![Ford classic cars outside Burton Power’s east London HQ Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Burton Power](/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/2024-03/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Burton-Power-11.png?itok=lwgf2CN5)
The best-known name in Ford tuning is now 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 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.
![Burton Power caters for classic Ford cars Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Burton Power](/sites/default/files/2024-03/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Burton-Power-04.png)
Cutaway engines and a trove of classic Ford parts in Burton Power’s east London showroom
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.
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.
![Inside Ford specialist Burton Power Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Burton Power](/sites/default/files/2024-03/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Burton-Power-03.png)
The Twin Cam engine on display in reception