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The Formula First update concept is the best possible solution because of two major factors. Factor one, the rules were developed and written by Formula Vee racers that had been racing in the class for decades. A lot of thought went into the Formula First rules in the attempt to make improvements to fit the current racecar market. Here are some improvement examples.
• Allowing the cars wheelbase and over-all length to be longer. This provides a long car in the cockpit, giving tall people a chance to race, safely. The longer over-all length gives the car a better look and more flexibility on styling
• Letting the weight to go up to 1125 lb. to facilitate participation by larger drivers and avoiding excessively light components
• Mandating large cockpit opening (FIA F3 specification)
• Removing the rear body fan shroud rule
• Allowing 4 wheel disc brakes
• Restricting tires to a hard compound slick
• Allowing rack and pinion steering
• Introducing electronic ignition
• Allowing aftermarket parts where no performance advantage accrues
• Restricting expensive engine components
• Allowing dry sump oiling systems
• Using a restrictor plate as an incentive to prevent exotic rebuilding of manifolds, carburetors and heads
• And the most important, allowing for the conversion of an existing Formula Vee into Formula First
Factor two was the decision to tap into the existing VW aftermarket for new components. In rest of the world, Formula Vee has evolved to include the later model VW 1600cc engine, rather than the 1200cc, which was last production in 1965. Wider tires and disc brakes are commonplace in FV in other parts of the world as well. Globally, everyone still uses the VW front beam, but the rest of the world can use the ball joint variant. The Formula First update addresses all these issues. It takes advantage of the robust VW aftermarket industry, which services everything from airplane racing, desert racing, dune cruising, drag racing and street cruising. The VW aftermarket produces all the parts necessary to equip a Formula First with modern racecar parts. Formula First is a great extension of the original Formula Vee concept and the conversion process is not as hard as one might think. Its components are familiar, but slightly different.
Get a Good Conversion Candidate
The Formula Vee you start off with is important. A Formula First car needs to weigh 1125 lbs vs. 1025 lbs for Formula Vee, so if your plan is to purchase an old car to convert, the chassis should be one of substantial construction built by a major Formula Vee manufacture.
If you’re going to purchase an FV specifically for conversion, look for a car with lots of spare FV VW components. In many cases, the selling of the FV VW components (engine, trans, beam, ect) will fund a huge portion of your conversion parts shopping list.
Good Conversion Candidates:
Adams Aero, BRD, Caracal (Lynx), Citation, Crusader, Mysterian, Protoform, Vector, Vortech, VDF, Womer, Zink Z-18B
Not So Good Conversion Candidates:
Any FV built before 1969 (it has too much vintage value), Caldwell D-13, Zink Z-5, Z-12, Z-18A, Laser L-85 or any home built/one-off chassis could make your conversion more difficult.
Conversion Component Purchase List
Listed is a complete major component list for a full Formula First conversion. Get components from a company that will help with any required technical support. Here is the full list of components and related tech info.
• Formula First Engine
• Engine Cooling Scoops
• Formula First Gearbox
• Ball Joint Front Beam
• Disc Brakes and Wheels
• Adjusting Rear Wheel Bearing Axial Clearance
• Rack and Pinion Steering
• Rear Suspension
• Exhaust System
• Bodywork Modifications
• Alignment Settings
Listed below is detailed info on each of these components
Formula First Engine
Formula First rules makers are experienced Formula Vee racers and are all too familiar with the weaknesses of those engine rules. Professional engine builders dominate Formula Vee because the rules allow components to be radically lightened and re-machined. These practices have for the most part been removed in Formula First. This was done to allow for building engines without professional help. So go ahead and build your own motor. If it is not up to par, you can always send it to a professional. Last season there were four professional engine builders and two “do-it-yourselfers” that built Formula First engines. Those in a position to know were unable to see any major differences between any of the motors. Again the engine rules are working.
Engine Cooling Scoops
This will vary by the type of scoops on your FV. More than likely, the FV scoops were designed to cool the 1200cc engine. Based on this, there is a good chance that they will not work for the 1600cc. Some FV cars do have very efficient cooling and may possibly work for the new 1600cc engine. If you have to build new ones, keep in mind that the 1600cc engine makes more heat. You need more cooling air delivered to the heads and cylinders, so the duct opening needs to be larger. There are two philosophies on scoop design at this point. One is that the VW factory engineers knew what they were doing when they designed the factory tins. So they use the factory lower tin and build scoops to deliver cooling air into the VW tin. The other thought is to design complete new ductwork built out of fiberglass or aluminum. One generalization all agree with is that about 20 square inches of intake area in clean air is needed as a minimum. Whenever you are developing a new cooling system, it is highly advisable to install a VDO cylinder head temperature gauge to verify the effectiveness of your ductwork. I would also recommend that the sender not be installed under the spark plug. Instead use a second nut and install it on the upper #3 cylinder head stud. That’s the one just behind the intake manifold casting. In that way, the spark plug tension or threads are never in any danger of damage. With the sender in this location, the head temp should read a maximum of 325 F on hot days. Cool days will always reflect lower head temps. Also, you will notice the highest temps at the slowest part of the course and lowest temps at the fastest part of the course regardless of engine rpm.
Formula First Gearbox
This is the only major component carry over from Formula Vee. The only thing that is really changed is that Formula First rules allow the use of only one specific gearbox. That gearbox uses the 4.125 final drive, known as the long box. The gearing allowed is again restricted to the 1.26 third and .89 forth gears. The swing axles are the same used in Formula Vee.
The only potential for a needed modification is if you have a early 1200cc bell housing. The 1600cc flywheel is larger and material will need to be removed in order to install the engine. Most long boxes came from cars with the 200mm flywheel, but you can run into small bell housings. A die grinder and a sharp bit is all you need to make it fit. Here’s is a simple method on how to do it. Take an old 1600 flywheel and gland nut and bolt it to a crankshaft. Slip the assembly on the transmission’s input shaft then turn the crank. Where you have to grind is apparent because the flywheel will scratch the case. Again mark those areas with a black marker. Using a die grinder, only take off enough material so the flywheel can spin freely. Minimize grinding under the starter bushing.
Ball Joint Front End
Formula First rules allows for the update from the link pin beam to the ball joint beam. When you first get your new beam you will notice that the four mounting holes are not spaced the same vertically. You can use three methods, the first is to weld a plate over the beam holes then drill the 1200 pattern into the beam. The second thing is to use the bottom holes to mount to your frame and then re-drill the upper holes in the beam. You can go one step further and modify the beam mounting holes on the chassis and change the hole location to match the ball joint mounting pattern.
The standard ball joint torsion spring is a bit softer in use than the link pin spring. Aftermarket springs will work best for increasing front spring rate. You can also locate your ride height adjuster on the top bar for more room as most likely you’re going to mount a new steering rack as well.
Another thing to remember is that really large diameter sway bars don’t fit in the ball joint beam, so an 11/16” diameter bar is the maximum for the beam without internal modifications. Some builders have used a spring pack on both the top and on the bottom beam tubes with adjusters on both. The result is adjustment for both ride height and rate. In these applications an external sway bar makes for easy chassis tuning.
If you’re building a ball joint beam with outboard shocks or a rocker arm arrangement, remember that front shock travel ratio on a ball joint beam travel is 1:1 versus 1:2 on a link pin beam.
The ball joint front beam has one huge advantage over the link pin beam in the caster camber eccentric. Caster and camber changes take seconds. In fact, assembly of a complete ball joint beam takes just a few minutes. When you rotate the caster/camber eccentrics, remember that both geometries are changed. Always set your caster/camber before adjusting toe as eccentric rotation will change toe.
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