The 16-valve Zetec is still everyone’s favourite engine swap. There’s a fair amount of fact and fiction floating around regarding which capacity of engine is preferable, what modifications they react best to, and what sort of power they can make before something fails on them. And topping the list there’s the age-old debate regarding which Zetec is better: Silver Top or Black Top?
We needed good, solid and reliable advice for this guide, so to get that we went to see Paul Dunnell at Dunnell Engines, who are essentially the Zetec gurus, and Paul has been working with the engines since they first appeared in the early 1990s. Over the next few pages we will cover everything you need to know, everything to look out for and everything to avoid. We will also cover the limits of each of the major components in detail and what needs to be done to see significant power increases.
Sit back and take it all in…
The Zetec engine was originally called the Zeta — the name was changed during the early stages of production, as the rights to that name were already taken by another car manufacturer.
It first appeared in 1991 fitted to the Fiesta and Escort models in a 1.6 and 1.8 litre form which came in three different power outputs: 105 PS, 115 PS and the performance 130 PS version. The following year saw the introduction of the 2-litre
