Engines
Ford Kent Race Engines.
With years of experience in preparing and maintaining Formula Ford vehicles, we've gathered a range of experience in one particular powerplant - the Ford Kent 1600 crossflow engine. Extracting the maximum from these engines is critical in a racing environment, only made more difficult by a hugely restrictive set of technical regulations which is intended to increase affordability and component longevity.
The Kent 1600 engine was originally fitted to a range of small Ford vehicles from the 1970's and was in production for decades. Iconic cars such as the Ford Escort were reliant on this powerplant and even engines such as the "holy grail" Ford Cosworth BDA essentially used the bottom end of this engine to great success. It is believed that more than 10 million Kent engines were produced, the humble Kent engine being the power unit used to propel drivers such as Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher when they were competing in Formula Ford. Ford Kent engine blocks are still being produced by Ford Motorsport in 2022 and are a reliable, cast iron pushrod actuated overhead valve, 1600cc inline 4 cylinder.
Our race engine program pivots around this legendary engine and we have a huge range of spares and tooling in stock. We have two levels of Formula Ford specification engines to suit the Australian Formula Ford Technical Regulations:
Our Club level engine build is a highly detailed and reliable powerplant which is designed to suit 95% of the Australian Formula Ford competitor base, offering consistent power levels in line with our proven race winning engines. These engines are Dry sumped, with 3 port or 5 port oil pump options, Weber 32/36 Carb, Moly low tension Ring pack, CNC Valve Seats, FFI Valves, range of cylinder head porting options, new Mahle pistons, CNC Honed, Crankshaft and rods are fully balanced and prepped for Formula Ford racing use. The Club level engine is suitable for any driver to compete at the front of the field and offer fantastic value for money. Current delivery and build for a Club level engine is 14weeks, if not in stock.
Our Performante engine is our flagship build specification with absolutely no expense spared, built for absolute performance in every aspect. Every component is hand picked from our inventory and set aside, the best original castings, the highest levels of machining tolerance, highly detailed port finishes and dyno proven results. Our Performante engines are hand built with even tighter tolerances and obsessive detail targeted in every component. Features include a higher level of friction reduction in oil systems, custom ring packs matched to unique CNC hone angles to name a few. Our Performante engines start with well seasoned, rare "XXXX" kent blocks that have been scanned and checked for internal imperfections. Priced well above our club level, the provided dyno sheets quickly explain the upkick in price. Current delivery and build for a Performante engine is 18weeks, if not in stock.
Dyno figures of both Club Level engines and Performante are provided with each engine. Each engine is hooked up to our in house dyno and tuned and proven before handover.
Road engines - Escort, Cortina, Capri, Clubmans etc.
Outside of the highly regulated Formula Ford rulebook, we can build a customer-specific Kent engine to suit whatever the targeted power level is. 150hp-180hp from a Kent engine is fairly straightforward to achieve with our experience level. Twin weber DCOE Carbs fitted to a Formula Ford spec build usually delivers in the range of 125hp with brilliant driveability. Injection is getting cheaper and user friendly, offering the ultimate reliability for your classic weekender. From stroker kits to boosted applications, we are happy to facilitate your dream Kent engine. Get in touch today if you're interested in a reliable, strong, kent crossflow engine.
We have a wide range of Ford Kent engine parts for sale, click below to browse our parts.
