Camshaft options

[cortezit]

I have recently acquired a 1995 Ford Aspire with 120K original miles and an automatic transmission. It is a one owner car. I also have in my possession a 1989 B6 from a Mercury Tracer. I am thinking about using the B6 in the car. If I do this I am interested in a camshaft that will match the power band of the automatic transmission. I am doing this for gas mileage. I also have a Volvo 740 Turbo and a Chevy S10 with a 3.4 even fire v6 from a 1995 Camaro. The V6 has been worked. I get 250 HP and 253 ftlb of torque at the crank. Alas the price of gas makes me want to drive something more economical.

I travel a lot around the state of Washington. I live in the North Western part of the state where there are a lot of hilly areas.

cortezit newbie.

[GenevaDirt]

welcome to the site.....when you get a chance edit your profile to show your location.

[kellen302]

Yes, another Washingtonian
Welcome, besides the FMS camshaft, there's nothing that I know of

[chrisofna]

Only thing I can think of doing is possibly getting someone to do a regrind on it.

[cortezit]

There is Delta Camshafts in Tacoma Washington. I have used them in the past with good results. I will be calling them this morning to see what cam profiles they have that would be of benefit for these engines. I will be pulling the 1.3 and replacing it with a 1.6 just for the added hp and torque increases, in particular because I am driving an automatic. I would be driving a stick but my wife has never learned to drive a standard shift. We are in our late 60's. It is too late to get the old girl to change her ways. Been married 41 years. Having spent 30 years in the Navy I am smart enough to choose my battles. ha ha.

cortezit

[htchbck]

Welcome to the site! The B6 should compliment the Auto nicely, we have a couple of members on here with the B6/ATX combo who seem to like it. My wife can't drive a stick either, so I put an auto in her festiva and a 5 speed in mine Thats whats great about these little cars, they are small enough, cheap enough (both parts and insurance) and easy enough to work on that its no problem owning two Best of both worlds! BTW congrats on 41 years of marriage, don't hear that too often these days. My wife and I are coming up on our first anniversary in a week. Here's hoping we make it another 40

[blkfordsedan]

IMO, if you're running an ATX and looking for best MPG, the best thing you could do is stay with the factory cam. I would probably use the cam and roller followers from the Aspire 1.3 in the Tracer 1.6. They should fit (same base engine) and the roller followers will do more for MPG than an aftermarket cam. Even with an ATX, power with the 1.6 should not be an issue in an Aspire.

BTW: My wife can't drive a stick either. That's why when I bought my Mustang, I made sure it was a 5-speed!

Welcome to the site!

[cortezit]

If the base engines are the same it would follow "hand in glove" that the heads could be interchanged, both being fuel injected. If I am going to use the intake from the 1.3 on the 1.6 then why not do a swap of the upper end. The 1.3 head should be in darn good shape inasmuch as it has only 120K on it. I would imagine that there is a difference in the combustion chambers cc wise. That being said I would have an increase in compression ergo more power from each piston stroke. Is this feasible.

If my premise is correct then I would need to calculate the swept volume of the cylinders and divide it into the cc volume of the head to give me a "static" compression calculated increase. Correct. Would then this mean that I would need to run a higher octane of fuel. Do these little engines employ knock sensors? Has anyone played with a mega squirt setup in one of these little nuggets?

cortezit

[blkfordsedan]

Yes, the heads will interchange, but you don't want to do that. The B6 (1.6) has larger ports & valves than the B3 (1.3). Yes, it would raise the compression, but it would be at the expense of breathing. If you really want to raise the CR, I would pull the B6 head & have it milled. I would use the B6 intake & exhaust manifolds as well since they are an improvement over the stock B3 items. I believe the Aspire B3 has a tubular exhaust manifold, so you may want to re-use that for convenience and ease-of-swap.
When you get some time, use the forum search function. There is a ton of great info on B6 swaps and mods, head porting, etc.. Anything you might think of, it's probably already been investigated. I have to warn you........you will become ADDICTED!!!!!!!!

[cortezit]

Roger that. I will keep you posted. I have done head porting for years and have all of the stuff to do it.

cortezit

[getnpsi]

If that 1.6 is the DOHC you can buy cam timing gears to adjust the powerband lower for economy and the automatic. I've also read that all gears are the same so if it's the b6-e like in the mazda 323 one cam gear would work too.

[blkfordsedan]

Roger that. I will keep you posted. I have done head porting for years and have all of the stuff to do it.

cortezit

There is an excellent thread by Zanzer on porting the B3/B6 head. He even cut one apart to give a clear cross-section view of the ports. You will fall off your stool when you see how messed up the ports are. I bet they will rank right up there as some of the worst you've ever seen. The nice part is the huge potential for improvement!