1976 Chevron B-34 Formula C

[AVO West]

Offered for sale is the only Chevron B-34 Formula C car made. Chassis number 34-76-04 won multiple SCCA national titles driven by Mort Haas. A fresh tub for it was made by Marc Bahner Engineering. This car is mostly complete and just needs assembly. This car runs a Cosworth BDJ motor (1270cc) with Hewland Mk 9 gearbox. The body work is complete (needs paint), with both styles of noses. The only missing parts are the mechanical fuel injection unit (the car can be run on carburetors), and the nose mount which would need to be fabricated. This car could be run in Europe as a Formula 3 car with a Toyota Nova motor.

Price for car as listed above: $29,000
Located in Gardena, Ca
Please email me at AVOWest@live.com for additional details or inquiries.

[Michael Rand]

You do know the correct motor for a FC car of that vintage is NOT the 1,300cc BDH, rather the 1,100cc BDJ.
Bill Anspach, out of West Pam Beach FL, won the FC National Championship in a Chevron B34 in 1977.
How do I know ?
I spent the full 20 laps staring at his wing in my ex-F3 Modus M1 BDJ.

The 1,300cc BDH was the motor of choice in CSR for a few years just as the1,100cc BDJ was in FC.
Great injected 4 valve Cosworth motors.
The BDJ won National FC titles 197 I an ex-F3 GRD chassis, Mike Gilbert, 1977, Anspach in the Chevron, and 1978, the late Jim Trueman in another ex-F3 March

[AVO West]

Good point Michael, this car had been converted to run as an FC later in its life. I was told by my contact at the Chevron factory this was the only B34 FC car made, but it sounds like that is incorrect. Sounds like some great memories, thanks for sharing.

[jstowe]

The engine in the picture looks like a BDJ...The 1300cc BDH used the low 7.125" deck 5-bearing industrial block, which is barely higher than the top of the water pump...from the picture, this block looks taller than that. The 1100cc BDJ, for reasons known only to Cosworth, used the taller 7.78" deck block which gave it a ridiculously long rod ratio. Some years ago, while I was experimenting on these engines, I re-worked a BDJ to 203 hp@11,300 rpm. I wound up making my own pistons from J&E blanks that got the comp ratio up to 13-to-1, and switched to DA-9 cams, which had a short enough duration to work well down low with a short-stroke motor, and enough area under the curve to to breathe well at high rpm. Plus, I used the short deck block machined down to 7", which required trimming the top of the water pump. I also took 5" off the exhaust length, and made new intake trumpets with showerhead injectors, still using the Lucas system, although I had to add several shims to the metering unit during dyno testing.

If I was going to build the same engine today, I would go to larger valves with 6MM (or less) stems, and use the DA-19 cam, cut the rod bearing diameter down, and use reduced-diameter bearing inserts on the cams. I have a small foundry, and have been casting heads for S. Jennings Racing for a while.

It's too bad that FA dropped the BD...once people stopped doing stupid stuff with the belts, and really good valve springs became available from PSI, these engines really could have come back into their own, with around 270-280 hp reliably produced from an 84- 85 mm block, which is possible with the new Kent blocks that Ford performance sells.

You can still find the short-deck blocks if you look...they were used with Bobcats and other industrial applications.

[AVO West]

This car has been sold.

[Gary Jarlson]

Not that I would ever argue with anything Mike Rand has to say about Formula C, but....

I'm certain Anspach won the Runoffs in '74. I stood on the outside of T1, which is as far as I got after the clutch in my Brabham failed as I was leaving pre-grid. Anspach's Chevron was powered by a twin-cam, rather than a BDJ.

Mike Gilbert's '71 car was an MAE. His second Runoffs win, in a GRD, was a BDJ.

Mort did indeed run a 1270 in his Chevron in national events in SoCal. As Wilbur Bunce (who had his own 1100 legal entry in the class) said, "I'll eat your hat, with a side of shoe leather, if Mort has an 1100."

Lastly, Chuck Willis built my BDJ and several others in a fashion that had Cosworth twitching. He'd have .640 taken off the standard supplied block height. He also built one BDJ with Webers. He thought the slide-throttle injection that was usually used caused uneven fuel distribution until you reached wide-open throttle.

My God. That's all from nearly 50 years ago. And I'm not sure right now what i had for breakfast.

[E1pix]

Bill Anspach did indeed win in 1974 — and a second win in maybe 1977, if memory serves.

I was just a kid with a program at both, all week, and a camera at the second. I loved all 12 Runoffs we made it to between 1972 and 1985.

[Gary Jarlson]

And Anspach finished second Mike Gilbert in '76. He had a pretty good record at RA.

[trajo]

He won with this car in 77

[E1pix]

Here’s some trustworthy history of this Chevron B34, Serial number 34-76-04:
https://www.oldracingcars.com/chevron/b34/

It’s been bugging me that I couldn’t remember Mort Haas (or “Haaz” on ORC, which I think is “Haas”) winning any Runoffs — much less multiples — so I looked at page 2828 of the complete Runoffs competitors listing:
http://cdn.growassets.net/user_files...pdf?1433530602

No Mort Haas.

Then I looked at page 27 of the SCCA Media Guide within its complete list of Runoffs winners:
https://cdn.connectsites.net/user_fi...pdf?1473974687

No Mort Haas.

The funny thing is I could swear I’ve seen the car in the old photo run, but it would have had to be in Cen Div if it wasn’t at the Runoffs. Or both of the two linked sources of racing history were somehow wrong by SCCA (not). Or the above seller was misled when buying it to begin with. Or the ad confused Mort Haas and/or what a national champion actually is with a Florida dentist who actually did win the ‘77 Title in, apparently, the advertised Chevron B34.

I suspect Haas actually won a Divisional title (or titles), which is not a National championship title.

Just clarifying some confused historical info as stated in this ad — for anyone researching this car in the future.

[Gary Jarlson]

I think the problem is that the ad states that Mort won "numerous national titles." That's probably in reference to Cal Club SCCA nationals that he won in SoPac Division with RM (Robert Morris or Morrison) Motorsports prepping the car. Hence Wilbur's viewpoint. I can't find a record of Mort's ever going to the Runoffs. And we know that Anspach had a Chevron in '74, '76 and '77. And it wasn't Mort's. Off topic: in '74 I needed to replace a high-pressure injection pump and Anspach sent me to his suburban Atlanta residence to get his spare. Talk about a magnificent southern mansion!

[bob darcey]

The photo is Michael Gilbert's logbook entry at the '76 Runoffs (CSPRRC), Oct. 24-31, 1976. The car was actually owned by Jim Fikse, but Michael thought the GRD would be more competitive than his Lotus. The logbook says the car is a GRD 376, but actually is a 374, having been Alex Dias Ribiero's F3 car in '74. It was re-tubbed prior to the Runoffs after an encounter with a hot-pit concrete divider. The car then went to Pete Gates in 1977. The other photo is how it sits today, still an unfinished project.

[Gary Jarlson]

Thinking about it now, it wasn't Anspach's house.It was someone connected with his team.

[E1pix]

I think the problem is that the ad states that Mort won "numerous national titles." That's probably in reference to Cal Club SCCA nationals that he won in SoPac Division with RM (Robert Morris or Morrison) Motorsports prepping the car. Hence Wilbur's viewpoint. I can't find a record of Mort's ever going to the Runoffs. And we know that Anspach had a Chevron in '74, '76 and '77. And it wasn't Mort's. Off topic: in '74 I needed to replace a high-pressure injection pump and Anspach sent me to his suburban Atlanta residence to get his spare. Talk about a magnificent southern mansion!

I think Anspach had a sponsorship by an exotic car company of some sort, the car decorated in gold leaf including the numbers (which was no longer allowed in SCCA shortly after).

Maybe the exotic car guy was the mansion guy. ;-)

<<< Is it possible we should have hung in wealthier circles? >>>

Wasn’t Bill a Floridian? I have no access to my archives or would be more succincter. ;-)

Yes, claiming a divisional championship as a national title just because one ran SCCA Nationals is a tired trick by drivers and sellers — and has been my whole life. I’m not accusing any misdeeds in this ad.

I think Bill’s ‘74 title was in a Chevron B17. To clarify a seller’s comment above, this B34 was brand-new when Anspach bought it — and always, beautifully, impeccable.

Aside, Wilbur Bunce was awesome. Not sure why the mysterious Haas needed a (according to Bunce) cheater engine in the best car to ever run FC in the former specs.

[Gary Jarlson]

In '74, I ran against Doug Turner and his Chevron B17 out here in SP. It was, like my Brabham, a cigar-shape. I don't recall what model Anspach was running, but it had bodywork very much like Mort's. A sportswear nose, etc.

If I had to guess why Mort had that motor it would have to do with the fact that SCCA put the water-cooled SuperVees in our class. While they had 1600s and we had 1100s, they had to run SV brakes, SV wheels, a 4-speed and SV minimum weight. Our minimum (no one ever got there) was 750 lbs. and we had 5-speeds. Plus tires, wheels and brakes were free. Of course, Mort was up against Bunce and his Ralt SV driven by Michael Chandler.

Re Gilbert's GRD: yes the logbook listed as a 376 when in reality it was 374, chassis 6. I got that all wrong at one time in the past.

[E1pix]

Oh okay, Sorry, it sounded like Wilbur thought the motor was questionable.

Anspach’s ‘74 car was a very-massaged B17 as I recall. I think it had short, molded-in nose fins but could be wrong. The B34 of course had a sports car nose.

The B34 was my “favorite Atlantic car ever” — well, except for the March 76B — partly as a heroic snowmobiler drove the balls clean off of one and got a Ferrari contact for those repetitive moments of surreal behavior.

Our continent’s driver of all time, to me anyway, with all consideration of Mario, AJ, everyone.

[Gary Jarlson]

Wilbur told me that a really good 1100 FC car, well driven, would be competitive with an SV. Mort was driving away from Wilbur's Ralt and he said that was only possible if there was something more than an 1100 in the Chevron. Hence his comments about eating his hat and other things.

I totally agree with you about Gilles. Chuck told me about a race some where in Canada. Gilles was telling anyone who would listen that certain corner was flat in 5th. After the next session was red flagged and his car came back on a wrecker much the worse for wear, Chuck said Gilles just shrugged his shoulders and said, " I guess not."

Speaking of Chevrons: there is the great photo of Keke using the barrier to straighten out his all-crossed-up Excita car. Willis said he was doing that almost every lap during qualifying.

Here's an idea: you and I offer our services, for a fee of course, to keep a seller's ad constantly bumped to the top.

[Gary Jarlson]

Mea culpa

Seven years ago in a discussion about GRD cars on another site I said Mike Gilbert's Runoffs winning car was chassis 06. Smarter people than me said no. The 6 indicated the car had been updated to 1976 specifications.

In the discussion above I AGAIN said Gilbert's car was chassis 06. I could have easily checked at the other site to make sure this was correct. But no. I must be a very slow learner.

I sincerely apologize for posting wrong information about this topic and on this site.

[E1pix]

There goes the massive profit potential of our bump draft.

[Gary Jarlson]

Well said, sir, Well said.

[rexcarrs]

You do know the correct motor for a FC car of that vintage is NOT the 1,300cc BDH, rather the 1,100cc BDJ.
Bill Anspach, out of West Pam Beach FL, won the FC National Championship in a Chevron B34 in 1977.
How do I know ?
I spent the full 20 laps staring at his wing in my ex-F3 Modus M1 BDJ.

The 1,300cc BDH was the motor of choice in CSR for a few years just as the1,100cc BDJ was in FC.
Great injected 4 valve Cosworth motors.
The BDJ won National FC titles 197 I an ex-F3 GRD chassis, Mike Gilbert, 1977, Anspach in the Chevron, and 1978, the late Jim Trueman in another ex-F3 March

[Roland V. Johnson]

Probably not on topic, but I am pretty sure at the time of his protest of Mort, Wilber Bunce was running a March Super Vee. Wilber was fit to be tied about Mort,'s car. I was helping on another March at Riverside at the time. The last Marches looked a lot like a RT-5 at the time. We wished they ran like them.

[Gary Jarlson]

Roland

You are probably right about Wilbur's running a March (Bob Tankersly?) against Mort. Wilbur had Marches (he was a dealer) along with Michael Chandler's RT-1. I was focused on his belief that a good BDJ car, which had the 5 speed and LSD (that the SV didn't) could be competitive since I was running just such a car.

[E1pix]

I don’t think Wilbur ever ran Tankersley, at least not regularly. I think he helped along the way, though.

I lettered and striped all of Bob’s Super Vees in his garage in Denver, from about 1981 until he bought an Atlantic car (I think a Ralt RT4) in the mid ‘80s.

He was a theater operator and equipment supplier as founder of Western Service & Supply in Englewood, and Theater Operators, Inc. out of Bozeman.

He was a real racer, and well into his fifties at least when he sold an Eagle FF to go Super Vee racing. Good guy and family, we all shared several meals with paint under my fingernails.

[Gary Jarlson]

I bow to your experience and artistic skills in this case. I just remember (now that's scary) that i would see Tankersley's March SV when I stopped by Wilbur's as part of my quest to quit doing dumb things with race cars.

[E1pix]

Interesting, good memory... maybe it’s possible he left it there for the western rounds, or once lettered in Spring it was out of sight — in Anaheim after all.

He mostly ran Nationals in Mid Div and the Runoffs, not sure he ever did a full Pro calendar.

I’d bet he got on well with Wilbur.

[Gary Jarlson]

My secret for dealing with Wilbur was to ask a one question and then not say anything while he explained to nuances of the subject matter for the next hour or so.