Ford Essex V6 engine (UK) - Definition and Overview

A performance-tuned Essex V6.

See also Ford Essex V6 engine (Canadian)

The Ford Essex V6 engine was a 60° V6 engine built between 1967 and 1988 by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom at their engine plant in Essex, hence the name. It was produced in two capacities, 2.5 L and 3.0 L, and was fitted to a wide range of vehicles, from Ford Transit vans to sports cars.

Unusually, the Essex V6 was built so that the same block could serve in both Diesel and petrol applications, although the Diesel version never reached production. Traces of its Diesel design lie in the necessity for dished piston heads to reduce the compression, and the very solid construction. The Essex V6 is a heavy engine, weighing significantly more than the Rover V8, for example.

The 2.5 L and 3.0 L engines share the same block and 93.66 mm bore, differing only in crank throw and pistons.

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:

• AC 3000 ME
• Ford Capri
• Ford Granada
• Ford Transit
• Ford Zephyr
• Ford Zodiac
• Marcos (various models)
• Reliant Scimitar
• TVR 3000M - 3.0 L
• TVR 3000S/Taimar Turbo - turbo 3.0 L

See also

• List of Ford engines

References

• Musselwhite, B. Tuning the Essex V6 (http://www.geocities.com/zephyr_mark4/essex.html). Classic Ford Magazine (http://www.classicfordmag.co.uk/), reproduced at The MkIV Zephyr & Zodiac (http://www.geocities.com/zephyr_mark4/index.html).