“FORMULA JUNIOR IS AN OPEN-WHEEL RACING class,” Wikipedia describes, “first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (International Sporting Commission, the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports).”
Wikipedia continues, “The idea to form the new class came from Count Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani, who saw the need of a class for single-seater racing cars where younger drivers could take their first steps. It is often speculated that this class was founded as a reaction to Italy’s lack of success in the 500-cc Formula Three, and although Italian marques dominated the first year of the formula, they were soon overtaken by British constructors.”
R&T’s Formula Junior Drives. Nor did it take long for R&T to arrange tests of a pair of the British Formula Jr contingent: An Elva in June 1960 and an Envoy in February 1961. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits of these two popular and contrasting machines.
Front- or Mid-Engine. The Elva (akin to the French “Elle va,” “She goes”) has its 994-cc inline-4 located up front; the Envoy, its 996-cc inline-4 behind the driver. F-Jr regulations required production-car engine blocks, cylinders, and overhead-valve heads; overhead camshafts were prohibited. Brakes and transmissions also had to be production-based; the latter could have added gears, but only within a production gearbox casting.
A Front Complication. The Elva’s powertrain, R&T wrote, was “rather interesting, if a trifle complicated. From the BMC series-A (Sprite) engine the drive passes through an Austin A-40 transmission casing, in which special close-ratio gears are fitted, to the driveshaft—which passes under the driver’s seat.”
Here came a penalty for a low driving position: “… it was necessary to use a[n added] gear train to take the drive from under the back of the seat to the pinion shaft on the final drive housing.”
The Elva produced 65 hp at 6500 rpm.
The Mid Choice. The mid-engine Envoy’s powertrain had no such complexity, but, as R&T noted, allowable hop-ups to its Ford 105-E engine included “bigger valves, heavier valve springs, special pistons, a special counterweighted crankshaft and a flock of miscellaneous special bearings, plus other odds and ends for power and reliability.”
“The net result,” R&T observed, “is an increase to nearly 80 hp (our estimate) at no less than 7000 rpm, with a torque peak elevated to 65 lb-ft at 5600 rpm. The power from this engine, as modified, does not really make itself felt under 5000 rpm, but it continues unabated well above the 8000 rpm mark, although it must be conceded that this is hardly prudent.”
R&T continued, “The transmission is basically Volkswagen, but with a mixture of special and standard parts which give close-ratio gearing. Actually, all of the ratios can be juggled to meet the requirements of various types of courses. Our test car had 3rd and 4th very well staged, but 2nd was not too well suited to the Riverside circuit, where we made the tests.”
Bodywork. “Although quite small,” R&T described, “the Elva looks very much the bona fide Grand Prix car,” albeit of the traditional configuration. “The bodywork is of fiberglass, very thin and with the color bonded-in. Our test car had been painted—a nice silver grey with black trim—but we have noticed that on the unpainted cars the light shines through the bodywork. Even so, the body seems sturdy enough to take the incidental battering that hasty pit stops and brushing contacts with other cars are sure to inflict.”
R&T observed, “From any angle, the Envoy appears to be a trim and businesslike package. The body is of aluminum (or, alternatively, fiberglass) and is secured by aircraft-type Dzus fasteners so that it can be removed in a matter of minutes.”
Chassis and Suspensions. “The Elva’s frame,” R&T recounted, “is fabricated from a multitude of small diameter, thin-wall tubes—which forms a fully triangulated structure linking the four corners of the chassis and surrounding the engine and driver’s compartments.”
“All four wheels are independently suspended;” R&T continued, “from front by means of unequal A-arms, the rear by a system of links that closely approximates the action of the unequal-A-arm type. The suspending medium in both cases is coil springs with telescopic dampers.”
Similarly, R&T described the Envoy’s suspension: “…all-independent and consists, both front and rear, of what are essentially A-arms.” Though it also conjectured “Such suspensions could be adjusted to improve adhesion. Such adjustments are provided for and we are told that the chassis characteristics can be altered considerably by juggling the wheel camber.”
Of the Envoy’s chassis R&T noted, “The frame is, perhaps, the least inspired aspect of the design—but it is certainly rigid enough and does not encircle components to the extent that serviceability is compromised. This aspect of design is very important in the F-Jr category, for in this class much is being asked of some rather unpretentious mass-produced components.”
Tomorrow in Part 2, we’ll see what R&T staffers learned about piloting these two F-Jrs. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024