THE FF1600 CARS
Lola, Van Diemen, Crossle, Piper, Swift, Reynard, Titan, Royale
Essay - THE RACING CAR
From the earliest Cortina powered Lotus 51 Formula Fords that Geoffrey Clarke rolled out at his Drivers School at Brands Hatch in 1967 to the latest Piper or Citation-Zink, the evolution of FF1600 cars has been a steady march toward sophistication - and with a few giant leaps thrown in! The Lola 342 of about 1974, the Crossle 35, the Zink Z10 and especially, the Swift DB1 of 1983 each set a new standard of performance when they were introduced. The Swift, in fact, was the ultimate expression of the FF chassis rules in steel and fiberglass and it virtually obsoleted every other car on the grid. Driven by R.K. Smith, the David Bruns designed car won first time out at the 1983 RunOffs at Road Atlanta only a few short months after it turned a wheel for the first time at Willow Springs. Interestingly, the entire development and construction of the car was chronicled in successive issue of SportsCar for all to see!
Bill Slowik campaigned his immaculate, brilliant yellow Lola 342 in EMRA and RCCA events into the mid 1980's and took home plenty of silverware! He's shown here at speed on the long straightaway at Summit Point in 1983. The 342 was known as the "flexi-flyer" because of its very lightweight chassis - about 80 lbs. total - which flexed while stiff springs attempted to keep the tires on the road! Updated or "strengthened" versions were torsionally stronger - not to mention safer and with softer springs and stout anti-roll bars, they handled extremely well!
The Swift DB-1, first built in California in 1983, was a design which made the most of every single rulebook limitation. Its supreme aerodynamic shape and stunningly narrow bodywork yielded the lowest drag figures ever seen in Formula Ford. Its forward driving position allowed the radiator to be positioned behind the rollbar and the engine was pushed into a more central position by the introduction of a superb cast aluminum bell housing which also contained the oil sump tank. All in all a remarkable design and one in which a capable driver could still win the RunOffs, twenty-four years after the design first hit the track. SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR MORE SWIFT INFO. see the SWIFT Registry at swiftregistry.com
One of the best American built cars in recent years is the Piper, a marque which won the RunOffs twice. The cars are known for their innovative design and exquisite engineering. Only a handfull have been made. This immaculate example is being driven by owner Dave Hopple, a frequent, enthusiatic competitor at mid-west tracks over the past several years.
The VanDiemen RF06, was one of a long line of cars produced in England by Ralph Firman's company, once the largest maker of racing cars in the world. It's extremly narrow bodywork and low, wide sidepods - crushable structures required by British rules - give the car a distinctive look. VanDiemens have been front runners in National competition for many years.
The Racing Car
Can a racing car be a beautiful object, stationary and silent as a sculpture? Many are, their sleek and balanced forms blending into the kind of whole often seen in well-configured mechanical devices - their dynamic shapes complemented by bold colors and by the fine finish on delicately formed metal and fiberglass pieces.
But the real aesthetic appeal of a pure racing car is derived from its singular, purposeful appearance, a confirmation of an obvious dedication to the achievement of special performance goals. Within the constraints of a given set of rules - or ‘formula’ – a racing car is designed to maximize the potential for speed. Its configuration is not fixed or final. Rather, the suspension and engine, the steering and ‘wings’ – or aerodynamics - can be adjusted to achieve desired characteristics.
Inevitably, racing cars embody some of the history and glory of earlier designs by making reference to long-admired and well proven forms of the great marques – Ferrari, Maserati, Miller, Bugatti and Lotus – in whose shops and foundries skilled designers and artisans created the shapes upon which all current racing car designs are based.
The racing car is a ‘machine’ which signals its origins, its purpose, its singular intent and its special kind of refinement. It manifests the spirit and the aspirations of its builder – a spirit that also lives in those who ready the car for competition and in those who drive it at the limit, striving for victory.
An early Titan at Silverstone - 1981
Steve Roux's immaculate - and fast - Royale RP31 at a Pocono Regional - 2007.
The Crossle 32/35 series were the car to have in the late 1970's and even today, they run up front with ease in the Club Ford class. This example, photographed in the primative paddock at Bryar Motorsports Park in 1986 was by New England Region standout Peter Cozzolino.
A Reynard 84 chassis - as delivered at Sebring in January 1984
For his 1982 FF design, Adrian Reynard decided on these design principles.
Reynard chatting with Maurizio Sandro Sala, 1983 Esso Champion in a Reynard chassis. In 1984, Reynard attended a National at Bryar Motorsports Park and watched a number of his current cars run up front in the race.
The Reynard series of cars - 82F, 83F and 84F followed the same basic design which was developed by Adrian Reynard in late 1981. In the mid-80's, they chalked up a long string of victories in both Regional and National competition.
The FF1600 Cars
This side view-cross section of a Swift DB-1 clearly shows the unique packaging and Bruns achieved which resulted in exceptional aero penetration, low drag, and good fore and aft weight balance. By optimizing every aspect of the design and taking every rule limitation to its logical end, Bruns managed to design the car which dominated FF1600 for decades. Only the continued refinement - over years - of the Van Diemen chassis allowed it to eclipse the Swift at the National level and at the RunOffs. Likewise, the American Citation and Piper chassis were able to challenge the Swift supremacy with ingenious designs of their own.
This stunning view of the Swift under test by Road & Track shows the narrow body profile, minimal frontal area and the long, slender suspension members which sliced through the air so efficiently. Only tracks with long straights the Swift sent a strong message to those following behind in bulkier racing cars - "try and catch me!"
Cooper T62 Tasman Special built in 1962 for the winter Tasman Series in New Zealand. The earliest Formula Ford were converted Formula 3 cars and their lineage included the Formula 1 cars of the early 60's.
The Caldwell D9 was a great American Formula Ford chassis built between 1969 and 1971 by Ray Caldwell's Autodynamics firm in Marblehead, Massachusetts. One hundred and three of these sturdy, reliable and speedy cars were built alongside over 900 Formula Vee chassis and the total of both designs made Caldwell the largest ever producer of race cars in the US. Skip Barber won the SCCA RunOffs first time out in a D9 in 1969 but the marque's success was short lived as the company folded in 1971. This sweet looking D9 is owned by Stan Vann and he's shown here competing in a hillclimb in Pennsylvania.
