Elden MK.10 Formula Ford, Resto/rebuild thread Options

['73-914kid]

I know it's not Porsche content, but I figured some of you guys would be interested in seeing the car as it undergoes a down to frame rebuild.

A week ago my dad and I went ahead and purchased a Formula Ford, something we both had talked about doing for getting myself involved in racing. My dad got his start in Formula Fords, so we thought it would be fitting I do the same. We stumbled on this car locally, so it was convenient for us to get it instead of trying to go out of state. It is a 1974 Elden MK.10, one of the last Mk.10's imported from England by Carl Haas. (like pretty much every english racecar it seems)

Overall the car is in pretty good shape, but being me, I didn't trust the preparation of the car, and we noticed some cracked brazing, so down to bare frame it comes to fix things that need to be fixed, and do things our way.

Here's the starting pictures, the morning after we picked it up:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i260.photobucket.com-9714-1347406292.1.jpg)
Today's project has been removing the suspension and bodywork all around the car To prepare for removing the aluminum skin and other parts. I must say, there is an odd vibe with this car, where there's so much to do, you don't know what to do first. I've come to the conclusion that since everything needs to come apart, a list will help keep things sane. So far, all but the front left corner have been removed, bagged, and tagged.
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i260.photobucket.com-9714-1347406292.2.jpg)


More to come tomorrow, which hopefully will involve engine/gearbox removal.

[mrbubblehead]

cool ethan....that things badass. where are you gonna race it?

['73-914kid]

The car is VARA legal, so i know for a fact we'll run it at big Willow at their VARA events. Then track days for seat time/practice. The eventual plan is to run it at the Coronado speed fest next year after the car is finished. To be perfectly honest though, its first shake down will be at Adams motorsport park on a time attacktuesday, so i'll let you know when that is if youd like to be there for it, haha

['73-914kid]

ack, double post

[stewteral]

I know it's not Porsche content, but I figured some of you guys would be interested in seeing the car as it undergoes a down to frame rebuild.

A week ago my dad and I went ahead and purchased a Formula Ford, something we both had talked about doing for getting myself involved in racing. My dad got his start in Formula Fords, so we thought it would be fitting I do the same. We stumbled on this car locally, so it was convenient for us to get it instead of trying to go out of state. It is a 1974 Elden MK.10, one of the last Mk.10's imported from England by Carl Haas. (like pretty much every english racecar it seems)

Overall the car is in pretty good shape, but being me, I didn't trust the preparation of the car, and we noticed some cracked brazing, so down to bare frame it comes to fix things that need to be fixed, and do things our way.

Here's the starting pictures, the morning after we picked it up:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i260.photobucket.com-9714-1347406292.1.jpg)
Today's project has been removing the suspension and bodywork all around the car To prepare for removing the aluminum skin and other parts. I must say, there is an odd vibe with this car, where there's so much to do, you don't know what to do first. I've come to the conclusion that since everything needs to come apart, a list will help keep things sane. So far, all but the front left corner have been removed, bagged, and tagged.
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i260.photobucket.com-9714-1347406292.2.jpg)

More to come tomorrow, which hopefully will involve engine/gearbox removal.

Hey Ethan,

Great News! I just bought a 1983 Royale Formula Ford last week! If you haven't driven an FF before, I can promise you the BEST handling you have ever experienced. This is where I started racing years ago.

My 1st FF was a Lotus 61 and I can remember tiimes where I couldn't tell where my "human" input ended and the FF started. The impression was that the car would just go where I THOUGHT.

Like you, I need some time to clean up, restore and prepare for track outings. Thus, I'm looking at Spring 2013. I've contacted XtremeSpeedTrackEvents.com and SpeedVentures.com and have been given the "thumbs-up" to run with them.

I like open track days (rather than wheel-to-wheel racing) for the fun of driving, so if that is your goal OR you want some track-time to shake out the car and work on you skills, these track-days and a great opportunity.

I hope to see you at a 2013 event,

Terry

[brant]

nice project.
that is an awesome starting point

are you going to be out at coronado this year looking over the competition?

please come by and say hi
we will be there with a teener

brant

[mrbubblehead]

The car is VARA legal, so i know for a fact we'll run it at big Willow at their VARA events. Then track days for seat time/practice. The eventual plan is to run it at the Coronado speed fest next year after the car is finished. To be perfectly honest though, its first shake down will be at Adams motorsport park on a time attacktuesday, so i'll let you know when that is if youd like to be there for it, haha

yes, please let me know when you go to adams. we will go for sure.

['73-914kid]

@stewteral, that Royale is an awesome starting point. I've never driven an FF, but from what my dad's told me, it's like nothing else. He used to run a Lola 342 back in the mid 80's, and he can't wait to see ow the Elden compares. Just for the sake of seat time, a track event seems like a great idea.

@brant, I go every year to the speedfest, and it's always a great time. The hope is to see what other FF guys are running, and how they've done certain things on the cars. I'll definetly stop by and say hi this year. Hopefully I can get a corral pass to park with the SD region PCA.

[brant]

Ethan,

cool
orange #914

['73-914kid]

Well, I woke up this morning with the sole intention of removing the engine, and I'm happy say it came out nice and easy, only with the errant spill of gear oil and motor oil out of the dry sump pump.

For about 30 years, my dad has had an engine/gearbox assembly stand in the attic, and we assumed it would work for the Cortina block.. It originally didn't fit the Pinto block that is used in his BDA on the atlantic, because of the dry sump pump, and now it won't fit mine because the engine mount boss is rotated 90 degrees... time to fabricate one I guess.

Well, here's the damage after this morning:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i260.photobucket.com-9714-1347473408.1.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i260.photobucket.com-9714-1347473409.2.jpg)

[Andyrew]

What trani does that use? Its quite interesting. Is the inboard brakes setup part of the trani setup like the jag or is that an add on?

['73-914kid]

All formula fords use a Hewland mk.9 built on a vw transmission case flipped upside down. The vw case ismachined to accept the hewland internals.

The side covers are hewland parts as well, and are cast with bosses for inboard brakes and for transmission mounts to the chassis. Most of the older formula ford run inboard brakes from what i can gather.

[Thestigz06]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[Randal]

You guys are having way to much fun!

So what all is involved now that you have the car apart? What are you going to rebuild, etc.

['73-914kid]

Today was a pretty wasted day I'm afraid. School shopping and gun cleaning meant that the Elden was on the back burner today.

The list is really quite long.. and I guess it's time to make a check list for everything.

-Strip down the car, removal of all suspension and associated compnents
-Re-align shift forks in gearbox.
-New front radiator
-Grit Blast the chassis, and repair the one obvious crack, and re-braze the rear shock mounts.
-Paint the chassis satin black, and nickel coat all suspension pieces.
-re-pipe the engine oiling system with -AN fittings and Stainless braided lines instead of the rubber lines it had on it
-Install Fuel Safe bladder instead of the fiberglass fuel tank/seat
-Run new wiring including battery cables
-relocate Battery to underneath drivers knees
-Retrofit car with an under-knee fire bottle
-Route new brake hard lines and clutch slave line
-Mount Oil cooler on top of gearbox.
-Mount water hardlines to allow for expansion from the chassis.

The motor is in very good shape since it was rebuilt. the logbook has a recorded 6 hours on the rebuild, and compression/leakdown test all say it's in great shape. Plus it burns ZERO oil.

Other than the little things, that's about it, minus bodywork. Luckily most of the bodywork is free of cracks and free of repairs, which is odd for all this original fiberglass, and the two rather severe crashes it sustained back in the early 80's.

[Randal]

Today was a pretty wasted day I'm afraid. School shopping and gun cleaning meant that the Elden was on the back burner today.

The list is really quite long.. and I guess it's time to make a check list for everything.

-Strip down the car, removal of all suspension and associated compnents
-Re-align shift forks in gearbox.
-New front radiator
-Grit Blast the chassis, and repair the one obvious crack, and re-braze the rear shock mounts.
-Paint the chassis satin black, and nickel coat all suspension pieces.
-re-pipe the engine oiling system with -AN fittings and Stainless braided lines instead of the rubber lines it had on it
-Install Fuel Safe bladder instead of the fiberglass fuel tank/seat
-Run new wiring including battery cables
-relocate Battery to underneath drivers knees
-Retrofit car with an under-knee fire bottle
-Route new brake hard lines and clutch slave line
-Mount Oil cooler on top of gearbox.
-Mount water hardlines to allow for expansion from the chassis.

The motor is in very good shape since it was rebuilt. the logbook has a recorded 6 hours on the rebuild, and compression/leakdown test all say it's in great shape. Plus it burns ZERO oil.

Other than the little things, that's about it, minus bodywork. Luckily most of the bodywork is free of cracks and free of repairs, which is odd for all this original fiberglass, and the two rather severe crashes it sustained back in the early 80's.

You reminded me I need to clean my 20 guage after bird shooting on Sunday.

You have a ton of work to do, but I'll bet that car will be beautiful and functional. Nothing bettter.

Come up and run a hill climb with us next year. FF's do really well at Cascade!

[Randal]

Today was a pretty wasted day I'm afraid. School shopping and gun cleaning meant that the Elden was on the back burner today.

The list is really quite long.. and I guess it's time to make a check list for everything.

-Strip down the car, removal of all suspension and associated compnents
-Re-align shift forks in gearbox.
-New front radiator
-Grit Blast the chassis, and repair the one obvious crack, and re-braze the rear shock mounts.
-Paint the chassis satin black, and nickel coat all suspension pieces.
-re-pipe the engine oiling system with -AN fittings and Stainless braided lines instead of the rubber lines it had on it
-Install Fuel Safe bladder instead of the fiberglass fuel tank/seat
-Run new wiring including battery cables
-relocate Battery to underneath drivers knees
-Retrofit car with an under-knee fire bottle
-Route new brake hard lines and clutch slave line
-Mount Oil cooler on top of gearbox.
-Mount water hardlines to allow for expansion from the chassis.

The motor is in very good shape since it was rebuilt. the logbook has a recorded 6 hours on the rebuild, and compression/leakdown test all say it's in great shape. Plus it burns ZERO oil.

Other than the little things, that's about it, minus bodywork. Luckily most of the bodywork is free of cracks and free of repairs, which is odd for all this original fiberglass, and the two rather severe crashes it sustained back in the early 80's.

You reminded me I need to clean my 20 guage after bird shooting on Sunday.

You have a ton of work to do, but I'll bet that car will be beautiful and functional. Nothing bettter.

Come up and run a hill climb with us next year. FF's do really well at Cascade!

Or better yet bring the teener and join me chasing down the Z06's.

[stewteral]

@stewteral, that Royale is an awesome starting point. I've never driven an FF, but from what my dad's told me, it's like nothing else. He used to run a Lola 342 back in the mid 80's, and he can't wait to see ow the Elden compares. Just for the sake of seat time, a track event seems like a great idea.

Hey '73-914kid,

Dang, I wish you hadn't mentioned your DAD, as my first SCCA racing was in a Lotus 61 in 1971.....yup, I'm THAT old. However, there is still no joy greater than THROWING a great chassis into a corner than with a FF!

So, I'm looking forward to that WONDERFULL integration of "man" and machine in this "new" Formula Ford.

If you have been paying attention to my posting, over the last 10 years I've been developing the chassis of my 914-V8, but I still lust for the feel of a Formula Ford.
It's pretty good, now, however, I'm looking to sell the 914-V8 to follow my years-long addiction the Formula Car handling.

As I mentioned, I'll be out in early 2013 with the Royale and would love to run some laps with you on Streets of Willow Springs. I will not longer run Big Willow as they have made the T-8 to T-9 complex so dangerous. I'll leave that track to the YOUNG and "immortal", as I once was. Funny how 6-weeks in hospital after a FF crash can change one's view of life.

Best,
Terry
Camarillo, CA

[stewteral]

Today was a pretty wasted day I'm afraid. School shopping and gun cleaning meant that the Elden was on the back burner today.

The list is really quite long.. and I guess it's time to make a check list for everything.

-Strip down the car, removal of all suspension and associated compnents
-Re-align shift forks in gearbox.
-New front radiator
-Grit Blast the chassis, and repair the one obvious crack, and re-braze the rear shock mounts.
-Paint the chassis satin black, and nickel coat all suspension pieces.
-re-pipe the engine oiling system with -AN fittings and Stainless braided lines instead of the rubber lines it had on it
-Install Fuel Safe bladder instead of the fiberglass fuel tank/seat
-Run new wiring including battery cables
-relocate Battery to underneath drivers knees
-Retrofit car with an under-knee fire bottle
-Route new brake hard lines and clutch slave line
-Mount Oil cooler on top of gearbox.
-Mount water hardlines to allow for expansion from the chassis.

The motor is in very good shape since it was rebuilt. the logbook has a recorded 6 hours on the rebuild, and compression/leakdown test all say it's in great shape. Plus it burns ZERO oil.

Other than the little things, that's about it, minus bodywork. Luckily most of the bodywork is free of cracks and free of repairs, which is odd for all this original fiberglass, and the two rather severe crashes it sustained back in the early 80's.

Hey ''73-914kid',

GOOD ON YOU for doing the full engine/drive-train removla and restoration!! I believe I must do the same with my Royale. It really looks like "Rode hard & put away Wet!" Since we own Historic cars, they deserve to have someone care enough the bring them back to what they were. I suggest thinking about Workmanship rather than expediency. On my car I've already found so many
"short-cut" back-yard work done on the car. The P.O. owner was an Engineer, but while he was great on ideas, he was WEAK on workmanship. This is not unusual.

All the best to you & your great project,
Terry

[Downunderman]

Having just been through this with a smallish CanAm type car locally, are you planning on getting all the drilled out rivet heads out of the frame tubes and welding up all the rivet holes, squaring up the frame and then re-drilling it for the tin ware? Grit blasting after the rivet holes are welded up saves a lot of messing around getting the grit out of the frame tubes.