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Image FF2B
Hi There!
Only the other day I posted on the forum in search of an Image FF2 as I used to work on these cars back in the 1970's when they were first built.
As people have said the radiator should be front mounted, the nose cone had a shark like appearance with air intakes either side. Several cars had subsequent side radiator modifications to make them like the Hawkes, van Diemens and Royales in period.
I have a photo of Mike Baker's (menu Motorsport fame) car in Nashua Carbonless livery being raced at Cadwell Park with side radiators.
The original works car was raced by Frank Bayes but other luminaries such as Rob Wilson and John Morrison raced for the team in their earlier days with the FF1 which was originally badged as FSL cars.
I have photos of the works FF2B car in Sadlers Garden Centre livery at Thruxton so these could give an idea of the correct bodywork configuration.
I also keep in regular contact with the designer of the car and founder of Image Race Cars who is Alan Langridge. Alan lives in France now but he is often back and forth to the UK as he has a very active Landrover parts and reconditioning business based in the Vendee near La Rochelle.
The cars were all dry sumped, they were all Kent engined cars and various customers used different tuners, I seem to recall that Minister, Scholar and Rowland were the most frequent names but there was a guy from Cranleigh in Surrey who built some engines under the GGS banner (Gaston Gate Services) which were very quick.
Wheels were Weller for the Triumph Vitesse I seem to think, anyway 5.5" x 13" pressed steel.
The front uprights came from a Triumph Herald as did many cars of the time.
I think that the water rails ran outside the car or in the side pods but make sure that they dont run through the actual chassis rails. I think that was the earlier FF1.
Braking was the biggest issue of the FF2 and that was perhaps due to the height of the master cylinders, they just needed to be pressure bled carefully.
The triangulation of the chassis was really good and the parellel link rear suspension was good to set up.
I cant recall what dampers we used originally, Spax rings to mind although they were blue coloured I think that may have been something else.
Drivers of the FF2 and 2B included Frank Bayes, Mike (Fulmar) Taylor, Murray Dudgeon, Nick Ward, Derek Hills, David Wigdor, Flynn Whiting and many others.
Frank drove the works car and was really competitive, I was working with the team at a race meeting at the Brands GP circuit where Frank and Derek Warwick had the most almighty scrap, wheel to wheel all race long.
Warwick won it by the tightest of margins in the works Hawke DL17?
The main protagonists of the time were Derek Daley, Bernard Devaney, Derek Warwick, Jim Walsh, Rick Morris, Phillip Bullman and so many other great drivers, some of whom are still out there racing now.
These were the heady days of Formula Ford, there was really only this and Formula Vee at the time and everyone went to Ford if they were going up the ladder.
I raced in the Champion of Brands series and we had two heats and a final at each event and that was early '80s! The Festival was something else, a truly International super competitive weekend.
There used to be a Pre 74 Festival at one time too which bought out some really good drivers, Frank Bradley and lots of names. I guess that the Walter Hayes has sort of taken over that mantle now.
Thanks to so many one make race series it is unlikely that this sort of era will be replicated but watch the Historic and Classic FF grids because they are building and the likes of James Beckett and Peter Alexander at Brands Hatch are really pushing the boundaries to get more of these iconic cars back out.
I would love to find an Image but in the meantime you need to put yours into true FF1600 spec and be out there racing.
I will ask Alan Langridge if he has any information anywhere that may assist you, if you have the chassis number it may be possible to work out who had it originally.
Great car, a potentially great giant killer!
Best of luck
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