Ford Essex V6 engine (UK)

See also Ford Essex V6 engine (Canadian)
Ford Essex V6
Overview
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Also called Essex V6
Production 1966 - 1988 UK
1982 - 2000 SA
Combustion chamber
Configuration 60° 12 valve OHV V6
Firing order : 1-4-2-5-3-6 (Even Firing)
Displacement 2.5 L 2495cc 152 cu in
3.0 L 2994cc 183 cu in
3.1 L 3098cc 189 cu in
3.4 L 3412cc 207 cu in
Cylinder bore
  • 93.67 mm (3.69 in)
  • 95.25 mm (3.750 in) (3.1 L)
  • 100.0 mm (3.94 in) (3.4 L)
Piston stroke
  • 60.19 mm (2.37 in) (2.5 L)
  • 72.42 mm (2.85 in)
Cylinder block alloy Cast iron
Cylinder head alloy Cast iron
Valvetrain OHV 12 valve (2 per cylinder)
Solid flat tappet lifters
41.1 mm (1.62 in) inlet valve
37.0 mm (1.46 in) exhaust valve
Capri X pack:
44.5 mm (1.75 in) inlet valve
41.3 mm (1.63 in) exhaust valve[1]
DOHC 24 valve (4 per cylinder) - Cosworth GAA
Compression ratio 8.0:1 (TVR 3000S Turbo)
8.9:1 (standard pre-1972)
9.0:1 (standard after 1972)
9.1:1 (Ford Capri X-Pack 3.0)
9.5:1 (Ford Sierra 3.0 Sapphire)
10.0:1 (Cosworth 3.4 GAA)[2] [3]
Combustion
Supercharger Naturally aspirated (stock)
Turbocharged: TVR 3000S Turbo & Ford Capri Broadspeed Bullet.
Fuel system 2.5 L :
Solex/Zenith 1bbl carburetor
3.0 L :
Ford 1250 1bbl carburetor
Weber 40 DFAV 2bbl carburetor
Weber 38 DGAS 2bbl carburetor
Electronic Fuel Injection
x3 Weber 42 DCNF 2bbl carburetors
3.1 L :
Weber 38 DGAS 2bbl carburetor
Fuel type Gasoline
Oil system Wet sump (stock)
Dry Sump (Cosworth GAA)[4]
Cooling system Jacketed block (stock)
Dimensions
Dry weight 170 kg 374 lbs

The Ford Essex V6 engine was a 60° V6 engine built between 1966 and 1988 by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom and up until 2000 in South Africa although mostly in the Ford engine plant of Dagenham, Essex, which gave the engine its name. It is closely related to the Ford Essex V4 engine produced in displacements of 1.7 L and 2.0 L. Both engines share many parts since the Essex V6 was directly derived from the Essex V4, the 2.0 L Essex V4 and the 3.0 L Essex V6 in fact have the exact same bore and stroke.[5]

History

The Essex V4 and V6 were mainly designed to replace the outdated and aging inline-four and six-cylinder Ford Zephyr engine. It was produced in four capacities: 2.5 L (2495 cc, 153 ci), 3.0 L (2994 cc, 183 ci), 3.1 L (3098 cc, 189 ci), 3.4 L (3412 cc, 207 ci), with the 3.0 litre version being the most common and widely used. These engines were fitted to a wide range of vehicles, from Ford Transit vans to sedans, coupés like the Ford Capri and sports cars like TVR and Marcos. The earlier versions of engine were rated at 128 hp ( 95 kW ) and 173 lb/ft of torque, around October 1971 the engine was revised by modifying the camshaft and cylinder heads that improved the power and torque to produce 138 hp (103 kW) at 5000 rpm and 182 lb/ft of torque at 3000 rpm. At the same time, the oil disptick was moved from the front of the engine to the side, the Ford Capri used header style manifolds instead of the standard cast log type manifolds used in other cars equipped with this engine, the inlet manifold was improved from earier models, and the compression ratio was raised slightly from 8.9:1 to 9.0:1. The shape of the inlet ports were also changed, from an O-port design to a D-port design which improved the flow characteristics of the heads.[6] The camshaft gear was also made stronger by using steel with nylon teeth instead of being completely made from nylon as on previous ones.[6]

The 2.5 L engine was rated at 118 or 120 hp and 132 or 144 lb/ft of torque depending on the application. The 2.5 litre version ended production in 1977 along with the Essex V4 engine.[7] The 3.1 L engine as used in the Ford Capri RS3100 was essentially a 3.0 L block bored out by 1.6 mm or 60 thousands of an inch from 93.6 mm (3.69 inches) to 95.2 mm (3.75 inches). It was capable of 148 hp and 188 lb/ft of torque. Only 250 RS 3100s were produced for homologation purposes between November 1973 and January 1974, making original 3.1 litre engines very rare.[8][9] These figures vary somewhat depending on the source.[10][11] The Essex V6 also formed the base for the 3.4 L Cosworth GAA which, with the benefit of DOHC heads and fuel injection, generated 462 bhp (345 kW; 468 PS) at 9000 rpm. This engine was used in the racing version of the Capri RS 3100, competing successfully in the European Touring Car Championship, as well as in Formula 5000 single-seaters.

Early version of the Essex V6

Earlier versions of the 3.0 litre engine ( pre-1971 ) were fueled by a Weber 40 DFAV Twin choke carburetor, which had some inherent faults in its design which caused it to run too rich and cause bore wash. It was subsequently replaced by a more modern Weber 38 DGAS twin choke 450 CFM carburetor which effectively solved the problems of the earlier carburetors, and was used for the 3 Litre V6 until the end of its production.[12] The 2.5 litre V6 used a single barrel Solex carburetor or a Weber two barrel carburetor depending on the application. Unusually, the Essex V6 was designed so that the same block could serve in both diesel (compression ignition) and petrol applications, although the diesel version never reached production. Traces of its diesel design lie in the very heavy construction using Heron cylinder heads and the necessity for dished pistons to decrease compression for the petrol engine. The cast iron Essex V6 is a heavy engine due to its sturdy design weighing in at 170 kg or 374 pounds significantly more than the aluminum alloy Rover V8, for example, the Essex V6 also has a very heavy four-main bearing crossplane crankshaft and a heavy flywheel in order to smooth out the power delivery, sometimes Essex V6 engines are referred to as an "Essex Lump" referring to the weight of these engines. In spite of its heaviness, the Essex V6 was used as the main workhorse and a high performance option for medium to full-sized cars like the Capri the Granada and Transit vans supplied by Ford to the Police and Ambulance services in the UK throughout the late 1960s and 1970s and up until 1989 in the case of the Transit where it was later replaced by more modern engines such as the fuel injected 2.8 and 2.9 L Ford Cologne V6 engine.

TVR contracted the company Broadspeed to develop a turbocharging system for their TVR 3000S Turbo. In lieu of fuel injection, the carburettor was run inside a pressurized box atop the engine, and the turbocharger itself was mounted low and forward in the engine compartment, requiring the exhaust manifolds to exit forward. The compression ratio was lowered from 9.0:1 to 8.0:1 to reduce the engine's internal stresses. Turbocharging substantially increased horsepower, from 138 hp to 230 (103 to 172 kW) and torque from 182 lb/ft to 273 lb/ft.

Broadspeed also designed a turbocharging system For the Mk1 Ford Capri 3.0, these Capris were known as Broadspeed Bullett Capris. Their power was substantially increased (by 63%) from 138 hp to 218 hp. Similar to the TVR 3000S' turbocharging system, it used a "Blow through Carburetor" system in which the carburetor was run inside a pressurized box.

The 2.5 L and 3.0 L engines share the same block and 93.66 mm (3.7 in) bore, differing only in crank throw and pistons. The 3.4 litre Cosworth GAA version has 100 mm (3.9 in) bores, combined with the 72.42 mm (2.9 in) stroke of the 3.0 litre model.

US emissions certification

TVR 3000M engine compartment

In 1977, Californian company Olson Engineering, Inc. was contracted by TVR to design modifications to the Essex V6 such that it could be emissions-certified for use in the United States. This allowed TVR to sell its Essex-engined M Series cars in that market for the 1978 and 1979 model years. An owner's handbook supplement for US Federal models indicates that the emissions control system used a catalytic converter, exhaust gas recirculation, and secondary air injection. A shipment of approximately twenty 3000Ss arrived in September 1979, and were marked by the import company as being emissions compliant without the Olson Engineering emissions kit actually having been fitted. Dealers were made aware of this fact, but were each apparently coerced into buying at least two of the non-compliant cars with the threat of withholding spare parts for other TVR models. One dealer explained the situation to a customer who happened to work for the US government in an emissions-regulation capacity, and he reported the violation to the authorities. The cars were then impounded. During the long period of time during which Martin Lilley attempted to communicate with US customs officials to resolve the situation, the cars were neglected and stored outside, where they deteriorated and were vandalized. The cars were eventually re-exported, repaired, and sold in Germany, but the short-term financial impact of the unsalable cars (worth over £100,000 in total) was damaging to the development of the M Series replacement, the Tasmin.[13][14][15]

South Africa

In South Africa, the engine continued in production from 1982 up to April 2000 for use in the Sapphire Saloon and Sierra vehicles, and Courier pick-ups. Late in its production life it was fitted with Lucas controlled electronic fuel injection designed by SAMCOR (South African Motor Corporation - now Ford SA) in co-operation with the University of Pretoria's engineering department. This conversion resulted in a power increase from 103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp) to 110 kW (150 PS; 148 bhp) of the standard 3.0 version, and 117 kW (159 PS; 157 bhp) for the fuel injection version, plus a useful boost to fuel economy. Only about 1,600 of the EFI variants were produced during 1992 and 1993. In October 1997, the 3.0L was enlarged to 3.4L to be better suited to 4x4 vehicles. The 3.4 version produced 108 kW (147 PS; 145 bhp) and 260 N·m (190 lb·ft). All 3.4 variants used the 38DGAS Weber carburetor with 29 mm (1.1 in) venturis. Production tooling at the factory was scrapped and sold in 2000, to make way for the production of a new four cylinder OHC engine. From 1966 to 1998, the 3.0L was also used in industrial applications such as generator plants, airport vehicles, milk vans, jet boats (Hamilton jet) and even river barges. The Essex V6 is also still available as a 3.4 litre crate engine.

Vehicles using the Essex V6

The Essex V6 was fitted to a wide variety of cars, both from Ford and from smaller specialist manufacturers that used Ford engines. Among these were the following:

United Kingdom

Custom installations

South Africa

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Project 200 hp". Ford Capri. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  2. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-I/3000e-gt-gxl-71-73-e.html
  3. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-III/3000x-78-80-e.html
  4. ↑ http://www.tubetvr.com/essexpictures.html
  5. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-I/2000gt-69-73-e.html
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Beijner, Hans. "The Essex engine". Hans Pages. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  7. ↑ http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1974/916955/ford_consul_2500.html
  8. ↑ http://www.rsownersclubaust.com.au/?page_id=19
  9. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-I/3100rs-73-74-e.html
  10. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-II/3000-gt-ghia-s-74-78-e.html
  11. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-I/3000e-gt-70-71-e.html
  12. ↑ http://www.ford-capri.ch/technics/technical-data-I/3000e-gt-gxl-71-73-e.html
  13. ↑ Hayes, Russel (August 2009). TVR: Ever the Extrovert. Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-507-8.
  14. ↑ Tipler, John (1994). TVR: The Complete Story. The Crowood Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85223-796-1.
  15. ↑ Filby, Peter (July 2012). TVR: A Passion to Succeed. Autocraft Books. ISBN 978-0-9545729-2-1.
  16. ↑ http://www.perana.org/capriv6.asp