Guy Croft Racing Engines have specialised material requirements for the build and maintenance of Fiat and Lancia competition engines. For the manufacture of valve guides and seat inserts for a cylinder head, Guy Croft uses Trojan, an extra high strength copper nickel silicon alloy available only from Columbia Metals. Trojan is based on a similar chemistry to its sister alloy, Colsibro®, with improved strength characteristics.
“This job was for an extremely rare and historically important rally car: the Gp 4 Fiat-Abarth 124 Rally with an 1800c 6v engine,” explains Guy Croft. “We used Trojan to make 16 seat inserts and valve guides. With careful machining and fitment, as a valve guide material it has no equal, in my opinion. With a good lubrication regime it will last almost indefinitely. We build around 20 engines a year – no two the same – and absolutely depend on this superb material.”
The completed components were used in an extreme limit rallying event, including a gruelling stage in the French Alps. Trojan was chosen due to its excellent thermal conductivity and diffusivity, its high tensile strength and ductility, durability and ease of machining and micro-honing. “The car finished without a water pump due to a belt failure, the engine running up to 130oC – but it survived and won its class!” adds Guy.
Guy has extensive experience of rallying and is familiar with the best alloys to ensure unparalleled racing performance. “Columbia Metals reacts quickly and has an excellent sales team,” he concludes. “A company that develops something superior even to the marvellous Colsibro® has to be number one in our book!”
About Guy Croft Racing Engines
Guy Croft Racing Engines is a race engine builder specialising in Fiat/Lancia engine builds, competition cylinder head preparation and design of race engine parts. Based in Lincolnshire, Guy has recently published a detailed workshop manual entitled Modifying and Tuning Fiat/Lancia Engines, in which, to quote Guy, “the Trojan brand features very prominently!”
About Trojan
Trojan is the ultimate high strength copper nickel silicon alloy. It has exceptional mechanical strength, high thermal and electrical conductivity, excellent wear resistance and good corrosion resistance. It is used extensively in the motorsport industry, where high performance and safety are of paramount importance, and finds application in components including valve bodies, fasteners, bushes, slip rings and safety tools. Available only from Columbia Metals, Trojan is stocked from 2-65mm diameter.