The best-known name in Ford tuning is now more than 60 years old, and still operating from its first and only base, still run by the founding family – and still passionate about the motors.
Lionel Burton started Burton Engineering in the UK in 1963.
A year later he was joined by his son, Steve, who is still at the helm, running Burton Power with his son Andy, whose son Tom also works here.
The family name hit the media in the 1970s with sponsorship of Barry Lee’s winning Escorts on the ovals – Burton-powered, of course – and Andy and Tom still race in the EnduroKa series, for which Burton supplies suspension parts.
Cutaway engines and a trove of classic Ford parts in Burton Power’s east London showroom
While fashions come and go – today the company caters for engines up to and including the Zetec, Duratec and Ecoboost – the core business remains the old faithfuls.
Andy reports a resurgence of interest in the Kent crossflow and Pinto engines that have been the mainstay of the firm’s business since the 1960s, as owners again want old-school cars that look more classic.
“You see that in the other parts, too,” he says.
“Ten years ago it was all blue or yellow hoses and plug-leads; now everyone wants black again.”
