[Drscope]

Originally Posted by Dr K

Formula Atlantic - really "in" the weather conditions! That's a car I've always wanted to drive. About 1700 lbs, and about 375 HP. Mmmmmmm. But not in the rain...

Actually 1300 pounds. And it was a ground effects car as well. After that nothing else with an engine really excited me any more.

[ausgeflippt951]

Originally Posted by Dr K

Formula Atlantic - really "in" the weather conditions! That's a car I've always wanted to drive. About 1700 lbs, and about 375 HP. Mmmmmmm. But not in the rain...

Try 1300 lbs....

[ausgeflippt951]

Originally Posted by Drscope

Actually 1300 pounds. And it was a ground effects car as well. After that nothing else with an engine really excited me any more.

Nice! You and I must chat -- I cut my teeth on FA, the last season before CART went bust; I love hearing about the older days of Atlantic. I'm a bit rusty with my older Atlantic chassis knowledge -- that an old Ralt? When did you race? Other than the new Swifts to compete in pro, we had a couple RT41s to compete in vintage stuff. Fun fun.

[Potomac-Greg]

Being in SCCA (and on the lowest end of the non-production classes) I get some insights to open-wheel racing. You either need to go big (pro series, serious bucks) or be relegated to very small fields with a huge disparity in driver talent. You'll rarely see a FA at a regional, and even at nationals (Majors), you might see a run group of 6 or 8 high end open wheelers, with a mixture of Formula F, Formula Enterprises and Formula Mazda. They're stuck on track with the faster closed-wheel prototypes who are also running in fields of three or four. A majority of the people in that run group go home with trophies!

But to really prove yourself in open wheeler in large fields and against top competition, you really have to go with a pro series.

[N0tt0N]

I loved watching FA at SP in the 80s. I have some great pictures from then. BTW, this is one of my favorite threads on GarageJournal: Restoring the triplets of Belleville. Enjoy!

[good hands]

Originally Posted by N0tt0N

I loved watching FA at SP in the 80s. I have some great pictures from then. BTW, this is one of my favorite threads on GarageJournal: Restoring the triplets of Belleville. Enjoy!

I remember Tom Pumpelly wiping the field with his yellow formula car at SP. I'll have to post some of the thousands of pictures I have inherited from my dad.

[APKhaos]

We raced with EMRA at Watkins Glen a few years back. EMRA runs a number of formula car groups. I was flat smitten with the F5000 cars. These are pre-CAD hand fabricated works of art. One of them in particular had me ogling for hours. Cosworth V8 that sounded like a wailing banshee. The fab work was pure porn. Aero profiled sheet steel suspension arms with perfect weld beads. Want one.

[N0tt0N]

This is a pen & ink sketch I did of an FA pilot at Summit Point in the early '80s. I'd have to look at the pictures to figure out who it is. Good times...

[Croc R]

Originally Posted by Drscope

Maybe some reading is in order.

Great book! It pushed several of my buttons.

[ausgeflippt951]

You'da loved the Kohler International Challenge at Road America some six or seven years back -- they did a tribute year to the F5000...oh the sound. They had some outrageous number of cars show up. Really well done.

Originally Posted by APKhaos

We raced with EMRA at Watkins Glen a few years back. EMRA runs a number of formula car groups. I was flat smitten with the F5000 cars. These are pre-CAD hand fabricated works of art. One of them in particular had me ogling for hours. Cosworth V8 that sounded like a wailing banshee. The fab work was pure porn. Aero profiled sheet steel suspension arms with perfect weld beads. Want one.