Hi,

Wondering if anyone has any experience with the Cosworth A2 cam profile in a Kent engine. I've seen mixed comments, some saying its fairly wild, others that its the next step up from a GT cam. I'm also not sure if I should stick with the single 38/38 downdraught or pop the twin 40 DCOEs on. The rest of the motor is a stock late 1600 kent that's been balanced but no head work. Looking to make this drivable enough for my 12 yo son to run in motorkhanas and to put in the daily driver.

Thanks.

I think you'll find that the A2 profile is a fairly mild grind, perhaps only slightly warmer than a GT profile.

Thanks, that'll be ace. I was debating putting in a stock 1600 until he was used to the car, but if its that mild, I'll just go with it.

Cheers,

Mark

Ford Cosworth A2 cam spec,
40/76 76/40
Lift 0.350 in/ex
tappet gap 0.020 in, 0.022 ex.

The A2 gives a lumpy idle with a 2ltr carby.


1300GT/ 1500GT till Oct '70( 1600GT)
27/65 65/27
lift 0.344 in, 0.335 ex
Tappet gap 0.012 in, 0.022 ex

having experience the 12 yo motorkhana son, who now beats me at the age of 17, the best investment will be a good standard clutch, easy to use and won't grab too hard. I'd also put a thermo fan in to suppliment the std engine fan, lots of revs but not much forward movement cheers Ted

Thanks for the specs Marty. I'm looking forward to the day when he does beat me, looking to stock up on cheap used gearboxes for the time being. He has two younger brothers [:u][:u][:u] I made sure I got a auto tunnel shell. I think I'll be changing a few boxes and clutches.

Didn't think about the thermo fan as well as the normal. I considered an oil cooler but thought that was overkill, perhaps not.

I've got my first MK this weekend, done loads of rallies and autocrosses but never a motorkhana. At least I've got until April when my eldest turns 12 to give me a head start[:x)], If the go karts are anything to go by (after about 20 minutes of karting he was giving me a hard time) it won't be long before I'm having to chase him.

Did you run a quickrack ? I considered it, but on balance thought it might make it a bit hard for the kids to wrestle with the steering.

No quick rack, all done in the mk1 Cortina, with a std steering box. used 165 road tyres, so not too heavy. greatest buzz was the constant smile on his face. next weekned he'll be driving in the first round of the vic hillclimb championship, with the Nb Lotus Cortina. cheers Ted

Hi This is a late reply to the post but hope it will help someone out in the future.
 
Unfortunately I was sold an A2 cosworth cam for my 1980 1600cc MK2 Escort and wasnt told it needed side draughts !!! 
 
 I had asked for a cam that didnt idle like a tractor and that gave a bit of mid range extra power - well it did idle roughly and the car wouldnt even start properly, it ran really rich and fumed, stuttered when driving - what a shambles !!!  I spent almost $1000 NZ at the local garage where the older experienced owner spent hours pulling his hair out trying to work out why it wouldnt run properly. 
 
Wasnt until I spoke to  a very knowledgeable guy at webber specialities in Auckland that he worked out from the specified setting that it needed side draughts !!!    I was never told this ....grrrrrrr
 
We altered the valve settings and at least got the thing to run. It still fumed and smelt really rich 
 
 
It wasnt sucking in enough air to pull the fuel through the system properly. The plugs were fouling up and I  suspect this is why suddenly I had a catastrophic engine failure - the pistons got loose in the block (probably because fuel was actually getting drawn down there! )
 
Roll on the total rebuild at 170,000km !!!
 
Ive since got a cam that is one stage up from a GT cam called a 150-A cam in NZ
 
It is fantastic - certainly much better mid range power (I'd guess 20% ?) , idles well (but slightly rougher but not much)
 
Certainly pays to get the correct advice, do your homework and check things out properly and deal with reputable suppliers. May cost you more but works out far cheaper than having to repair all the stuff ups as I learnt the hard way !!!
 
 
Good luck out htere 
 

Its a shame to hear you had all that bad luck with the A2 cam, I own the engine that's discussed about in the first part of this post, I bought it a few years ago from Mark it still has the 2lt carb A2 combo and it is a fantastic little unit, pulls like a school boy. Its never showed any of the symptoms you speak of that could have caused yours to let go.

I used one in a MK2 Escort years back. We spent a bit of time jetting the 32/36 and had a re-curve done on the dizzy,  after that it ran like clock work. Didn't have much low end torque but when it got spinning it was a missile.
Cheers Drew