he classic Ford Lotus twin cam engine was designed and built during the early 1960s, this highly successful engine powered an endless variety of cars to victory in many different categories of motor sport around the world.

The leading high performance engine tuners of the time were quick to modify the twin cam engine to boost & improve the performance of this free revving four-cylinder engine.

High performance race engines are generally prepared with no expense spared, usually, a dry sump lubrication system is installed to increase reliability & longevity, and to promote lasting performance.

The twin cam engine was used to power several cars, namely the Lotus Elan, Lotus Cortina, Ford Escort, to name a few, these high performance cars were quickly snapped up by enthusiasts for spirited every day driving, as well as for weekend motor sport events. But unfortunately, the phenomena known as twin cam oil surge quickly reared its ugly head when enthusiasts competed on race circuits in normal road cars.

Severe oil surge can destroy an engine in a few seconds when the oil pump is starved of oil!

Amongst the many published books that deal with the rebuilding & restoration of the classic lotus élan and the twin cam engine, only a few books give mention of the oil surge problem associated with the twin cam engine, they also fail to outline what the lotus owner can do to solve the oil surge problem. Perhaps the lotus twin cam owner is expected to accept the oil surge problem as being normal. Read the rest of this entry »