Redtop Tuning?

[greg1.4]

i fancy building a decent xe up for my next road car engine..

i have xe parts lying around..

i haveheard people on about coscast heads?

what are these? are they standard heads or what?

what is the best way to get more power from a xe?

i will be fitting twin 45 carbs i think, so will probably need to run some mild kent or similar cams with them..

is it ok to put mild cams in? dont need pocketed pistons or anything like that?

it will be getting fully re-built with arp rod bolts ect also..

what kind of power would i be looking at for a xe with porting and polishing/slight skimming, 3 angle valve seats, 4 branch manifold and exhaust system, twin 45 webbers, kent "fast road" cams, lightened and balned flywheel?

[16v Nova Kev]

my mate has the built the same spec engine your thinking about in his mk2 escort dunno what the bhp is but he got his cams from autosprint. oh it sounds amazing running 45

[novaguy08]

A coscast head is pretty much a standard head however its made by cosworth and iirc less likley to go pourus compared to a GM one.

[Mazz]

A coscast head is pretty much a standard head however its made by cosworth and iirc less likley to go pourus compared to a GM one.

yep, and for that reason people think they are worth £200+
GM head + porous mod = win

[novaguy08]

agree'd
No point in spending a small fortune on something you can get and mod for a fraction of the cost!

[sparkie1401]

yep, and for that reason people think they are worth £200+
GM head + porous mod = win

the Mod???? please explain as im not sure which cyl. head either of my engines have?

(both from MK2 GTE 16v 1990 & 1991)

[Adam*D]

the Mod???? please explain as im not sure which cyl. head either of my engines have?

(both from MK2 GTE 16v 1990 & 1991)

Post up a pic of the dizzy side of the head or the front where the heat shield bolts to and I'll tell ya what head you have!

[Adam*D]

P.s, I've owned lots of redtops and TBH I've never noticed a difference in power / the way they drive or anything else. I only use coscast as a tool when selling engines or cars as people seem to think there loads better and worth more than a GM head.
As said earlier, GM head + mod = win

[mikey14sr]

I'm sure Joff did a guide to the porus mod sometime in the last couple of years (think it was on his XE'd vectra), a bit of searching should find it.

Identifying a coscast head is fairly easy, just look for the casting mark under the exhaust ports (might need to take exhaust manifold off if the engines in a car)

[GRUNT 16V]

http://www.orsas.com/CarStuff/cav/