Editing Ford Kent engine (section)

===Original Valencia (1976–1988)===
[[File:Ford Valencia 1100 X series engine.jpg|thumb|Valencia 1100 engine with RS Twin Weber DCNF conversion in a [[Ford Fiesta (first generation)|Mk1 Fiesta]]]]

The Valencia was initially available in {{cvt|957|cc|L|1|order=flip}} (in both high compression and low compression versions ) and a high compression {{cvt|1117|cc|L|1|order=flip}} version.

To adapt the Kent Crossflow for front wheel drive the ancillaries were repositioned, and the cylinder block shortened by {{cvt|30|mm}}. This allowed the engine to fit transversely across the Fiesta engine bay, while still allowing the transmission unit to be comfortably removed for clutch replacement. However, this difference means that very few parts of the Valencia engine are interchangeable with a Crossflow. (Ford ended up installing the Crossflow engine into the Fiesta anyway, when the market demanded a 1.3L capacity, and later a 1.6L version for the North American market models – ultimately the 1.6L Crossflow also was used in the Mk1 Fiesta XR2 when the North American market Fiesta ceased production in 1980). The bore diameter was reduced to 74mm (from 81mm on the full-size Kent), and was standard across both the 957 and 1117 versions; the extra capacity was achieved by varying the stroke.

In addition to these changes, the Valencia featured a new transmission flange to suit the BC4/5 transaxle and the cylinder head was redesigned using flat-top pistons and the traditional combustion chamber in the head. Another key difference from the 711M Crossflow block is the absence of mounting spigots cast into the faces; therefore the Valencia (and the later HCS and Endura-E versions) cannot be mounted in a longitudinal application: when installed in a Fiesta/Escort III/Orion the engine relies on the transaxle mountings for lateral location in the vehicle.

Because of these differences, Ford officially regarded the Valencia as a completely new engine despite being derived from the Kent/Crossflow family and initially dubbed it as the "L-Series" or "Valencia-L" engine ("VL" is cast into the cylinder head and block), however it became better known as the '''Valencia''' to the wider world, after the [[Ford Valencia Body and Assembly|Valencia plant]] where it was manufactured, but eventually the name was officially adopted by Ford as well – although in sales literature it was always called simply '''OHV'''. Although the engines were assembled at Amulssafes, the blocks and heads were in fact cast in Dagenham alongside the full-size Crossflow and shipped to Spain for assembly.

A five bearing {{cvt|1297|cc|L|1|order=flip}} version of the Valencia became available in 1986 for the facelift "Erika-86" version of the Escort and Orion, replacing the similarly sized [[Ford CVH|CVH]] unit, which increased to {{cvt|1392|cc|L|1|order=flip}} for higher specification models. The cylinder heads and pistons were modified in 1986 for unleaded fuel and the cams changed to meet the new [[European emissions standards]] along with the addition of electronic ignition.