Here's the place to chat about all things classic. Also includes a feedback forum where you can communicate directly with the editorial team - don't hold back, they'd love to know what they're doing right (or wrong of course!)
"F.I.N.E." perhaps, but "fine"? No f'n chance!
If I weren't already planning to make use of Zipgun's Briggs & Stratton motor, I could think of one job that the baby Ford engine might be suitable to do. And I do like the exhaust note you get with a 3 cylinder device.
Ford would be better off shoving the Super Dexta engine into the Focus, it ticks so many boxes: 3 cylinders, decent (2.5 litres) capacity, much torque, wonderful noise and imagine how one of these would go with the addition of that turbo that everyone seems to think is necessary these days.
J "Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
I had a Yamaha XS 750 that was 3 cylinder it sounded nice when pulling hard. Good old bike.
It had a alternator with a fixed field coil in the middle of stator. In the air gap a rotor with slots turned this interrupted the magnetic field in the fixed field coil thus making the stator generate ac volts then rectifier and regulator.
The Super Dexta engine in a Focus would be interesting - mainly because the Perkins engine is rather heavy, so the handling would be "interesting"! Yep, Perkins designed the engine, which was modified to Ford's requirements (it's basically the same engine as used in the MF35).
David Brown did experiment with a 3-pot turbo engine (their 3-pot engine is much better than the Perkins and, to those in the know, is the best 3-pot engine of the era). However, it took a lot of work to get it running cleanly with a turbo and they reckoned, in agricultural use, the normally aspirated 4-potter was more practical (I think it was more economical too).
There was a tale about how David Brown (before he became a "Sir") saw how Ferguson managed to use a car engine in a tractor (the Standard engine was modified to fit a tractor) and decided that Lagonda should alter their engine to suit a DB tractor! After a lot of unsuccessful experiments, there was still no sign of a viable engine. When DB complained to his chief tractor engineer, the engineer said that it was like making a racehorse pull a milk cart. Being a keen horseman, DB then understood and cancelled the project!
Having driven a couple of 3-pot Polos before I got the present Golf, I think the 3-pot diesel engine is better in a tractor and best avoided in a car!
Hmm, the Mercedes OM660 as used in the Smarts is a far more refined, smoother and less peaky engine than the four cylinder one in my Glof, and that's smoother again than the 1.9PD in the Jetta though, as the Glof goes like the proverbial off a shiny shovel and DSG7 is so much quicker than the 5 speed Getrag gearbox in the Smart, I suspect that the difference would close up massively if the Smart's servos were replaced by a gear lever that acted directly on the selector forks and a pedal to operate the entirely conventional, SDP clutch. Glof has one clutch per layshaft which goes some way to explaining why it can maintain such a decent rate of progress but it has less character than my freezer unless I take the steep, twisty routes everywhere and, while the Merc engine's vibration period was well below its 800rpm idle speed, the VW CRD unit vibrates at dead on 2,000rpm which equates to 72mph in 7th. I forgive it as it uses so little fuel but I hadn't expected a short stroke, multivalve IL4 engine to feel less sweet than the more traditional, long stroke OM660 which redlined at 4k compared to the VW's 5k yet still felt really good.
I'd sooner have a nice Wolseley 16/60 auto any time. BW35, higher final drive than the manuals so the TCA is fully exploited and leather, wood & that light up grille badge are more "luxurious" than a DAB wireless set, that intensely annoying radar and plastic that feels like rubber. Woop-de-doo!
Whether Project Datsun Minor auto or another 1960s BMC product replaces the Glof, I'm no longer newfangled with modern cars and really don't like any of them that much apart from the Jetta which isn't so over-endowed with tech, has a much better engine than the CRD ones and is a sort of Mexican Morris Oxford, but without the leather and the chrome horn ring. And its wet clutches are a lot smoother than DSG7's dry pair even if it doesn't change so quickly, though DSG6 is still quicker than a human being changing gear with levers.
OM660s are used to good effect in everything from offroad motorcycles to light aircraft, I believe that it's one of very few Diesels that's certified for use in those. Crackin' little engine they are, IMHO, and at only 799cc they're a whole lot livelier than the Mitsubishi 1 litre (also 3 cylinder) petrols that Mercedes bought in for use in Smarts by way of admitting that their own short-lived petrols were less than brilliant if thrashed. A bit like replacing chocolate with rubber because chocolate melts if you dare to eat it!
J "Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
I`ve got one of them in the daily -Hyundai Matrix. They used a 1500cc VM motor upto shortly after mine was built. Far less pronounced in engine note than my sisters old Ibiza was 1200 3 cyl petrol, you can tell its not quite right.
Runs fine at just shy of 90k using no oil but performance is hardly anything to write home about either in mpg or mph
I prefer the MG version of the A60 farina.
Excellent cars.
It big brother the A110 Westminsters were modified by Rolls Royce into Bentleys. Unfortunately the engine used was the FB 4 litre six. Smooth but not powerful enough for a baby Bentley continental. The end result was the Princess 4 litre R.
I like the Magnettes too, a lot, but the ultimate mid-size Farina has to be the Riley 4/72, IMHO. Same, twin carb spec as the MG under the bonnet but I think that the Riley had more instruments to look at, which wins me over every time!
It's a while since I sold my most recent Oxford VI, but the more I think about its lovely big, squishy seats' ability to prevent severe pain from making me stop and take a rest on a long journey, the more I know that I need another some day. It's useful that they have hydraulic clutches on the manuals as that makes it far less complicated to fit them with a hand operated release mechanism which, according to the DVLA, would satisfy the terms of my driving licence even if I don't get its restrictions lifted when I next renew it.
I do love a Vastmonster, but single carb A60 variations tend to do mid 30s mpg on average and I suspect that I'd see rather heavier consumption if I had a C-series under the bonnet (of a much heavier car) because I'd forever be rolling the window down and flooring the throttle just to hear that IL6 exhaust note, which would be wasteful if entertaining.
J "Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
I forgot about the Riley version also very nice.
As a handy classic car I rate the Farina A60. Especially the est. Nice to drive. Reasonable prices as well.
The Gerald Palmer designed ZA and ZB Magnettes were also nice. The ZA was undergeared which was bettered in
the ZB.
We have just picked up a new fiesta with the 1.0 turbo, it is only the 100ps though, before this we had a 95ps 1.6 diesel, the1.0 is very deceptive, with overboost it has the same torque as the diesel and if you time it the performance is better than the diesel, but it is so much more refined it does seem slower.
Fuel economy at the moment is only 40mpg (it has only done 200 miles) the diesel was doing high 50s though.
"F.I.N.E." perhaps, but "fine"? No f'n chance! 
