Description
This vintage, race-ready car will be featured in Freeman's auction of 20/21st Century Design on May 19th, 2007. Interested bidders may contact Freeman's through race-cars.com but must then register with Freeman's, provide any required credit details, and bid through Freeman's. Absentee bids may be submitted in advance or bids may be executed live in the sale room or through a pre-arranged phone bid. Between the end of World War II and the mid- to late-1960s many specialty manufacturers of sports racing cars sprung from humble beginnings. The Crosslé Car Company Limited of Northern Ireland was amongst them. The company began innocently enough when founder John Crosslé climbed into his home built 1172 cc Ford Special in March 1957. From that time forward Crosslé built and maintained a reputation for building quality race cars that are both competitive and sturdy. Crosslé may have begun producing Ford specials, and their forte has always been Formula Ford, but prior to the series 16F Formula Ford cars of 1969 they produced cars to compete in Formula Junior, Formula 2, Formula B and Formula 5000. The company’s reputation took a major leap forward in 1967 with the series 12F produced for competition in Formula B. American Crosslé importer Roger Barr won the 1968 SCCA Formula B title in a 12F. Six 12F cars were produced, of which four were shipped to America. The car offered here is one of the four originally imported to America, consigned to Freeman’s by the original owner. The car was raced between 1967 and 1972 at East Coast venues, recording 11 wins and several top place finishes including Watkins Glen, NY, Marlboro, MD, and Reading, PA. This car recorded the fastest time of the day in the opening race at Pocono Raceway in 1968. The 12F was a monoposto, mid-engined car with space frame, powered by an inline 4-cylinder Lotus twin cam version of a 1600cc Ford motor. In 1968 Crosslé built two cars called 14F equipped with the Vegatune 212 hp versions of the Lotus engine. This car has been upgraded with the 14F chassis specifications. The car was revived and made race-ready again in 2000. It has a new SCCA-legal fuel cell, detachable wheel, 6-point SCCA-legal driver harness, fire-control system, dual ignition system with switch on dash, front and rear brake balance, in-car driver control, in-car rear roll bar adjuster, SCCA-legal rain light, and in-car air fuel gauge. All modifications could be returned to original specifications for vintage racing or show. Although the car has been repainted several times, it has never been wrecked and rebuilt. The original and desirable Hewland Mark 5 transmission is still in place now upgraded to mark 8/9 specifications. A host of spare parts including head, starters, fly wheel, Weber carburetor parts, body wings, towing gauges, shocks, transponder and towing trailer are included.
History
Six 12F cars were built for 1967 Formula B, of which four came to the United States.
Recent Competition History
Many wins, several seconds, thirds and DNFs.
Performance Data
Class: FB
Weight: 980 lbs
Best Time: 1:26.5 sec
Track: Watkins Glen, 1967,
Engine
Engine Builder: Cosworth
Manufacturer: Lotus Ford
Type: 1600cc
Horsepower: 170
Induction: :45 Webers Side Draft
Heads: Vegatune
Block: Ford
Main Caps: Steel
Crankshaft: Martin Steel
Connecting Rods: 2BRM-2 Cosworth
Pistons: Forge True
Camshaft: Ford Cosworth (Vegatune)
Valves: T.C. Racing
Valve Train: T.C. Racing
Clutch: Twin Disc Lostline
Pressure Plate: One heavy and one thinner plate
Exhaust: Vegatune
Fuel System
Fuel Cell
Manufacturer: ATL
Age: 7 years
Capacity: 6 gallon
Fuel Pump: Bendix Elect
Fuel Type: Gas, V.P.
Oil/Water System
Radiator: Crossle
Water Rad Location: Front
Water Pump: Lotus T.C.
Oil Cooler Location: On engine radiator, up front
Electrical System
Ignition: Switch on dash; 2=Lucus + MSD6AL
Data Logger: Deep-cycle
Transmission
Manfacturer: Hewland
Type: Mark 9
Gears: 5 plus reverse
Trans Cooler: no
Races: none
Rebuilt by Taylor Eng., 2002
Rear End
Manufacturer: Qualfee Diff.
Ratio: 9.31
Races: none
Body
Construction: fiberglass
Color: red and gold
Condition: good
Chassis
Type: spaceframe
Builder: Crossle
Material: mild steel
Finish: gray
Condition: very good
Front Suspension: chrome, braise bias adjuster in cockpit
Rear Suspension: chrome, rear roll bar adjuster in cockpit
Shocks: HAL QAI adjustable
Brakes: Girling AR
Steering: Rack & Pinion
Wheels: Crossle
Tires: Avon
Interior
Fire System: yes
Restraints: seat, shoulder, crotch
Guages: Smith + dig. tach, brake bias, oil/water, oil pressure
Crossle
