Minisport in South Australia are the main KAD dealers in Australia that I know of. They had a thread about their KAD Cooper S
here.
Around 185bhp. Dog box with 5 speed with straight cut drop gears and LSD. That thing would move. But at 40 grand for the motor alone, you'd want it to.
If this is really the road you want to go down, had_em_all is correct despite his condescending tone - the real expertise for KAD gear is in the UK. There are a few people here who have experience but it's not common. If you're happy with a BMW twin cam A-series, then there is plenty of expertise here. Not sure if he's still doing them, but TheMiniMan was selling twin cam kits to fit BMW K1 heads. One of his kits and a rebuild from a reputable engine builder will cost a fraction of a KAD engine.
I would personally never go down the KAD route. They're fantastic,but you can get 90% of the way there for a fraction of the price. And if you *do* need ~180bhp. why stick with the a-series engine? The engine just won't last (it will need frequent rebuilds), and the gearbox will pack it in with that sort of power. You can do an engine conversion for a much more drivable engine with the same or more power, a gearbox that won't explode, and you'll never need to rebuild it. It's just a lot more work because there's a lot of fabrication involved.
