Ford Fontana engine competitive??

ernart3 · 3/3/12, 11:49 PM

Bought a midget with a ford fontana engine will we have enough power to be competitive? We are just getting into midgets and wonder what people thought of this motor?

darnall · 3/4/12, 2:39 PM

It depends on where you are racing, who you are racing against and what your definition of competitive is....
Also depends on which version your engine is...every Fontana I've ever seeen says "Ford Motorsports" on the block, but some use a head with Ford like port locations... The new Fontanas are as good as anything...Brad Kuhn is proof of that..The older Fontanas are usually still good motors with useable power, but theres a significant HP gap in them compared to a shiny new Esslinger or Toyota..

I bet the car you bought has one of the older Fontanas...thats fine...you see about 70 of them at the ChiliBowl every year, but ....

Are you going to win a USAC show at Terre Haute with this engine....nope
Are you going to win the Belleville Midget Nationals with this engne...nope
Are you going to be a contender with PowrI or smaller sanctions on 1/4 or 1/3 mile tracks of varying shapes and traction...yes you can be, provided everything is set up right on the car and the driver can do his job..

It amazes me how the older engines (10-15 yr old designs) are able to be competitive or winners on the smaller tracks but once you get bigger than small 1/3miles the new motors just run away and hide....I think a big component to PowrIs success is that so many of thier races are run on little bitty bullrings, and you rarely if ever see a PowrI show at a half mile track.

ernart3 · 3/4/12, 8:08 PM

We will be running powri and dont mind getting a new fontana next year but wanna make sure I am not at a big disadvantage. The car is a 08 spike so think tthe car will be good enough to make the shows with powri and get laps. It is a older fontana block and has a ford yates head. I believe the motor belonged to Kent Scmidt 2 years ago

darnall · 3/5/12, 3:43 PM

YOu are going to be in great shape with the equipment you have...probably couldn't have found a better car to start midget racing with...you are going to have a blast sir...enjoy

red70racer · 3/5/12, 7:48 PM

What Darnell says is right on!
I'm not certain where you are coming from (race wise) but your first year with POWRi the Fontana will not be the downfall
Setup is everything
You are starting with the right stuff
Tell us who you are and we will watch for you on the track
Good luck
Jeff Palazzolo

Posted via Mobile Device

ernart3 · 3/5/12, 9:39 PM

Jake Neuman, we still have a micro too. Jake likes racing the nonwing stuff in the micro and came across this midget that we could start with pretty cheap and see what we think. Thanks for the input guys.

3/3/12, 11:49 PM	#1 Ford Fontana engine competitive??
ernart3 Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 126	Bought a midget with a ford fontana engine will we have enough power to be competitive? We are just getting into midgets and wonder what people thought of this motor?

3/4/12, 2:39 PM	#2 Re: Ford Fontana engine competitive??
darnall Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 773	It depends on where you are racing, who you are racing against and what your definition of competitive is.... Also depends on which version your engine is...every Fontana I've ever seeen says "Ford Motorsports" on the block, but some use a head with Ford like port locations... The new Fontanas are as good as anything...Brad Kuhn is proof of that..The older Fontanas are usually still good motors with useable power, but theres a significant HP gap in them compared to a shiny new Esslinger or Toyota.. I bet the car you bought has one of the older Fontanas...thats fine...you see about 70 of them at the ChiliBowl every year, but .... Are you going to win a USAC show at Terre Haute with this engine....nope Are you going to win the Belleville Midget Nationals with this engne...nope Are you going to be a contender with PowrI or smaller sanctions on 1/4 or 1/3 mile tracks of varying shapes and traction...yes you can be, provided everything is set up right on the car and the driver can do his job.. It amazes me how the older engines (10-15 yr old designs) are able to be competitive or winners on the smaller tracks but once you get bigger than small 1/3miles the new motors just run away and hide....I think a big component to PowrIs success is that so many of thier races are run on little bitty bullrings, and you rarely if ever see a PowrI show at a half mile track.

3/4/12, 8:08 PM	#3 Re: Ford Fontana engine competitive??
ernart3 Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 126	We will be running powri and dont mind getting a new fontana next year but wanna make sure I am not at a big disadvantage. The car is a 08 spike so think tthe car will be good enough to make the shows with powri and get laps. It is a older fontana block and has a ford yates head. I believe the motor belonged to Kent Scmidt 2 years ago

3/5/12, 3:43 PM	#4 Re: Ford Fontana engine competitive??
darnall Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 773	YOu are going to be in great shape with the equipment you have...probably couldn't have found a better car to start midget racing with...you are going to have a blast sir...enjoy

3/5/12, 7:48 PM	#5
red70racer Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 351	What Darnell says is right on! I'm not certain where you are coming from (race wise) but your first year with POWRi the Fontana will not be the downfall Setup is everything You are starting with the right stuff Tell us who you are and we will watch for you on the track Good luck Jeff Palazzolo Posted via Mobile Device

3/5/12, 9:39 PM	#6 Re: Ford Fontana engine competitive??
ernart3 Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 126	Jake Neuman, we still have a micro too. Jake likes racing the nonwing stuff in the micro and came across this midget that we could start with pretty cheap and see what we think. Thanks for the input guys.