Customer Reviews

Rebuilding and Tuning Fords Kent Crossflow Engine

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This book purports to cover tuning of the Kent motor. If you buy this book expecting to learn exactly what to do to your Kent engine to make it perform you will be disappointed. There is a distinct lack of actual data on what to do to make your car go. Do not buy this book expecting to get cam timing specs or detailed specs on head/block/piston/crank modifications.The authors provide only general tuning information and there are certainly no flow bench or dyno results listed. I found the reason for this book to be quite confusing. As an introductory text for the novice engine builder or someone who wants a simple explanation of what makes an engine perform it may be satisfactory, but it should be renamed something else. The author's attitude seems perplexing too. People out there are capable of doing much of the work which they suggest, but do not detail.In any case most will know someone who can. Surely a book like this should give the reader a rough idea of the horsepower increase certain modifications will produce on this engine? Its been around long enough and been tuned by enough people for this to be the case. Every other tuning book I've read (covering MG, Triumph, BMC,Chev V8 and sidevalve Ford) gives detailed machining diagrams, cam and carby combinations with the expected horsepower these mods will produce. Any gains to be obtained are worthwhile but seem to be shrugged off by the author as not worth the effort to pursue.
On the plus side the Weber carby rebuild is useful as are the tips on assembling the engine.
Do not expect a Vizard style approach in this book, look elsewhere for your information. I felt I was ripped off purchasing this book.

I found this book extremely disappointing. Not only was it short on facts and technical information, but every question I wanted an answer to was dodged by saying "best left to experts".

I expected something more along the lines of "Tuning BL's A-series engine" by D. Vizard. I could have gotten what little information exists in the book with a few phone calls to local engine tuners.

I bought this book as there were some important questions I needed answering. Namely Head modifications... which to my dismay were sadly missing. The message to the reader was that such modifications should be left to the experts. Pray tell me what was the point of the book?

covers all critical areas for repairing or modifying the Kent motor. Good research. Photographs are excellent.