But not in this case. A Formula Vee, presumably, but...???
DCN
Edited by Doug Nye, 31 October 2021 - 19:47.
Posted 31 October 2021 - 20:32
Background looks a bit like Sebring, so perhaps an American car ?
Posted 31 October 2021 - 20:37
Glad that LittleChris posted that. I would say Sebring and an American homebuilt Formula Vee. Emphasis on "homebuilt."
Edited by Jim Thurman, 31 October 2021 - 21:19.
Posted 31 October 2021 - 21:02
Some familial resemblance to the infamous American Vanguard Bobsy Formula Vee car - albeit with some cannabis/hacksaw-induced modifications. So my best guess is Formula Vee (that's a given), American and circa 1963.
I've always been attracted to single seaters with unusual names - hence my favourite UK-manufactured Formula Ford car being the 1968 Pringett Mistrale.
Posted 31 October 2021 - 23:44
Certainly looks FV in its suspension and wheels. I am puzzled on two counts though. One by the need of air holes in the front and the evacuated air scoop on the top front behind probably a radiator. If indeed an FV it seems like a lot of plumbing to cool just Oil. Then again it could well be a Fridgidaire!
Further the engine cover top-clip seems to have a allowance for an exhaust pipe that would be too high for the Flat Four engine. Puzzling
MPG
Posted 01 November 2021 - 00:21
Could it be something like the local Voodoo, VW running gear/mechanicals in a bespoke chassis? In the case of the Voodoo, it was a sportscar which mutated to datto L16 power, and later a 'proper' IRS rear.
In this case, while FV in concept it is actually running in some other class, perhaps with something else in the back than the VW flat four, maybe requiring a radiator ...
Geeze Goldy, you have got to stop chasing post count - two posts in 12 years is a bit over the top ...
Edited by GreenMachine, 01 November 2021 - 00:24.
Posted 01 November 2021 - 06:36
Having just started to read the Australian Muscle Car story of Marks newish toy [the very well known Globe Products Elfin Sports Car]he may be too busy working on cars
Posted 01 November 2021 - 20:04
Definitely Sebring by the Amoco cones lining the track. Also supports for the vehicle bridge.
Edited by tampaguy, 01 November 2021 - 20:15.
Posted 01 November 2021 - 20:53
Yes, thank you all, but I know it's at Sebring - what I don't know is what the car might be, other than one of those horrible Formula Vee things. I might even moderate that, and confess that to me it is actually rather better looking than most Formula Vees.
DCN
Posted 01 November 2021 - 21:40
Now it might be my eyes but that looks suspiciously like a regular, older pattern, car cooling radiator stood straight up at the front, and painted. That would explain the many holes in the bodywork and mean it is unlikely (!) to be VW flat-4 powered. Beyond that I have no idea.
Should I call Specsavers now?
Posted 02 November 2021 - 00:06
Though it is a bit hard to see clearly, the rear end doesn't look Formula Vee.
Posted 02 November 2021 - 03:14
As the owner of an old Formula Vee - definitely not a vee.
Definitely VW front H-beam.
Cut down radiator in the front - so most likely small capacity 4 cylinder water cooled in the rear with explains size and position of the air intake.
Does not have VW rear wheels - but does appear to have an axle nut rather than flat brake drum flange.
I suspect Triumph Mk 1 rear suspension with transverse leaf spring.
Engine ........ ?
Maybe Fiat or Renault engine and transaxle?
Posted 02 November 2021 - 10:42
As a long shot….. I wondered about a Corvair flat six or one of those flat four or six ski-bob engines like the glorious Bill Milliken used, although the rear wheels look too small for the weight and power. Just thinking aloud about home built specials.
Exits left…
Roger Lund
edit spl MillikEn
Edited by bradbury west, 03 November 2021 - 09:03.
Posted 02 November 2021 - 11:33
I suspect Triumph Mk 1 rear suspension with transverse leaf spring.
The rear suspension is a bit odd. Most F. Vees had a lot of positive camber. So would a Triumph set-up as both used swing axles. But I think I can see a bottom link? Which suggests something a bit more sophisticated.
Posted 03 November 2021 - 11:38
I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of it being a Formula Vee. The t\wo rows of holes in the nose wouldn't likely be enough to cool a water-cooled engine. And the scoop could be feeding the fan housing. The rear suspension could be a swing axle with a Z-bar or other camber compensator.above it with a lower arm supporting the spring and attaching forward to the frame. The shape of the rear cowling suggests it could be covering the fan housing.
On the other hand, the lack of a roll bar makes me wonder if this car didn't pre-date Formula Vee. Maybe a proto-Vee? Pity it's such an unclear picture.
.
Posted 03 November 2021 - 11:46
Is the driver wearing a jacket and tie? And has anyone thought of looking for it in "Motor Racing Mavericks" by... oh, just a minute.
Posted 04 November 2021 - 08:11
I'm pretty sure it's the 1959 Formula Junior race. There is a photo at REVS that has a car of a similar shape towards the rear of the grid but it is too blurry to confirm it.
I think the car is a HSM driven by Ray Heppenstall. The HSM used VW front suspension and in the rear was a DKW front drive unit joined up with a ladder frame
Posted 04 November 2021 - 09:12
I just discovered the entry list for the 1959 Formula Junior race and it appears that the driver of HSM #41 was H Baumann.
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Posted 04 November 2021 - 09:31
There is apparently an entry about HSM in 'Vintage American Road Racing Cars 1950-1969' by Harold Pace & Mark R. Brinker. Preview view on Google Books, but not the whole thing.
Also the race result here, sourced to Joel Finn's 'Sunshine, Speed, and a Surprise': https://forums.autos...o/#entry3231858
I don't own either book, but I expect someone here will!
Posted 04 November 2021 - 13:25
It had been bugging me that I had seen that car somewhere in a Sebring book, but there it is in page 65 of the Finn book -- along with another HSM (No. 42, Tom Fleming, who was a DNS, along with No. 40 of Ray Heppenstall), one of three of the HSM cars entered in the FJ race.
Posted 04 November 2021 - 16:41
Fantastic! Thank you everyone.
(Note to self: Don't just buy other people's books - then bury them around the house. I must remember to read them first)
DCN.
Posted 05 November 2021 - 05:59
Apparently, John Reardon drove one at the Nassau FJ race in 1961.
Vince H.
Posted 05 November 2021 - 14:53
Some familial resemblance to the infamous American Vanguard Bobsy Formula Vee car - albeit with some cannabis/hacksaw-induced modifications. So my best guess is Formula Vee (that's a given), American and circa 1963.
I've always been attracted to single seaters with unusual names - hence my favourite UK-manufactured Formula Ford car being the 1968 Pringett Mistrale.
Ah the Pringett, built in my home town of Eastbourne. The ex owner of the company was my accountant at one time, I workedwith his son, and the partner went on to run "Skid Car".
Posted 06 November 2021 - 14:33
This is of topic as the car is not a FV but Sports Car Graphic in the USA used to have wonderful cartoons. Not quite in Catchpole league but good.
One of my favourites is a guy looking at an FV car in the pitlane with "sponsored by no blo radiator hoses" on it.
The caption read " boy, are you the salesman "