DRAG-SPEC XR2i
Martin Hulbert set out to create a 12-second 1600cc CVH and he’s smashed it with this 11.89sec, 357bhp Fiesta…
1600cc CVH Mk3 runs 11-second quarter-miles at 117mph!
F inding the perfect car can be a minefield. From eBay wasters, to garages with over inflated values, you can spend months searching and still get nowhere, but sometimes, just occasionally, you get lucky.
“Fate kind of led me to this particular XR2i,” says Martin Hulbert. “It was sat on a driveway near where I walk the dog and I’d admired it for a while. I mentioned it to a friend, whose partner’s brother happened to own, it and after a brief negotiation, I ended up buying it.”
Right from the get go, Martin had a plan in his head.
“I’d always wanted to build a 1600cc CVH engine that made in excess of 300bhp and could do 12-second quarter-miles,” he explains. The humble XR2i would be the perfect base for the project.
“I already had one eye on the engine I was going to buy before I’d even got the car,” smiles Martin. “I saw Christian Major’s 1600 CVH turbo engine come up for sale around the same time this became available, so the plot thickened for me. I had owned an Escort RS Turbo Series 2 before this with a 2-litre ZVH, but that quickly become a money pit.” The Fiesta was a chance to put into practise what he’d learned – and build the car
“With this set-up we hit 357bhp, which I was over the moon with. At one point we even saw 375bhp on the rollers...”
he’d always wanted.
The tuned CVH had previously made 351bhp, so Martin knew it had the potential to deliver what he wanted. “All I had to do was find the hardware to bring it back to its former glory,” he adds. And he’s spent the last five years doing just that.
However, as anyone who’s tried will appreciate, squeezing this kind of power from an elderly 1600cc CVH takes some doing – especially as Martin has a busy garage and MoT centre to run. But he’s a determined fella and has had some terrific support from friends, family and some leading Ford tuners.
Mind you, there have still been several challenges along the way.
“It was mainly transmission-based issues, as clutches and gearboxes struggled to cope with the increased power. I’ve been through four clutches, but the AP Racing paddle unit I’ve fitted now is absolutely spot on; I hope it lasts though, as I hear they’ve stopped making them!” Staying with the transmission, two sets of gear synchros were shredded, before Martin bit the bullet and fitted a BC gearbox with shot-peened Puma gear set with larger bearings and a Quaife diff, which has, so far, proved very reliable.
Thanks to the engine swap, this once 110bhp Fiesta is now packing more than three-times the original power with a proven 357bhp and 314lb.ft of twist. Impressive stuff, but it didn’t happen overnight.
Martin has worked hard on the car and had help from a good mate. “Tom has sacrificed an awful lot of hours with me to get it to this stage. Without him this wouldn’t have been possible,” explains Martin. He’s also had the benefit of invaluable advice from one of the most respected figures in the Ford scene, Stewart Sanderson from Motorsport Developments. “Stewart is one of the most straight talking, honest and genuine tuners I’ve ever come across and without him telling me where I was going wrong, I’d never have got it to this stage.”
But it’s been a gradual process of developing the car, with plenty of trial and error. “My first attempt saw 277bhp, which was ok, but I’d hoped for more. I soon realised the turbo was the restriction.” A T38 was bolted on together with a new inlet plenum and Martin saw the power jump to 315bhp, smashing his original brief of 300bhp. However, with a fully built engine featuring custom ported head, a tubular manifold and L6 Cossie management (supplied by Oddkidd Creations), he knew there was more ‘in the tank’. “The last attempt involved going to an external Tial 38mm wastegate and,
“My best quarter mile so far is an 11.89 at 117.91mph, which some have said could make it the fastest front wheel drive CVH around at the moment...”
on Stewart Sanderson’s advice, doing the L8 management conversion, which gave greater mapping control, as well as features such as launch control and anti-lag. “With this set-up we hit 357bhp, which I was over the moon with,” smiles Martin. “At one point on MSD’s rollers we even saw 375bhp, but the boost was reigned in a little as the air charge temps shot up, which meant car just wasn’t settled.”
So what’s it like to drive? “Fast!” exclaims Martin. “In all honesty while it’s very hard work and quite savage to drive, with the drag tyres it’s more controllable than I thought it’d be. The power just seems to come on in one huge wave and takes your breath away. But now I’ve driven it a bit, it’s actually surprisingly well behaved.”
It may have been a challenge to get to this stage, but one look at Martin’s face and it’s clear that all of the late nights and money has been worth it, because he’s smashed his original goal of a 300bhp, 12-second CVH. “My best quarter mile so far is an 11.89 at 117.91mph, which some have said could