Crosslé
Tommy Reid in Mick Mooney's Crossl? 10F in 1967. Copyright Michael Mooney 2003. Used with permission.
John Crosslé built Ford-engined specials in County Down (N. Ireland) in the late 1950's before producing his first customer cars in 1960. His eighth design, the Crosslé 8F, was a 1965 libre special using a Ford V8 engine, effectively a F5000 car three years too early. After a crash, this was rebuilt as the 10F for 1966.
He built his first - and only - FA/F5000 design in late 1968 with the cars appearing in 1969 and 1970. No further F5000s appeared from the Knocknagoney factory but at least one of the 15Fs kept running into the mid-1970s.
The picture to the right is of Tommy Reid in Mick Mooney's Crosslé 10F in 1967. My thanks to Mick's son Michael for providing the image.
All and any help would be gratefully received. Please e-mail Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com if you can add anything.
| Type | Years | Number built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8F | 1965 | 1 | Commissioned by Mick Mooney to be raced in 1965 Northern Ireland libre racing by Tommy Reid and first raced at Bishopscourt 18 Sep 1965. The car had a monocoque chassis and, like its contemporary the Kincraft, was fitted with a 4.7-litre Shelby-Cobra Ford V8 engine. Effectively a F5000 design. Crashed badly in practice at Oulton Park on Easter Saturday 9 April 1966. Reid was injured and the car required very extensive reconstruction, emerging at the end of the season as the new Crosslé 10F. |
| 10F | 1966 | 1 | Mick Mooney's 8F reconstructed for late in the 1966 season, debuting at Bishopscourt 3 Sep 1966 where Reid broke the lap record, setting the first 100 mph lap. The car was powered by a 4727cc Shelby-Cobra Ford. Raced again in 1967 before being sold to Fred Opert in the US. A 10F with a 289 ci Ford V8 was advertised by Michael Wiernicki (Trumansborg, NY) in March 1971. |
| 15F | 1968-1970 | 3 | A small production run of these FA cars appeared in 1969 and 1970 on both side of the Atlantic. FULL CAR-BY-CAR LIST AVAILABLE |
Thanks to Michael Mooney and Pete Stowe for helping with information on the 8F and 10F.
Other Crosslé single seaters
This list is derived from Alan Tyndall's '30 Years of Winning', published in 1988. Sports racing cars (such as the 5S, 7S, 9S, 37S, 42S, 47S) and Formula Fords (such as the 16F, 20F, 25F, 30F, 31F, 32F, 33F, 35F, 36F, 40F, 41F, 45F, 46F, 50F, 51F, 55F, 56F, 60F, 62F, 63F, 65F, 66F and so on) have been excluded.
| Type | Years | Number built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mk I | 1956/57 | 1 | 1172cc Formula |
| Mk II | 1958 | 2 | 1172cc Formula |
| MK III | 1959 | 1 | 1172cc Formula |
| 4F | 2 | One Formula Junior and one 1172cc Formula | |
| 6F | 1964-1965 | 7 | Six Formula 3 and one for the new US Formula C in 1965 |
| 8F | as above | ||
| 10F | as above | ||
| 11F | 1 | prototype Formula B car raced in Ireland before converted to 12F specification and exported to the US. | |
| 12F | 6 | Formula B | |
| 14F | 1968 | 2 | Formula B |
| 15F | as above | ||
| 17F | 1969/70 | 1 | Formula 3 |
| 18F | 1970 | 2 | Formula B (one for Brian Nelson and later modified to 19F F2 specification; the other built for FB and won at Sebring 1970 before being converted to F2 for 1971) |
| 19F | 1970 | 1 | Formula 2 (development of the 18F for Luke Duffy, driven by Ken Fildes) |
| 22F | 1972 | 3 | Formula 2 (one for Nelson with a 2-litre Hart; one for Fildes with a FVC) |
| 24F | 1972 | 5 | Formula Super V |
| 28F | 1 | Formula B version of the 22F | |
| 34F | 1979 | 5 | Formula Super V |
Sources include Alan Tyndall's '30 Years of Winning' and a Crosslé feature in Motoring News 17 Dec 1970 p4.