rebuilbing a mk2 1979 escort with a 1600 crossflow:
things done so far
block bored to +30 new pistons to suit
head valve seats hardened
would like advice on which cam to fit with standard valves
am building on a budget so any other advice on bits to buy would be greatly received.

The Kent BCF range of cams is pretty good and even the hottest one doesn't need piston cut outs.

Some porting will really help release some power though, I always think it's a bit of a waste if you fit a performance cam into a rather strangled standard head.

I had a very good experience with the Piper 285 cam, very nice low down torque, kicks in about 3000rpm and pulls like a train up to 7000.

I've just rebuild the engine with a kent 244 cam, this should give better peak hp, at the cost of low down torque. The consensus seems to be that in a car as light as a seven, this isnt an issue. However, I also installed fuel injection, as better fueling at lower rpm should give me more torque too.

I've only had one short drive with it so far, but I must say i'm very happy with this setup, it feels a lot more powerful than before, even at lower rpm.

With standard valves, I'd be tempted with the 285 from piper, its a very nice cam which doesnt require (Please check before buying.) cut outs in the pistons, or the kent bcf range as previously mentioned.

I fitted a Kent BCF2 cam to my 1660cc x-flow - I find it very good for fast road use.

My crossflow in the Locost has a Piper 270 cam. It pulls like a train in all gears and is not quite as peaky as the 285. The engine under construction is having a Kent 244 and a few other tasty bits, but as previously mentioned Locosts are pretty light so torque is not so much of an issue.

the kent bcf2 that requires no mods to engine then/pistons. where is the best place to get this i get most of the stuff so far from burton

Keep an eye out on Ebay , I got my BCF2 kit for £40 , BNIB

and just to double check my crossflow is the flat head type with the combustion area in the piston heads and thats still ok with this cam

Should be a 711M block in which case it will be fine, not sure about the older blocks

anyone know of a good electronic ignition kit reasonable priced

The distributor of a Mk2 1.1 Fiesta will fit and has a built in electronic module. The advance curve is not likely to be good for an engine with hot cams in though, so you'd probably need to strip it and play with springs etc.

Alternatively you could go for a Megajolt system and do away with the crappy clockwork system altogether and get a perfect advance curve (if set up on a dyno).

I used the kent 244 as well, I think it was around 292degrees? I used double valve springs and had to pit the pistons,