Knowing i will be told to search i decided to ask anyway!
Im gonna buy a new motor for an EF Fairmont, i might get a cam and a J3 aswell some time down the track? Is it worth the extra for the TICKFORD motor? or should i just stay standard? And if i buy one will it go better with an XR6 ECU or a Fairlane ECU (there the tickford ones right?)

a Tickford one is a better starting platform
but if your going to spend big money (cam head work j3 chip etc) then a standard one will be fine
if your going to use a j3 chip then dont worry about getting another ecu as the j3 will over write anything on the ecu already there.
personally id spend the little extra and start off with the tickford head
you be getting bigger valves staight off the floor to begin with

Thankyou dude! And i wasnt gonna bother with head work just a change in cam and a J3 to make it run right providing i need the J3? is it essential? really for a cam an EF has a crank angle can a ECU adjust ok? with say a Wade 977B

the tickford head would be better as you have the bigger exhaust valves straight off the bat, not to mention stronger valve springs, and the red rocker cover
it will respond better with the 977b over the standard head with the 977b

Madness, i no they say there is a power and the Ticky has a better head but ya never really no till ya ask the guys who have had both!

ok so no head work

so a ticky head, a cam and a j3 chip with a dyno tune should put you around 130-150 kilowatts which will make you smile for a little while.
then the power bug will bit and youll start thinking "more MORE i need more power"

ive owned a 95 ef wagon with a stadand head with a 2.5 inch exhaust. it went ok but now owning a tickford xr6.
you can fell the difference in power even before i started modding her.
the few extra bits from tickford
heads, cam, fuel pressure, and ticky ecu. makes all the differnce

Ok great, im more budget modding so little by little maken it more gutsy and fun, ive had so many cars, im more gonna stick it out with one till i can buy a new, new one! outa the SOHC's and into the XR6T maybe long ways aways but thats the goal for me and my GF, thank GOD she loves the purple XR6T so i can have my cake and get fat as to
Thanks for the advice tho now i no to buy the Tickford and lil bits and yeah, Great advice guys CHEERS!!!

Yes a tickford head is a better starting point.

Worth keeping in mind with the amount of use most of these engines have seen, how they have been treated over their life/condition will play as much a part in their overall performance. In stock trim there isn't an earth shattering difference in performance to start with, and the difference is attributable to all things mentioned by JK (not just the head). I'm not sure what prices you are able to get each engine for, but most of the local wreckers around here want $7-800 for tickford engines and about half that for a stocko with similar kays. If you aren't looking at spending a lot you can spend the difference between the two on an aftermarket cam an get a better gain than you will from putting in a tickford engine. In the end depends on price you pay.

But a Tickford head and aftermarket cam will be "better" than a stock with aftermarket cam right?
So if i was to buy a new engine coz mine was broke or old and worn, a tickford as said earlier would be a much better starting platform for just simply te aftermarket cam, coz of flow or somthing? but i do see your overall point better a stocky treated nice than a ticky been thrashed for more money!

The Tickford head has modified ports, bigger exhaust valves, stronger valve springs and a hotter cam. Some Fordmods members are getting great results from this head without modding it at all - the flow is very good. If you are aiming for 170-200rwkw, you will probably need some port work and a tough cam.

For the most part, I've done the "little by little" mods at reasonable cost on my EF XR6, with excellent results. It leaves my stock AU2 XR6 VCT for absolutely dead.
- Factory snorkel is quite restrictive, so upgraded to the EL GT item for minimal cost. I later got extravagant (bitten by the power bug) and went to SS Inductions - it's better and noisier, but probably overkill.
- Low-restriction panel air filter. I'm using an Amsoil foam item, but there are heaps out there (K&N, Simota, BMC, Green, ITG, S&B, etc). You can go for a pod filter in the airbox, but there would be minimal gains over a good panel filter on an engine with basic mods.
- Replaced the airbox exit with bell-mouthed 3" PVC drain pipe (cheap) for better flow.
- When the head gasket failed (as it does on the E-series), I replaced it with the thinner multi-layer steel AU version, giving a slight increase in compression and preventing a recurrence.
- While the head was off, I had it shaved .015" for a bit more compression (it has to be surfaced anyway for the new head gasket), and had a 3-angle valve grind done - no porting or other head work. The extra compression requires higher octane, but I run 98 anyway, so no issues.
- As it was already out fo the car, had the XR6 cam reground one step hotter - cost only $120. No ECU tuning required, and idle is still very good.
- Installed Coby Headers with no cat (that's legal here). I understand the stock cat flows more than adequately if it's in good nick, so you probably don't need a hi-flow cat.
- The factory Tickford XR6 exhaust is 2.5" mandrel-bent and sounds great, so left it as is. A 2.5" mandrel-bent sports system is a must-have for a Fairmont.
- Other bits n pieces like projected-tip spark plugs (Autolite 985) - supposedly worth a couple of kw, but who knows, and for $30 does it matter? For insurance, I use synthetic oil (Royal Purple) and quality ignition leads (Bosch Motorsport).
- TI Performance custom pre-programmed J3 chip makes sure you get the best out of the other mods. Mine is set up for 98 octane. It's a must-have and at A$190 it's the performance bargain of the century.

It's a great combination - good performance for not a lot of money. I managed to break the nose off my torque convertor (don't ask ), so while it was out I had it hi-stalled to 2900rpm for about $300; now it really jumps off the line . I can't think of anything else I want to mod - I'm really happy with it as is. But I will get the J3 programming pack and fine-tune it to wring a little more out of it.

WOW thats a play by play man! Thats awsome

and have u put it on a dyno?

nice work, im in the process of moding my el Fairmont ghia that's got the standard tickford motor, so far she has coby headers with a 2.5'' rage big bore exhaust,ss induction snorlel, k&n panel filter (still have to change the restictor out of the filter box to the flexi bend in 3'' stainless, new ht leads new spark plugs new distributor cap and rotor, o2 sensor, and still going. shes running primo.pic not showing new snorkel.

 

 

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Hey drewh,

I had it dyno'd before the J3 chip, but after the other mods, and got 149 rwkw. The J3 chip would have increased that, but the high-stall torque converter might have reduced it a little, so probably low-150s now. Have just bought the full tuning pack, so there will be more to come - the spark advance has significant room for improvement.