XF Upgrade

[Anonymous]

Hiho,
I have an XF 250 Efi with auto. Completely stock at the moment but would like some advice on an upgrade.
Would I be be better off putting in th six from an EB or later, or would it be better to just have the old 250 rebuilt.
She has 270,000 on the clock but still runs well.

Thanks
Roads.

 

[xctasy]

Option 1: The EB engine would work if you got some XG Falcon Ute engine mounts.
You have to do a checklist of items you can keep or dispense with. If your XF is post 1986, and was originally an ULP engine from the factory, I'd say quite a lot of the electrics and complying ADR 37 rule gear should be the same
Items like:-
1. catalyst exhast,
2.The emissions gear that bolts on to the body
3.Charcoal canister may be the same,
4.duno about the EFI return pump and lines
5.Engine mounts,
6.radiator
7.Power steering lines
8. Drive shaft
are all the easy items to sort out.

Issues are that you may need a front clip for the EFI's EEC module and BTR transmission controller (if you plan to go auto), and if these are able to be unlinked to the smart lock electronics. Lots of connections will fit up, but each year has some different systems, and a smart electrician can sometimes have budget blow-outs because of little fiddly things.

It would have to be inspected, but you would get an easy 220 hp if the engine is from an XR6, and about 200 hp or so for a stocker 4.0 EBii. But a rechip would push it up to some impressive numbers over these figures if you could see yourself paying for it. Streetable, reliable...as long as you check the tendancy for any Falcon six to have head bolts that streach and loose gasket sealing. Check Backlash for his posts on this and other matters.

Option 2: As for me, I'd go for a rebuild of the 4.1 EFI. Dick Johnston could get a low intensity 280 degree cam to run on his T5 speed car with the stock 2.77:1 LSD. As long as you don't go over 180 hp or so, the stock management system will cope. There may be other electronic systems like Links, Hatech F9, GM Delco P4 Memcal or Motech which would wake the thing up big time without getting a canary from the Feds! Rember, 290 hp is possible with just a cammed flow benched 4.1 with an Active Ultraflow intake and a 4-bbl with borderline streetability. And no electronics to get in the way!

A few points to note....and this is more dreamworld stuff for your own info. There is nothing radically different in the combustion chamber from an 1980 XD 1/2 Alloy Head six to the last AU iii. Okay, there was emphasis on high swirl in the later post 85 cars, but the cam, plug position and excellent intake and exhast port angles make any cross-flow or cammer a big fan of a big cam and fuel supply. And if you are clever enough, you could even adapt the latter headers and intake manifolds from a Multipoint EA to AU...the centre spacings and critical dimensions are close enough to make a special adaptor to fit them.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info.
If I stay with the Xf Efi, is it a mission to swap the auto for a manual.

 

[Anonymous]

Roads,
I think you have made the right choice.
The change over to the later engine could have had your car off the road for weeks getting all the bugs sorted after the intial fitment was finished.
A suggestion is to buy another crossflow and rebuild it. Invest the time and money on building it up to what you want and then its just a simple engine swap and your away again.
Noel.

 

[Anonymous]

i looked into the manual conversion with my XF ....... in the end it was upsetting, for the simple reason i chose not to do.... the cost was pretty big..... however i talked to my mechanic and he reckoned its not that hard of a job.... maybe depends on your $$$ and if u can do it yourself..... i also foound alot of tranny places i went too refused to do conversion, they claim the customers were NEVER happy because there were always little squeeks and sounds, and could never be done as good as a factiry fit

-matt-

 

[Anonymous]

hi,
i have an 86 XF carby. was an auto but it at this very moment it is getting converted to manual. only a 4 speed single rail, this is because most people i spoke to said they are generally stronger than the 5 speed and a shitload cheaper. ratio's are pretty much the same as the 5 speed except no overdrive so should have similar performance except might use a bit more fuel on the highway. all up it's costing me $600 (parts, labour, everything) but they keep my auto. no use for it anyway as i already have 1 sitting in the back yard. i'll let you know how it goes when i get the car back in a couple of days. should be sweet though, he's giving me a 3 month warranty on everything as well. shouldn't really be much different for an EFI model as i was told that all gearboxes fit on each model. anyway, i'll keep ya posted.

Paul.