Bringing it home... 49's first race at Zandvoort 1967

[Lou Drozdowski]

It's hard to believe that almost 50 years have passed since that storied season of 1967...

One thing is for sure, although there have been many great teams and drivers to tackle the landscape of formula one, the combination of pure elegance in machinery and superior talent are hard pressed to match this trio. ld

   

[BDA]

That was certainly the dream team of that era. Another great photo, Lou. Thanks!

[Lou Drozdowski]

A very old wise man once told me...

It's good to know where you are going but best to know where you have been.

"Racing is life" everything else is just waiting!...Steve Mcqueen

[BDA]

Pretty cars even in black and white. Thinking about Chapman, it must have been interesting for him to reflect on the changes in race car technology over his life!

[Bainford]

Thanks Lou. I never get tired of looking at these cars.

[Lou Drozdowski]

Amazing detail...Have some spare change lying around?
You can have your very own Lotus 49 for a mere $6000...ld 

Better yet...Look up the name Andy Mathews, premier model master who made 12 of these in 1997.
 With over 3600 pieces and nearly 3 years of work this brilliant example of a 1/12 scale type 49 will cost you only 20k....

The cam cover alone has over 100 pieces...ever nut, bolt, washer...Fantastic!

# 4 is on e bay at the moment...ld

[Lou Drozdowski]

Back then there was no telemetry...just straight forward communication and a few pieces of paper passed on.

Could you imagine F1 today if all outside influences were eliminated and teams could not rely on real time data acquisition?

Maybe I'm wishing too hard...ld 

[BDA]

Yeah. I wonder what is on those computer screens they put in front of the driver when they sit in the garage... It's got to be a lot more than tire temps! 

[Lou Drozdowski]

The double four valve in its primal state, possibly the most desired and evolutionary engine of that period. Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth changed the face of formula one. Here was a power plant that put out around 450 bhp and could be purchased for ten thousand dollars. It was so good, that many teams reverted to it's compact shape and minimal weight.

As a side note, I just watched the story of Ken Tyrell... Jackie Stewart mentioned if it not for this engine he would not have captured his second and third worlds championship.

This magical motor was developed to remain competitive for almost 20 years. ld     

[BDA]

How quaint! The DFV has a distributor!! 

[Bainford]

I love the packaging of this engine. Though it's very old school today, it's apparent simplicty is a pleasure to behold, as is it's 'no nonsense' looks. A wonderful marvel of engineering, and having read a book a while back on the exploits of Costin/Duckworth that included the story of the development of this engine, I find myself in awe that so much was done with so little. perhaps most impressive is how little development time went into the project. In today's engineering environment, it simply blows my mind.

[BDA]

Obviously, I was joking. Here's a pretty interesting video about the DFV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzrUiqRdTV8

[Roger]

The Blunsden/Phipps book Such Sweet Thunder tells the story and is a "must" for a DFV fan.

[Lou Drozdowski]

The first working DFV coffee table...err...helmet stand.

Sound effect for photo # 2.....Waaaaaaaaaaaah,
 Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, Vrooom, Vrooom, Waaaaaaaaaah.....ld

Pictures Courtesy of the Revs Institute...really!

[BDA]

I obviously didn't notice it before but that roll bar is pretty wimpy as well as low. I know it wasn't that uncommon for the roll bar to be below the top of the driver's helmet - I think because it was thought that your back would have no trouble compressing an inch or two! Of course, a higher bar provide more wind resistance! One as small as that probably wouldn't provide much resistance, but then the car wasn't supposed to be upside down, was it?