Vintage F1 racing
Discussion
www.tgpf1.com/home.htm
Two visits to the UK this year - Silverstone and Donington.
Fantastic sights and sounds.
Two visits to the UK this year - Silverstone and Donington.
Fantastic sights and sounds.
LongQ said:Looking forward to those meetings! I've long been a fan of the TGP series and try to catch them whenever they race in the UK. Favourites have to be the ex-Villeneuve Ferrari 312T3, the ex-Jones/Reuteman Williams FW07s and the Lotus 91s as campaigned by Mansell and the sadly-missed and underated Elio De Angelis.
www.tgpf1.com/home.htm
Two visits to the UK this year - Silverstone and Donington.
Fantastic sights and sounds.
I always liked the cars when they ran without front wings like the Arrows in the picture above. They looked so clean and uncluttered, especially coupled with the skinny rear wings that were run during the later ground-effect years. The current F1 cars just don't look anywhere near as good IMO.
LongQ said:
www.tgpf1.com/home.htm
Two visits to the UK this year - Silverstone and Donington.
Fantastic sights and sounds.
Wll hopefully be there for those. Also am off to the States in August for the Monterey Weeklkend and the following weekend the IRL are at Infineon Raceway supported by, among others, the American Historic Grand prix series. Can't wait!!
>> Edited by The Wiz on Monday 20th March 09:32
Designed for F1 only I'm afraid . . .On Sunday, 4 June 1967, Ford's new DFV V8 engine changed the face of Grand Prix racing. In its very first appearance it powered Jim Clark's Lotus 49-Ford to victory in the Dutch GP. Before long the DFV family was dominant in F1, and went on to become the world's most successful racing engine, with 155 GP victories.
Links with Cosworth
Designed in partnership with Cosworth Engineering, the 3-litre DFV was a rugged, 32-valve 90-degree V8. To emphasise its layout, the nomenclature - DFV - was a Cosworth acronym standing for Double Four Valve, which denoted the classic Cosworth valve gear layout. In original form it developed 405 bhp, but after steady development, early-1980s units produced up to 520 bhp.
Ford's first links with Cosworth came in the early 1960s, when race-prepared Anglia engines became the most successful in Formula Junior, and Formula 3 racing. There was Cosworth input into the development of the original Cortina GT engine and later Cosworth also worked with Lotus to finalise the Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine successfully used in road, rally and race Lotus-Cortina and Escort Twin-Cam models.
When Ford decided to back the design of dedicated race engines in 1965, it asked Cosworth Engineering to design and develop two new race engines - a Formula 2 four-cylinder engine based on the Cortina 1.6-litre unit, and a 3.0-litre engine for F1.
The F2 engine, the four-cylinder FVA, appeared first, and was already winning before the very first Ford F1 engine, the V8 DFV, was unveiled in April 1967. Both were designed on Ford's behalf by Cosworth's founder, Keith Duckworth.
This was how a long and successful partnership between Ford and Cosworth was founded. Since then, in an unbroken 36-year association, a succession of specialised race engines have now appeared, all of them having highly-efficient fuel injection, twin overhead camshafts per cylinder head, and four-valves per cylinder.
Since 1998, Cosworth Racing has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford, its latest V10 F1 engine being used in the Jaguar.
Fifteen years of F1 victory
Although designed purely for F1 racing, in which it was supremely successful, other later versions were also successful in North American CART/Indycar racing, in F3000, and in the Le Mans 24 Hour race (where it powered winning cars in 1975 and 1980).
Although only one team, Lotus, used the DFV engine in 1967, they achieved four outright victories, all of them by Jim Clark. As Ford executives soon realised, this combination waxes so superior to its competitors that it was likely to destroy any opposition.
Accordingly, Ford then encouraged Cosworth to make numbers of the standard-specification DFV available for use by other F1 teams. Three of them - Lotus, Matra and McLaren – immediately took up the offer for the 1968 season resulting in 11 GP wins between six drivers, all powered by Ford.
This set the pattern for the seasons that followed, when any team with sufficient funds could purchase the DFV for its new cars. Before the DFV was finally retired in the 1980s, no fewer than 45 racing marques chose it to power their F1 cars.
By the 1970s, the Ford-Cosworth DFV was already the most successful engine in F1, and would dominate the sport for 16 racing seasons - an astonishing record which is never likely to be matched. For eight years DFV-engined cars won 10 or more Grand Prix in a season and in 1973, every race, 15 in total were won by Ford-Cosworth DFV-engined cars.
Championship winners
It was during the 1960s and 1970s that the DFV provided power for teams like Brabham, Lotus, Matra-Ford, McLaren, Tyrrell and Williams to produce Championship-winning cars.
Many of F1's driving legends cut their teeth in DFV-powered F1 cars. Sir Jackie Stewart won three F1 Drivers' Championships for Tyrrell - relying on the DFV for 25 of his total of 27 GP victories. Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi (twice), James Hunt, Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Jochen Rindt and Keke Rosberg all took championship honours powered by Ford.
By making the DFV engine freely available to all comers, Ford also ensured that any team with ambition could go F1 racing and, in some cases, become established. McLaren, Tyrrell and Williams, all now legendary constructors, all broke into F1, and gained their first victories, by using the DFV engine.
DFV-engined single-seaters also won hundreds of non-Championship races in the same period, and are still successful in historic racing events to this day. To add spice to variety, at least one DFV-powered Capri was built for use in free-formula saloon car races!
Because of its compact shape, the DFV was an ideal engine to use in the new-technology 'ground-effect' F1 cars which evolved in the late 1970s and early 1980s: such cars had deep aerodynamic 'ground effect' tunnels at each side of their monocoque chassis, the DFV fitting neatly between them.
During the 1970s, versions of the DFV were also refined for use in long-distance sports car racing. Reduced compression ratios, 'softer' camshaft timing and a more conservative rev limit were all employed to deliver a '24 hour' race engine. A DFV-equipped Mirage-Ford sports car won the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours race in 1975, while a DFV-powered Rondeau repeated that feat at Le Mans in 1980.
Over the years the classic DFV F1 V8 was progressively developed, uprated and refined. Different camshaft profiles were introduced, lighter-weight magnesium casting materials were developed, the bore and stroke ratio was changed and the engine's peak power rating was gradually increased. In 1967 the first engines produced 405 bhp at 9,000 rpm, but by the early 1980s the rating had risen to 500+ bhp at 11,300 rpm.
Although it was still the best normally-aspirated F1 engine, the DFV engine was gradually overhauled by a new generation of turbocharged 1.5-litre engines in the early 1980s, but it then went on to a further successful career as the dominant engine in Formula 3000. This was inaugurated in 1985. Regulations limited all F3000 engines to 9,000 rpm, which was ensured by electronic rev-limiters, at which the DFV developed a reliable 420 bhp.
Links with Cosworth
Designed in partnership with Cosworth Engineering, the 3-litre DFV was a rugged, 32-valve 90-degree V8. To emphasise its layout, the nomenclature - DFV - was a Cosworth acronym standing for Double Four Valve, which denoted the classic Cosworth valve gear layout. In original form it developed 405 bhp, but after steady development, early-1980s units produced up to 520 bhp.
Ford's first links with Cosworth came in the early 1960s, when race-prepared Anglia engines became the most successful in Formula Junior, and Formula 3 racing. There was Cosworth input into the development of the original Cortina GT engine and later Cosworth also worked with Lotus to finalise the Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine successfully used in road, rally and race Lotus-Cortina and Escort Twin-Cam models.
When Ford decided to back the design of dedicated race engines in 1965, it asked Cosworth Engineering to design and develop two new race engines - a Formula 2 four-cylinder engine based on the Cortina 1.6-litre unit, and a 3.0-litre engine for F1.
The F2 engine, the four-cylinder FVA, appeared first, and was already winning before the very first Ford F1 engine, the V8 DFV, was unveiled in April 1967. Both were designed on Ford's behalf by Cosworth's founder, Keith Duckworth.
This was how a long and successful partnership between Ford and Cosworth was founded. Since then, in an unbroken 36-year association, a succession of specialised race engines have now appeared, all of them having highly-efficient fuel injection, twin overhead camshafts per cylinder head, and four-valves per cylinder.
Since 1998, Cosworth Racing has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford, its latest V10 F1 engine being used in the Jaguar.
Fifteen years of F1 victory
Although designed purely for F1 racing, in which it was supremely successful, other later versions were also successful in North American CART/Indycar racing, in F3000, and in the Le Mans 24 Hour race (where it powered winning cars in 1975 and 1980).
Although only one team, Lotus, used the DFV engine in 1967, they achieved four outright victories, all of them by Jim Clark. As Ford executives soon realised, this combination waxes so superior to its competitors that it was likely to destroy any opposition.
Accordingly, Ford then encouraged Cosworth to make numbers of the standard-specification DFV available for use by other F1 teams. Three of them - Lotus, Matra and McLaren – immediately took up the offer for the 1968 season resulting in 11 GP wins between six drivers, all powered by Ford.
This set the pattern for the seasons that followed, when any team with sufficient funds could purchase the DFV for its new cars. Before the DFV was finally retired in the 1980s, no fewer than 45 racing marques chose it to power their F1 cars.
By the 1970s, the Ford-Cosworth DFV was already the most successful engine in F1, and would dominate the sport for 16 racing seasons - an astonishing record which is never likely to be matched. For eight years DFV-engined cars won 10 or more Grand Prix in a season and in 1973, every race, 15 in total were won by Ford-Cosworth DFV-engined cars.
Championship winners
It was during the 1960s and 1970s that the DFV provided power for teams like Brabham, Lotus, Matra-Ford, McLaren, Tyrrell and Williams to produce Championship-winning cars.
Many of F1's driving legends cut their teeth in DFV-powered F1 cars. Sir Jackie Stewart won three F1 Drivers' Championships for Tyrrell - relying on the DFV for 25 of his total of 27 GP victories. Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi (twice), James Hunt, Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Jochen Rindt and Keke Rosberg all took championship honours powered by Ford.
By making the DFV engine freely available to all comers, Ford also ensured that any team with ambition could go F1 racing and, in some cases, become established. McLaren, Tyrrell and Williams, all now legendary constructors, all broke into F1, and gained their first victories, by using the DFV engine.
DFV-engined single-seaters also won hundreds of non-Championship races in the same period, and are still successful in historic racing events to this day. To add spice to variety, at least one DFV-powered Capri was built for use in free-formula saloon car races!
Because of its compact shape, the DFV was an ideal engine to use in the new-technology 'ground-effect' F1 cars which evolved in the late 1970s and early 1980s: such cars had deep aerodynamic 'ground effect' tunnels at each side of their monocoque chassis, the DFV fitting neatly between them.
During the 1970s, versions of the DFV were also refined for use in long-distance sports car racing. Reduced compression ratios, 'softer' camshaft timing and a more conservative rev limit were all employed to deliver a '24 hour' race engine. A DFV-equipped Mirage-Ford sports car won the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours race in 1975, while a DFV-powered Rondeau repeated that feat at Le Mans in 1980.
Over the years the classic DFV F1 V8 was progressively developed, uprated and refined. Different camshaft profiles were introduced, lighter-weight magnesium casting materials were developed, the bore and stroke ratio was changed and the engine's peak power rating was gradually increased. In 1967 the first engines produced 405 bhp at 9,000 rpm, but by the early 1980s the rating had risen to 500+ bhp at 11,300 rpm.
Although it was still the best normally-aspirated F1 engine, the DFV engine was gradually overhauled by a new generation of turbocharged 1.5-litre engines in the early 1980s, but it then went on to a further successful career as the dominant engine in Formula 3000. This was inaugurated in 1985. Regulations limited all F3000 engines to 9,000 rpm, which was ensured by electronic rev-limiters, at which the DFV developed a reliable 420 bhp.
I know, but is it shorter stroked or does it have smaller pistons? There were also 4 litre Fords 
Didn't the race-Transit van have one in: mental sounding btw.
Ah:
"Supervan 2 debuted in 1984, at the Donington Truck Grand Prix, and was the work of Auto Racing Technology of Woolaston. Powered by a Ford-Cosworth DFL engine – the long-stroke version of Ford's famous DFV F1 engine. It was clocked at Silverstone doing 174mph. Ten years later and DRL Engineering of Suffolk undertook a complete re-build of Supervan 2 and, fittingly, it was decided to re-name the vehicle Supervan 3."
Nice to drop a DFV in a TVR . . . don't you mind the lack of torque?
Ah: got it: all Cossies on a page.
>> Edited by dinkel on Tuesday 21st March 08:15
Didn't the race-Transit van have one in: mental sounding btw. Ah:
"Supervan 2 debuted in 1984, at the Donington Truck Grand Prix, and was the work of Auto Racing Technology of Woolaston. Powered by a Ford-Cosworth DFL engine – the long-stroke version of Ford's famous DFV F1 engine. It was clocked at Silverstone doing 174mph. Ten years later and DRL Engineering of Suffolk undertook a complete re-build of Supervan 2 and, fittingly, it was decided to re-name the vehicle Supervan 3."
Nice to drop a DFV in a TVR . . . don't you mind the lack of torque?
Ah: got it: all Cossies on a page.
>> Edited by dinkel on Tuesday 21st March 08:15
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