Vauxhall 16-valve Engines
Following experiments with an eight valve twin cam cylinder head for the Vauxhall Slant Four, the company developed a 16-valve, twin cam engine in the early 1970s; the first test engine, 'Old Number 1', was running by 1973. The cylinder head was similar in design but different in appearance to the Lotus one; in particular the cam carriers on the Vauxhall engine were angled upwards so that the covers were both horizontal (those on the Lotus engine were equal about the cylinder centreline).
The 16-valve engine was first used in the Chevette 2300 HS, but initially heads were in such short supply that road car production was delayed and the rally team continued to use the Lotus heads they were familiar with. This led to the cars being prevented from starting the 1978 Rally of Portugal after protests from other teams. As a result all cars competing in international rallies were forced to use the Vauxhall head, and Blydenstein Racing, the company running the rally team, improved it to a point where it performed better than the Lotus head.
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