The Crosslé Mk1

The first Crossle was a two seater 1172cc Ford Special built in the winter of 1956/57. The 1172cc Formula (the Formula Ford of its day) inspired many local constructors and following a successful spell in motorcycle grass track racing, John Crossle decided to build his own car for this class.
It was a space frame chassis with riveted-on aluminium panels. The front suspension was swing axle, achieved by cutting a Ford 10 axle in half and using Woodhead Monroe coil spring damper units. Rear suspension was also swing axle with the wheel hub unit located fore and aft by a wishbone type trailing link. Ford cable brakes were converted to hydraulic operation using Morris 8 wheel cylinders and the rack and pinion steering also came from a Morris. Engine tuning was restricted to a lightened flywheel, re-shaped ports, stronger valve springs and a Ford 8 cylinder head. Initially a single down draft SU carburettor was used with a fabricated manifold which could not have developed much more than 50 horse power.
The Mk I was modified for 1958, chiefly by the ingenious use of twin motorcycle Amal carburettors and a re-arranged oil system including a full flow filter which greatly lengthened the engine's lifespan. Only one example was made and it had its first win in John Crossle's hands at Newtownards Airfield on the 15th March 1958. Many other successes followed including the Coulter Trophy for the 1172 Championship in 1958 and a 2nd place in the first ever Dunboyne Road Races. At the end of '58 it was sold to Bob Duncan and has since disappeared.