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THE COMPLETE RIGHT FRONT SUSPENSION ASSEMBLY FROM A CITATION-ZINK Z16 DURING A FRAME-UP REBUILD. ALL COMPONENTS HAVE BEEN DISASSEMBLED, CLEANED, CRACK CHECKED AND PAINTED OR PLATED AS APPROPRIATE. NEW SPHERICAL BEARINGS AND ROD ENDS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED AND ALL HARDWARE IS BEING REPLACED WITH AN BOLTS (with the proper grip length), WASHERS AND NYLOCKS. IN THIS CASE, THE FABRICATED HUB HAS BEEN FITTED WITH NEW BEARINGS AND THE THROUGH BOLT IS BEING REPLACED BY A LARGER DIAMETER BOLT. SHOCK AND SPRING HAVE BEEN CHECKED AND SEALS IN THE CALIPER REPLACED.

REYNARD 1984

The rear suspension of a Reynard 84F showed a new level of sophistication that Formula Fords were adopting in the mid-1980's. In this case, as designed by Adrian Reynard, the upper rocker arms took on a wing-like configuration, coil-over shocks are positioned tight to the sides of the transmission case and a cockpit adjustable sway bar mechanism has been incorporated.

Fuel bladders on the Lola 342 were contained within an area outside of the chassis members and were only protected by a thin aluminum side panel. These bladders were based on aircraft fuel tanks and were made of fairly puncture resistant materials but they were still exposed to potential damage in accidents.

This photo shows a "FuelSafe" wedge shaped fuel cell retro-fitted behind the seat and covered by an aluminum enclosure as required by SCCA regs. In the case of the 342 chassis, this modification necessitates shifting the oil sump tank to another location such as alongside the front left of the engine. As a result, the fuel load is centralized and as fuel is burned, the left/right weight balance of the car is maintained.

SHOCK ABSORBERS
Shock absorbers or "dampers", as the Brits like to call them, have always played a key part in handling department but their contribution has expanded exponentially in recent years. From the earliest days of the class up through the 90's, cars were typically fitted with simple SPAX, Koni or Bilstein shocks and although they were often re-valved in order to improve handling characteristics, not a lot of attention was paid to them. You could get a whole set of them for a few hundred dollars. As it is now, many front running Formula Fords have extremely sophisticated shock absorbers with multiple adjustments, fitted with external gas canisters Costs have risen just a little bit....up to as much as $5,000 a set! So much for a low cost class.

Suspensions on the earliest batch of FF1600 cars - such as on this Macon built in 1969 - were simple and rugged yet effective. Typically the front 'upright' was a standard Triumph spindle.

Front suspension of the Reynard 84F. Looking at it now, it looks positively "vintage" when compared to all the spiffy pull rod suspensions found on all the great cars being built now in 2011!

The TITAN cast aluminum pan is a well designed and engineered piece which, like the similar ARE pan made in the US, allows for very efficient pick-up of the oil. It can also add to the structural rigidity of the block and chassis by virtue of its additional mounting holes.

A typical stamped metal KENT engine oil pan modified by adding a valley the full length which is then fitted with a baffle to keep the oil down at the pick-up point. It could be argued that this simple design does everything necessary and that spiffy case pans are overkill !

The suspension of the world-beating SWIFT DB-1 was a refinement of the sophisticated design that Dave Bruns employed in his previous masterpiece, the ADF. The front suspension and the chassis design it was fitted to took FF1600 design to new levels - as did the entire DB-1 concept.