Author Topic: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer  (Read 2089 times)

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machoneman

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One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« on: April 20, 2018, 07:39:30 AM »
https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/cg/205/Ford-F3L.html

Little known and not successful but swoopy indeed!
Bob Maag

427HISS

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2018, 05:43:42 PM »
TRICK !   8)

TomP

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2018, 12:03:02 AM »
What great lines that thing has. It kind of looks like that is the starter mounted at the back of the transaxle, partly hidden by the exhaust.
https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/img/Ford-F3L-63998.html

machoneman

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2018, 05:44:02 AM »
Yep, great style! Love this pic too: https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/img/Ford-F3L-3391.html
Bob Maag

Heo

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2018, 06:33:54 AM »
Ford Cosworth DFV V8 one of the most successful formula one engines
of all times



The defenition of a Gentleman, is a man that can play the accordion.But dont do it

machoneman

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2018, 08:11:10 AM »
Yep! 176 wins, an engine design that will never be bested for # of wins in many naturally aspirated and turbocharged configurations!

Take that Chevy lovers and stuff it!

Hah!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosworth_DFV
Bob Maag

rsk289

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2018, 02:04:56 AM »
Bob, I remember that car well.  Back in '68 I watched it run a couple of times, at Brands and Silverstone (from memory).  Its model number was 'P68', and it was built and run by Alan Mann Racing in Surrey, UK if memory serves. Frank Gardner may have had a drive in it - usually a Falcon team here in the UK.  It was truly beautiful but deeply flawed.  The DFV motor did not translate well to sports cars from Formula 1.  I think the biggest issues were with severe vibration.  Beautiful nonetheless!
Roger

Hah!  I like the 'country of origin: United States' bit.  US parent company, maybe, that car's ours!  Cosworth were (and still are) 50 miles from me here.  As far as I know, the P68 never even visited the US, I'm afraid!
« Last Edit: April 25, 2018, 02:09:39 AM by rsk289 »

machoneman

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Re: One of the coolest Fords of all time: F3L road racer
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2018, 05:59:13 AM »
Roger, I  believe you are correct on the car's origins and racing history. It's too bad that Ford didn't keep pursuing its development. I also agree that as great as the DFV engine was, it didn't 'fit' well in that type of road racing. A transplant of a 427 FE ala' the GT-40 program would have been awesome, yet the big liter ban that eliminated the all conquering GT-40 Mark IV after '67 prevented that swap.

Interesting read here: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/april-1970/50/ford-f3l-or-p6869

Great vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AquI49zoaAo

Still, it would have been interesting if a 289-302 engine with a well-tested transaxle/gearbox would have breathed new life into this fabulous looking car. IIRC and only from what I've read, the chassis side and handling was fine but numerous power transmission issues were the main failings. Too bad too was the timing of the car's development as Ford was winding down its (mainly) European road-racing program a lot. Methinks the FIA's rulings to minimize the possibility of Ford again dominating the scene with its powerful GT's must have had a hand in the slow and ultimately ineffective efforts to push this car's development into a multi-car team. Sad......   

As a post-script, since you were close to thes scene (and I would have loved to have seen the car in action), I don't think the DFV was ever used again in any distance sports car racing after the program folded. Are you aware of any team using the DFV afterwards? 


Bob, I remember that car well.  Back in '68 I watched it run a couple of times, at Brands and Silverstone (from memory).  Its model number was 'P68', and it was built and run by Alan Mann Racing in Surrey, UK if memory serves. Frank Gardner may have had a drive in it - usually a Falcon team here in the UK.  It was truly beautiful but deeply flawed.  The DFV motor did not translate well to sports cars from Formula 1.  I think the biggest issues were with severe vibration.  Beautiful nonetheless!
Roger

Hah!  I like the 'country of origin: United States' bit.  US parent company, maybe, that car's ours!  Cosworth were (and still are) 50 miles from me here.  As far as I know, the P68 never even visited the US, I'm afraid!
« Last Edit: April 25, 2018, 08:23:45 AM by machoneman »
Bob Maag