Description:

In recent years, Crosslé Car Company has had the privilege of offering for sale a wide range of historic racing cars and related equipment on behalf of Tommy Reid, BRDC member and icon of Irish motor racing. His collection includes several interesting and unusual race engines.

This is a rare opportunity to purchase an original Ford BDA 1600 engine in road-going specification, stored for many years and never used. When stripped in May 2022 to confirm specification and internal condition we found that the block has never contained water, the wet-sump system has never operated, and fuel has never entered the carburettors. This engine has never run, even on a dynamometer. This is an as-new example of a BDA with original, period and now rare parts.

Build quality is exceptional. TD Reid was an esteemed Cosworth customer, working closely with key staff (and mentioned in at least one book about the company). Tommy recalls, and we believe, that this engine was specially built for him by Cosworth, designer of the BDA for manufacture by Ford.

The engine has been carefully stripped, inspected and reassembled with a focus on preserving originality, with the understanding that a buyer will (in any case) want to strip and rebuild to their own specifications.

A new cam belt is needed and valve clearances should be re-shimmed, otherwise this BDA is ready to run.

Specification includes:

Cast iron block , South African, line honed

BDG aluminium alloy head and cam box

Ford crankshaft and rods, all nitrided

Ford BD1 camshafts

Bore 81mm, stroke 77.62mm

Piston clearance 0.004” on all four cylinders

Compression ratio 10.75 on all four cylinders

Inlet valves 1.230", exhaust valves 1” diameter   

Ford standard, wet sump lubrication    

Weber 45DCOE152 carbs, with extended anti-standoff tubes

135 tooth ring gear

Cosworth parts include forged pistons, big-end bolts, cam pulleys and many unusual details.

Keyword Search Terms:

Ford Cosworth BDA 1600