Discussion
good afternoon newbie to site , hope im posting in right place would appreciate any advice you could give me .
I recently purchased a cracking mk1 escort that has had quite some money spent on it but hasn't been driven in a while .
basically its a 1300gt the engine has been rebuilt (has done 100 miles since ) with
a2 cam (am I right in assuming its a Cosworth cam
timed with offset dowels , gt valves , 32/36 twin webber 4 branch maninfold wide bore exhaust , piper non vacuum magnum distributor
the car ran fine when I took ownership but was running hot and spat out water from the overflow . ran rich using a bit of petrol
compression is a bit low 121 across all four no head leak , ony done 100 miles since rebuild
original fan , thermostat replaced , water pump new working
a guy ive used in the past came to tune it and said it was set up for fast road /rally use but couldn't tune it in the normal manner would need the timing to be way advanced and would run best at 3000- 5000 revs .basically wouldn't touch it
I want to use this car as a day to day runner not interested in speed as long as it pops along .
could you tell me if I can get it set up properly I could use it on the roads .
would I be better putting a standard cam back in and if I did would I have to change anything else
is it over heating because of valve settings or more likely a timing issue ,
sorry if ive left anything out , ive only got basic knowledge and would have to get someone involved to do major changes,if you need to know anything let me know .
thanks for your help
I recently purchased a cracking mk1 escort that has had quite some money spent on it but hasn't been driven in a while .
basically its a 1300gt the engine has been rebuilt (has done 100 miles since ) with
a2 cam (am I right in assuming its a Cosworth cam
timed with offset dowels , gt valves , 32/36 twin webber 4 branch maninfold wide bore exhaust , piper non vacuum magnum distributor
the car ran fine when I took ownership but was running hot and spat out water from the overflow . ran rich using a bit of petrol
compression is a bit low 121 across all four no head leak , ony done 100 miles since rebuild
original fan , thermostat replaced , water pump new working
a guy ive used in the past came to tune it and said it was set up for fast road /rally use but couldn't tune it in the normal manner would need the timing to be way advanced and would run best at 3000- 5000 revs .basically wouldn't touch it
I want to use this car as a day to day runner not interested in speed as long as it pops along .
could you tell me if I can get it set up properly I could use it on the roads .
would I be better putting a standard cam back in and if I did would I have to change anything else
is it over heating because of valve settings or more likely a timing issue ,
sorry if ive left anything out , ive only got basic knowledge and would have to get someone involved to do major changes,if you need to know anything let me know .
thanks for your help
I think the A2 camshaft is a fast road profile so should be ideal. You should try and get the car tuned on a classic friendly rolling road if possible. Compressions seem a bit low but as they are similar across the cylinders they sound ok. Chucking out the coolant is more of a problem but a high pressure cap may be all that is needed if the temps are ok. Ignition timing can be critical on tuned motors therefore the rolling road tuner can help you there.
I've had and still have a few crossflow pushrods and they are great little engines when set up correctly.
I've had and still have a few crossflow pushrods and they are great little engines when set up correctly.
thanks kinkell, appreciate the reply . I did notice today that the rad cap had a tear in the internal metal disk under the cap. ive ordered a new one just to rule this out. there is a rolling road tuner a few miles away , im hoping to sorted the overheating problem so that I can drive down there safely . would this set up increase fuel consumption ??
thanks again wayne
thanks again wayne
I'm going back a very long time. I had a 1600GT engine in a MK2 Escort. It too ran hot until I changed the head gasket. The GT head gasket is different to the standard 1600 engine. This is what caused it to run hot. Sounds like yours has had a top end rebuild and the bottom end not touched. Does it pump smoke out of the oil cap when running if you take the cap off. If so rings are knackered
Yes it looks that way, yes it's getting blowback from oil fillet and dips tick when hot.
Only thing I'm hoping is since the reconditioning the engine had done less than 100 miles in a few years I should imagine all the internals have seized up. I'm being an optimist, for once, just wondering if compression will improve with driving, blowback was almost non existent after returning from a longer run,
Only thing I'm hoping is since the reconditioning the engine had done less than 100 miles in a few years I should imagine all the internals have seized up. I'm being an optimist, for once, just wondering if compression will improve with driving, blowback was almost non existent after returning from a longer run,
Yes it looks that way, yes it's getting blowback from oil fillet and dips tick when hot.
Only thing I'm hoping is since the reconditioning the engine had done less than 100 miles in a few years I should imagine all the internals have seized up. I'm being an optimist, for once, just wondering if compression will improve with driving, blowback was almost non existent after returning from a longer run,
Only thing I'm hoping is since the reconditioning the engine had done less than 100 miles in a few years I should imagine all the internals have seized up. I'm being an optimist, for once, just wondering if compression will improve with driving, blowback was almost non existent after returning from a longer run,
The A2 is an awful outdated cam with very little lift and a bit too much duration to be tractable in a 1300. Far better is the 234 grind with less duration and 2mm more lift. Or even a 224. It'll never be very nice under 3000 rpm even if you get the carb and ignition properly set up.
Compression is far too low and with the blowby you mention probably indicative that the bottom end has not actually been rebuilt. 200 psi is what a decent engine should be showing.
A proper rebuild would be a lot of money. A rolling road session should improve things but you'll always be trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Compression is far too low and with the blowby you mention probably indicative that the bottom end has not actually been rebuilt. 200 psi is what a decent engine should be showing.
A proper rebuild would be a lot of money. A rolling road session should improve things but you'll always be trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
little update , after taking escort for a few short sharp rides the compression has risen to 145 ish all round so looks as though the standing around bunged things up. hopefully the blowback will have disappeared and having spoken to a chap who works on old fords he has bet me that although the rad looks new I will find that it is blocked , it does have cold spots so hopefully a flush again or new one along with new rad cap could pay dividends , thanks to everyone who answered me , much appreciated . il update you of the out come
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