various xp questions...carbs/disc brakes...steering wheels..

[Anonymous]

I want to get some advice on the following for XP falcons...

Front wheel disc brakes...much of a job to get installed? do you have to change steering components?...I also want to keep the 4 stud wheels I have on it.

It currently has a weber 32/36...someone has mentioned a holley would be far superior...any ideas?

Can anyone suggest a place to get a nice custom steering wheel for the old chap?

:roll:

 

[addo]

I'l stay away from carb questions.

Steering wheels - you can buy the Mustang style ones like Grant make, or get the old one exchanged / rebuilt as a pearled unit, or shop around for a contemporary style wheel and boss kit to mount.

Front discs w/ 4 stud rims: you will need 14" rims minimum. I say this as I have only once seen 13' wheels and discs, and was too naïve at the time to ID them! Look for XP discs if you like (pay up to $400 in good nick), or get a set of XF spindles, the tie rod adaptor collets, bump steer correctors and custom drilled 4-stud new DBA rotors. Sounds a mouthful but may be just the ticket. With the XP/XR/XT discs they went through several appreciable design detail changes (see my post on this), so it's fair to assume the later models have the benefit of hindsight!

There's some stuff for starters. Make sure the shaft on your electronic dizzy is exactly the same size as the points unit. If not, I can direct you to the people who fix this.

Cheers, Adam.

 

[xctasy]

Addo said

I'l stay away from carb questions.

I won't.

The 1.5" hole log head is best with a Weber 32/36 carb (called the Holley Weber 5200 in the US). Aussie never got the US 1.75" intake log head, so we cant just bolt on a 350 Holley. The orginal 1.5" hole is just too small, and the intake runners are tiny. The plugs on each end of the log show a tinny 300 cc runner, paring off to six runners of less than 100 cc. A good intake should have at least 30% of the engines cc's in intake volume to work well. The 1.5" log was designed for a 144 cube engine (890 cc intkae manifold divided by 2365ccs engine capacity is 38%, but on a 221 or 250, is 25 to 22%, way too small).

But the Cortina-based 32/36 is just perfect for a smooth cruiser with the right alloy adaptor.

For Holley 2-bbls like the 2300, you'd be better off with a 2V head or going cross-flow 3.3 or 4.1 engine. But the extra length and weight of the later 250-based blocks amkes for a lot of cutting and bending, pluss more dollars in the brake and suspension.

Adam has his head on correctly looking at the light and trim 221 engine, and keeping the front end mods to cost effective ones which have worked in the past.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanx xecute...
sounds as if the weber 32/36 is the go...the motor in the XP is a 200 super pursuit, and I've heard lots of stories about 2 barrel carbs flooding them and thus being fairly ineffective, but your explaination seems to suggest that they are just about the right carb for the job.

Thanx Addo,
just had a squiz @ the Grant steering wheels...just the ticket for the old fellow I think...and a heap cheaper than a Billet!