Where to buy a Formula Ford?
Discussion
Am interested in buying a 2-3yr old Formula Ford (FF) for trackdays, tried, Caterhams, TVR Tuscan and have prev driven a FF am thinking that if the car is not too expensive to buy the running of the thing isn't going to be too great as the engines use standard Ford parts, trouble is finding one in the first place !! Any ideas 
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.....Race Cars Direct
Edited to add:
Something like this for 5K.
>> Edited by jeremyc on Wednesday 11th June 15:15
Edited to add:
Something like this for 5K.
>> Edited by jeremyc on Wednesday 11th June 15:15
www.racingcarsforsale.co.uk always have a few but they look like being top quality and thus the price reflects this. www.racecar.co.uk is worth a look and you could try www.750mc.co.uk or failing all those, go to a race meeting at almost any circuit and ask the FFord drivers if they know any cars for sale, they might even be considering a change at the end of the season......racing them can get expensive, as the racing is so close there are the inevitable racing accidents and subsequently the wishbones etc take a hammering. On the other hand though, a set of tyes can do at least half a season which is good for keeping the costs down and spares are cheap. At castle combe the Swifts are very popular, the SC923/4/5 making up nearly half the grid. You are also allowed to run zetec cars with kent engines.
By the way you may find this an interesting read (was looking at hiring out singleseaters in the past when I worked for a TDO):
Formula Ford (Kent engine)
Cheap £3k-£5k for a tidy car...but the idea & appearance won't excite your customers.
Pre 85-86 cars have wide bodies so everybody can get in easily.
Formula Ford 2000 (1980s)
Lots of room...£4k -£8k slicks & wings & go well, cheap Pinto engines but cars are old fashioned & not cheap as they can run in numerous race series so there is a strong market for them. Probably a better bet than a Kent or a Zetec though.
Formula Ford (Zetec)
Lots available £5k-8k quick but not particularly user friendly & not exciting to look at. All have narrow chassis & body so though most people can get in, not easy for everyone.
Formula Renault 1700
Very cheap £2k-£4k slicks & wings & big wheels but generally rather horrible...eg wet sump engines & production car gearboxes
Formula Renault 2 litre (1995-1999)
Modern and Sophisticated £6k-£8k look good & go well & tend to be reliable. Narrow chassis, so though
most people can be accommodated very large folk may struggle. Most of the cars have been run to very high standards so bits don't fall off
Formula Vauxhall-Lotus/FOpel
Very pretty £7k-£8k Quick, look very pretty & flatter their drivers. Most people can get in
but mk2 shape body has to be fitted after driver installed so time consuming. Cars have had a lot of use so
things can tend to be tired & bits can fall off
Formula Vauxhall Junior(8v) & Formula Vauxhall (16v)
Good Value (8v) £2.5k-£4k (16v) £4k - £5.5k) These initially came in 8v format & then were updated to 16v format with revised body etc in 1998.The 16v versions (Corsa GSi engine) are much better with throttle body injection and excellent engine etc & go very well. Cockpit seems enormous so everyone is sure they'll get in. 16v cars very quick, reliable & cheap to run....but no wings. ...could be fitted with wings (+ £600 ish) but then they become hybrids
Jedi ,OMS & other motorcycle engined things
Quick £6-£10k tend to have big cockpits & go very well but older generation of customers (like me!)
may have irrational prejudice against 'em.
Formula 3 cars
Technological delights (7k-£10k + £1k-2k engine change ) superb build quality & technology, look great & will really impress......but will require engine change (ie remove F3 unit & install road going spec engine of same make - F3 engine can be sold to recoup portion of cost of engine change). May be expensive to fix if
they suffer damage
Other things to consider
Tyres...if you intend to run the cars on the tyres they were designed for then Zetecs & FRenaults have an advantage as the correct excellent tyres can be obtained for free or next to nothing from teams running current variants.
Brakes...if the cars are really being driven vigorously they will consume pads at a surprising rate...after all you do a lot of miles on your trackdays ....so some cars may benefit from a change of caliper to allow pads with a longer life.
"...I can't get in! " most race cars can accommodate most of the population but many people
initially baulk at the idea they can get into the apparently tiny space in the more modern race cars.
You either take the trouble to 'fit' them properly into the car...or you get something like an FF2000 or a FVauxhall which have cockpits (which though not really any bigger) are constructed in a way which makes people feel there is a lot more space available.
Maintenance The key things that affect the reliability/ease of repair of single seaters tend to be the
state of the threads/quality of fastners used in the car. Old race cars with lots of odd bolts & helicoiled castings tend to be a pain. Whatever car you run - especially given the miles you'd do - it would be essential to keep a very close eye out for bolt loosening etc. It is time consuming.
Alternators Whatever car you run you might think of fitting an alternator (run off the driveshaft for example) as it would save aggravation over batteries. FRenaults have them already but none of the other cars do
Formula Ford (Kent engine)
Cheap £3k-£5k for a tidy car...but the idea & appearance won't excite your customers.
Pre 85-86 cars have wide bodies so everybody can get in easily.
Formula Ford 2000 (1980s)
Lots of room...£4k -£8k slicks & wings & go well, cheap Pinto engines but cars are old fashioned & not cheap as they can run in numerous race series so there is a strong market for them. Probably a better bet than a Kent or a Zetec though.
Formula Ford (Zetec)
Lots available £5k-8k quick but not particularly user friendly & not exciting to look at. All have narrow chassis & body so though most people can get in, not easy for everyone.
Formula Renault 1700
Very cheap £2k-£4k slicks & wings & big wheels but generally rather horrible...eg wet sump engines & production car gearboxes
Formula Renault 2 litre (1995-1999)
Modern and Sophisticated £6k-£8k look good & go well & tend to be reliable. Narrow chassis, so though
most people can be accommodated very large folk may struggle. Most of the cars have been run to very high standards so bits don't fall off
Formula Vauxhall-Lotus/FOpel
Very pretty £7k-£8k Quick, look very pretty & flatter their drivers. Most people can get in
but mk2 shape body has to be fitted after driver installed so time consuming. Cars have had a lot of use so
things can tend to be tired & bits can fall off
Formula Vauxhall Junior(8v) & Formula Vauxhall (16v)
Good Value (8v) £2.5k-£4k (16v) £4k - £5.5k) These initially came in 8v format & then were updated to 16v format with revised body etc in 1998.The 16v versions (Corsa GSi engine) are much better with throttle body injection and excellent engine etc & go very well. Cockpit seems enormous so everyone is sure they'll get in. 16v cars very quick, reliable & cheap to run....but no wings. ...could be fitted with wings (+ £600 ish) but then they become hybrids
Jedi ,OMS & other motorcycle engined things
Quick £6-£10k tend to have big cockpits & go very well but older generation of customers (like me!)
may have irrational prejudice against 'em.
Formula 3 cars
Technological delights (7k-£10k + £1k-2k engine change ) superb build quality & technology, look great & will really impress......but will require engine change (ie remove F3 unit & install road going spec engine of same make - F3 engine can be sold to recoup portion of cost of engine change). May be expensive to fix if
they suffer damage
Other things to consider
Tyres...if you intend to run the cars on the tyres they were designed for then Zetecs & FRenaults have an advantage as the correct excellent tyres can be obtained for free or next to nothing from teams running current variants.
Brakes...if the cars are really being driven vigorously they will consume pads at a surprising rate...after all you do a lot of miles on your trackdays ....so some cars may benefit from a change of caliper to allow pads with a longer life.
"...I can't get in! " most race cars can accommodate most of the population but many people
initially baulk at the idea they can get into the apparently tiny space in the more modern race cars.
You either take the trouble to 'fit' them properly into the car...or you get something like an FF2000 or a FVauxhall which have cockpits (which though not really any bigger) are constructed in a way which makes people feel there is a lot more space available.
Maintenance The key things that affect the reliability/ease of repair of single seaters tend to be the
state of the threads/quality of fastners used in the car. Old race cars with lots of odd bolts & helicoiled castings tend to be a pain. Whatever car you run - especially given the miles you'd do - it would be essential to keep a very close eye out for bolt loosening etc. It is time consuming.
Alternators Whatever car you run you might think of fitting an alternator (run off the driveshaft for example) as it would save aggravation over batteries. FRenaults have them already but none of the other cars do
Andy, cheers for such a great reply. Looking for a car just for me to do track days, driven FF and a Formula Palmer Audi in the past so know I fit. The price i'll looking to pay is circa 4-4.5k have done Caterhams on track days as well as saloons but fancied the single seater option as this was the buy far the most entertaining/demanding
Cheers again, and to all the other replies
Darren
Cheers again, and to all the other replies
Darren
As has been mentioned you will be limited to which circuits you can drive the ss on for trackdays
All the Octagoon circuits (plus a fair few others) will not allow single seaters to mix with other cars and so would require the TDO to run a seperate session just for the single seaters. This is unlikely to happen at the moment as there isn't enough people with them to justify running a session.
All the Octagoon circuits (plus a fair few others) will not allow single seaters to mix with other cars and so would require the TDO to run a seperate session just for the single seaters. This is unlikely to happen at the moment as there isn't enough people with them to justify running a session.
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