UPDATE TO Jake Lamont's Book 

How to Build and Maintain Competitive (yet legal) Formula Ford 1600 Engines

UPDATE REVISED April 07

 

SECTION 1 – SCCA RULES CHANGES

SECTION 2 - CURRENT AFTERMARKET KENT ENGINE PARTS AND SOURCES 

1 - SCCA RULES CHANGES

WEIGHTS

Pistons                         Minimum Weight - now 515g with rings and pin and circlips

Connecting Rods           Minimum Weight -now 630g with bolts and bushing

Flywheel                       Minimum Weight - now 15.5 lbs. with ring gear and clutch dowels

OTHER ITEMS

Piston Valve Reliefs – Can be cut up to .050” deeper a meet compression ratio spec.

Electronic ignition trigger ( such as Pertronix ) is now permitted. Replaces points.

2 – KENT ENGINE PARTS AND SOURCES

As a result of the hard work by Jake Lamont and others who lobbied the Competition Board and the Formula Car Advisory Committee in 2001 and 2002, the SCCA adjusted the policy covering FF1600 engine rules to allow aftermarket parts to be approved as long as they matched OEM parts in material, weight and profile and pending review of the proposed parts by the SCCA. This allowed hard-to-find or prohibitively expensive parts to be developed on an “aftermarket” basis thus filling the void left when Ford Racing ceased production of the Kent engine some years before.

AFTERMARKET PARTS AVAILABILITY

Aftermarket parts approved by the SCCA for use in the Kent engine include crankshafts, camshafts, aluminum cylinder heads, intake and exhaust valves, electronic ignition components, head gaskets, rocker pedestals, flywheels and pistons.

CRANKSHAFTS

There are three different crankshafts currently available for the FF1600 engine. SCCA Enterprises developed and produced a crankshaft machined by SCAT in California. These cranks are available directly from SCCA Enterprises and from any of the major FF1600 engine builders such as Ivey, Loyning and Quicksilver - among others. They are finished, sized, balanced and polished so they’re basically a “drop-in” piece. Some of the engine builders do extra prep work on these crankshafts – including shot-peening, checking balance and dimensions, etc. Although the initial cost is greater than were prepped OEM cranks, the improved material and larger journal fillets assure a far longer life. As a result, the cost over its useful life is actually lower. Dave Bean has also produced an aftermarket crankshaft and it’s available directly from Dave Bean Engineering. Crankshafts based on the Ford OEM design are produced by FFI in the UK are available through Pegasus Racing Products. Although the FFI parts are advertised as being “Ford licensed”, racers should be aware that no such approval is required for parts used in the SCCA – nor is a Ford logo required.

CYLINDER HEADS

The new aluminum cylinder heads, produced by Pierce Manifold as an exact replica of the OEM iron head, are available un-prepped through a wide range of parts sources including major parts suppliers like BAT. Prepared heads can be obtained through most engine builders and specialty cylinder head prep shops. Specialty cylinder head prep shops also sell fully prepped heads.

INTAKE AND EXHAUST VALVES

SCCA rules allow the use of AE valves.    Part no. V34524 Intake
                                                             Part no. V34525 Exhaust

CAMSHAFTS

Approved cams as produced by Elgin and by Kent Cams to SCCA specs are available from a number of engine builders and parts supply houses. Pagasus sells cams similar to OEM made by FFI in the UK. Legal cams are also sold by BAT.

HEAD GASKETS

In addition to the OEM gaskets, SCCA has recently approved the use of the Payen and FelPro aftermarket versions.

Ford                  Part No. 931M6051AA
Payen               Part No. AH-750
Felpro               Part No. 8360PT-1 

ROCKER PEDESTALS

Approved aftermarket versions have been developed from aluminum billets and are available from Ivey, BAT and other sources. These pedestals maintain the shaft be maintained in the original position as required by the rules.

FLYWHEELS

OEM flywheels can be cut to the approved reduced weight of 15.5 lbs with ring gear and clutch pins in place. The approved JAE aftermarket flywheel – developed by Ivey Engines - is also available through most engine builders and parts supply sources. The JAE flywheel is manufactured at 16.5 lbs and  is supplied by most engine builders cut to 16.0 lbs. so that an allowance is made for future resurfacing of the clutch face.

PISTONS

AE/Hepolite pistons are available from several sources but the CP forged aluminum pistons – both standard bore and .005” are the new standard because of their availability, quality and durability. CP pistons are available from Ivey Engines, Loyning's, Quicksilver and many other fine FF engine builders.

CYLINDER BLOCKS

OEM blocks ( casting number 711M and others )are no longer available new. At present, reconditioned blocks are available from Pegasus. These sleeved blocks have been produced in England by FFI. Efforts are being made to develop a new aftermarket cylinder block here in the US.

The FORD FIESTA used the Kent block ( casting number 771M ) which is approved for use in Formula Ford. Some of these blocks have side engine mounts and others do not. Minor modifications are required in the area of the front cover. Fiestas were sold by the thousands in the US and can still be found in salvage yards. This engine also yields 711M connecting rods and the rear cover. Of course, the 711M Kent block was also used in many of the 71-73 Ford 1.6L Pintos.