Hey Richard,
Yeah, I agree that this idea of recasting Ford Kent blocks has been around quite awhile. And I have no doubt that the plan has nothing to do with making old Ford drivers happy.
The argument about replacing the Kent has been going on for years. Matter of fact that very argument on the old ‘Formula Ford Underground’ pissed Jake Lamont off so bad that he shut down ‘FF Underground’, [overnight as I remember it]. The current ‘Apex Speed’ was started just after that by some guys that liked to hang around FF Underground. Apex used to have the ‘Underground’ archive on their site, but lost it somehow a few years ago.
I do have one small quibble. I believe that when you refer to the tractor origins of the Kent engine you’re thinking of the 4-cylinder engines that were in the early Triumphs, [TR-2,3,4]. Altogether different.
Chip