a pretty old-fashioned lump, it's been designed like that to be as maintenance-free as possible I think, as it was originally a marine/industrial engine.

[AXrescuer]

Yeah the Ducati thing I think is called the Desmodromic system or summat like that.

[Richard]

The Desmodromic system actively closes the valves rather than relying on a spring to do it. The idea has been around for a long time but I think everybody except Ducati opted to make better valve springs.

[Pillock]

Desmondtronic?

 

 

[Albert Ross]

Modern timing chains?Vauxhall 1.0/1.2/1.4 have a chain, but it's made of Cheddar, and they rattle like cunts from as little as 20k, and then just get louder until they fall apart at speed. It amazes me that people are so surprised when you tell them their little car is making a noise......................"It's always done it since I got it, I thought it was meant to sound like a bag of spoons dropped down a manhole....."Then there's the 2.2. Whan that lets go, it's just expensive. Proper timing chain engines like my Land Rover, just go on forever, noiseless like.Then there's the work of art that is the Mercedes 110 type 280 twin cam, contra-rotating cams, chain driven, two piece head/cam carrier, what a beautiful design. Eats rings and bores, never replaced a chain in one yet.

[Justin Case]

Back in the 1950s the NSU Prinz had a camshaft driven by an eccentric Sounds my sort of car