Even though they had to abandon the aluminum concept, the Ford Essex was still 117 pounds lighter than the 4.2 L V8 that had been used to power this size of vehicles at the time, making it the lightest V6 produced on the continent. That drastic decrease in weight didn’t sacrifice any power, as SAE International reports that the Essex V6 was more powerful than Ford’s V8.
The Essex V6 was introduced as an option for several different vehicles, such as the Ford Granada, Thunderbird, Cougar, and F-100, amongst others. For a comparison of the power between the Essex and a V8, let’s just look at the Ford Thunderbird. A 1982 Ford Thunderbird with a 4.2 L V8 engine could generate about 120 hp. Meanwhile, the much lighter 3.8 L Essex V6 exists within the margin of error at 118 hp. Being able to get essentially the same horsepower on the same car with two very different engines showed quite a sign of progress.
The 3.8 L Essex would be a rather common engine across the Ford line for about 15 years, but as Ford phased out the F-100 in favor of bigger trucks, there needed to be some adjustment. So, in 1997, Ford introduced the larger 4.2 L Essex V6 for the F-150 and F-250 which would serve as those trucks’ engines for a decade. The Essex engine may not have been flashy, but it did exactly what it needed to do, providing power more efficiently. When you can do that, it makes sense to keep it around for 25 years.
