XJ6 series 1 Ford Barra 6

Lumps
1

Today I had a ride in this car,

Barra1
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When the driver pressed the accelerator, a massive push into the the back of the seat and a magnificent noise from the very simple exhaust system.

The engine is this unit:

Barra2
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This is the last of the six cylinder engines produce by Ford Australia, Though it can trace ancestry back to the original 144 cu inch engine of 1960, I believe the only thing common to both is the bore centres.
In turbo form as on this car, it was rated just short of 400hp. This car runs at 12psi boost and possibly around 420 - 450hp at present.
The fuel system uses the original tanks with a low pressure pump feeding a fuel chamber in which the high pressure pump is located.
Barra3
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A beautiful installation - in my view more fitting to the XJ6 than any V8 conversion, and a delight to ride in.

8 Likes
2

That is actually a very nice mod. Using local sourced parts, and a big upgrade in HP while keeping some of the original I6 sound.

I like it. Thanks for posting it!

3

What sort of transmission does it have ?

The Barra engine is regarded as a very well designed and long lived engine

Barra Engine: Truth About the Ford Barra Motor - Differences, Problems, Cars & More | CarsGuide

1 Like
4

Gearbox is the ZF 4 speed as fitted by Ford. The big work involved was making the gearbox work with the original shifter.
As can be seen

Barra 4
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from the photo only the main gauges Tach and speedo are different.

5

Wow, very nice conversion! Very well done too, is there a build thread somewhere?

6

Love it!!!

Tranny type?

Rob

7

The transmission is the ZF 4 speed auto that came with the earlier Barra engine cars. There is no build thread. The creator of this car did a Barra non turbo conversion of another series1 XJ6 prior to building this car. That car successfully competed in an outback charity rally, finishing the course despite early skepticism.

8

sorry to keep asking questions, but how was the engine and trans control electronics managed, Ford OEM or aftermarket ?

I am a fan of Barra engine conversions, even though most favor LS conversions

9

Very well done lump! i like it, puts mine to shame
are those wheels Mini-lites? they look good on there

10

The engine and transmission keep the original ECU. It is mounted where the battery used to be. The new tacho is fed by this ECU - the original will not work without a single coil. The speedo works off GPS.
Not sure of the wheel type, yes, they do look similar to minilites. Tyres are 225/60 16 on 7" width.,

11

you can correct me if I am wrong but I think the Barra package can possibly be done at a slightly lower cost with similar HP to an LS conversion ?

12

I would MUCH rather have an I6 than a stupid V8!