FF Wheelbase : Historic to Modern...

[JustDave]

Over the years, was there much of a change in front and rear track.
I seem to remember a few cars such as Lola that tried a narrow track setup and the Merlyn 11A seem to be fairly narrow.

Curious
Dave Coughlin

[Neil_Roberts]

I am often asked by those shopping cars for Solo "what is the chassis to buy". ... any and all opinions on the “ideal” chassis / wheelbase are welcome!

If I were to set out to create the ideal FF for autocross, I would start with one of the really early cars for several reasons.

1. They had small tracks and wheelbases, so they have advantages in line and a yaw inertia. Those advantages are magnified when the course gets tighter.
2. The earliest FFs had the Cortina engine. That engine does not have the high rev power of an uprated engine, but it has a wider powerband, and the minimum weight with that engine is 1050 lb instead of 1100 for all other engines.
3. The early cars pretty much all had a 9:31 final drive ratio, which is better suited to autocross gearing.
4. The Caldwell D9 that I had is still the best handling car I have ever driven.

Old used to mean dirt cheap, but vintage racing eligibility makes an old car more expensive to buy.

[-pru-]

The Caldwell D9 that I had is still the best handling car I have ever driven.

Nice summary Neil!

Speaking of the D9, here's a video of Stanford Vann making a Solo run in said chassis : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-OMWyheIV0

[Neil_Roberts]

Oh man, that's a great video! I could almost feel the car. I want my D9 back.

[racingflyboy]

1989 Euroswift SE-1 WB - 99"

[DaveW]

Citation 95SF converted to 95SFZ (Zetec), 101.4"

[kea]

88 Reynard 97.5 " WB
84 Lola T-642 95 " WB

[-pru-]

1989 Euroswift SE-1 WB - 99"

Citation 95SF converted to 95SFZ (Zetec), 101.4"

88 Reynard 97.5 " WB
84 Lola T-642 95 " WB

You guys rock! Listing updated per your input...

[-pru-]

Original post updated adding 2nd pass FF Wheelbase PDF listing...

Anyone have wheelbase data for the following chassis?

78 Lola T-440
79 Dulon Mk21
79 Lola T-540
80 Lola T-590
81 Crossle 50F
82 Van Diemen RF82
83 Reynard FF83
83 Van Diemen RF83
84 Van Diemen RF84
85 Reynard 85F
86 Van Diemen RF86
88 Van Diemen RF88
89 Crossle 70F

[EACIII]

All of the Bowman F2000 cars converted to F1600 spec have a 100" wheel base.

My Lola T644 had a wheel base of 96", did they increase it 1" from the T642"?

Ed

[alangbaker]

I've got an Van Diemen RF89...

...with redesigned front end...

...but I'll still measure it...

...once I've got the rear end reattached.

[kea]

My Lola T644 had a wheel base of 96", did they increase it 1" from the T642"?

Ed

I just repeated the information that was supplied to me from Haas back in the day. I didn't measure it myself.

[Blah]

Lola T342 93 inches, actually mines 12 but I don't use it as a rule.

[Peter Olivola]

The information on Winkelmanns was for all four models, WDF1 (1969), WDF2 (1970), WDF3 (1971) and WDF4 (1972) not just 1 & 4.

Original post updated adding 2nd pass FF Wheelbase PDF listing...

Anyone have wheelbase data for the following chassis?

78 Lola T-440
79 Dulon Mk21
79 Lola T-540
80 Lola T-590
81 Crossle 50F
82 Van Diemen RF82
83 Reynard FF83
83 Van Diemen RF83
84 Van Diemen RF84
85 Reynard 85F
86 Van Diemen RF86
88 Van Diemen RF88
89 Crossle 70F

[t walgamuth]

I believe my 85 Reynard is 84".

The cockpit is roomy especially for legs. Its a bit narrow in the shoulders for me but I am built like a mountain gorilla, wide torso, long arms and short legs.