Turbo-ing the 1.7 zetec SE.

My question is, can the 1.7 be bored out at all So new forged pistons can be fitted?

No. The 1.7 has a nikasil coated bore so doesn't run any liners. Even if you fancied paying to have it re-coated there's no real room to bore without going into a waterway.

I thought that might be the case.
Thanks for the reply anyways

Sadly so, the 1.7 is essentially a factory done bore on a 1.6

That, altogether might NOT be entirely true... Almost ten years ago Swindon was developing and developed 2.0 litre Formula 3 engine based on Zetec -SE puma engine. IIRC, they bored it out quite a bit (only 4 mm between cilinders?).
They, AFAIK didn't manage to make a business case out of everything against Mugen-Hondas of that time, but the engine itself was competitive. What would be durability of such engine in everyday use is beyond me, but the engine itself was enlarged to two litre volume.....

That's fine for a race engine, where you can select your blocks very carefully and tend not to go between meets without a rebuild, but for a road engine it's going to cost a fortune

Well, I don't know what were the regulations of F3 at the time? How long did an engine have to last? Was there any restriction on number of engines you could use in a season? Of course, you could detune the engine and downspeed it and thus lengthen its life, but I agree with you: however you look at it, that kind of engine, even if you somehow managed to get one would be expensive as hell :?

if you use a decompression plate you will increase the capacity of the engine, so ideal for a turbo,

nikasil linings are the bore linings, technically yes you could bore it out and reline the cylinders, thats exactly what they did with the 1.6

When I was looking at getting my engine rebuilt they didn't seem to think there was enough material to re-line the cylinders on the 1.7. I've not heard of anyone actually ever doing this.

You can put cylinder liners in it, check out the Pumabuild website for there £16k 260bhp engine!

My brother inlaw has a brand new ford 1700 block that he is selling if anyone interested. Ideal for a new rebuild. Cheers. Ally

How much?

Well I know he paid 1400 for the block only 8 weeks ago but now wants to buy a new car. His puma was going thru bout a litre of oil a week which is an oil change every month lol! Local engine factor had diagnosed new bottom end needed cause they are 'sealed units'. He bought bottom end through engine workshop contacts and got unbelievable discount cause he said they are more than 3 GRAND from Ford and is mint. Nice to see shiney pistons liners etc. Good luck with your build I have been watching it on PP and know it will be done right same as your FRP conversion. I sold you the rear disc conversion and axle spacers a few years ago when you were collecting parts for your initial FRP build. If you want my bro inlaws number or email send me a PM and you can talk/negotiate with him. Cheers. Ally

Hey ally, howz it going, those rear callipers are still going strong! I already have a bottom end, which is getting work done on it anyway but I'm sure that will get snapped up real quick!

Cheers bud

i wish i had the money cause id buy the bottom end.. mines on 87k and would love to drop that in mine.. maybe summer time now. if no1 buys it keep me in mind ally..