Brabham BT40

[Collin Jackson]

Hello everyone, I am new to the site.
-I just took possesion of the Ex: Lader/Householder
BT40-37!
She is in good condition as she was tested earlier this year by Ron Householder.
The car has not raced previous since 1978!

Does anyone have a new replacement fuel cells?
-Or have a vendor that already has the drawings
done for the cells?

PS: I did get a narrow nose design mold with the car if it
helps anyone.

Collin Jackson
Canada
cjackson@bmandm.com

[Bryan Miller]

Welcome Colin from Australia.

I own BT40-17 the ex Chuck Dietrich BT40 .

What rear wing do you have ?

I need to return my car to 1973 spec. with the fibreglass rear wing and small
diameter tube mount system not like the horrible alloy wing with centre mount the car came with.

Bryan Miller.

[Collin Jackson]

Bryan

I do have an original wing and mount.
Not for sale.
I can e-mail you some pictures.
-Send me your direct e-mail address.

Collin

[Bryan Miller]

Colin,

email is easternraceparts@hotmail.com

Thank you .

[Collin Jackson]

Does anyone out there have a rear wing mould?

I do have two wings, but both wings are old and worn.

I am considering making a mould of a rear wing if enough guys are interested in a wing.
Please advise
Collin Jackson

[Collin Jackson]

OK Another Question.

Anyone have any luck striaghtening BT40 mag wheels?
A couple of mine have about a 1/4"-3/8" wobble.
-No cracks or dents.
Any tips on how, or who, would be appreciated.

IE: I don't want to break one as they seem to be impossible to replace.

Collin J

[Bryan Miller]

Colin,

I will send separate email re. various now I am back from racing.

Wheels , I only have the Dymag type rears which are near perfect now , we were chasing 15/20 thou. run out , 1/4'' is seriously bad.

Bryan.

[Collin Jackson]

Anyone have a setup sheet on the BT40?
I would be willing to pay someone to scan it for me?

Collin Jackson

PS: I just made a replacement Oil tank for my car. Turned out awesome. Mine was starting to leak at the mounting seals and I did not want to modify the original piece. Now that was a complicated pattern to make up.

[RJR]

did carlos reuteman ever run in the bt40 that season as he was supposed to?
if so, which car was it and is its whereabouts known?

[jstree]

Colin, id be interested in the rear wing mold group!
I just recently got a bunch of stuff from the brabham register, you could register with him, or i can provide you with what little i have.

Chris,
I realized after discussions with the brabham register guy that my later subframe number (AM74/75) probably means that my car was wrecked and fitted with a replacement rear subframe some time in '73~'75.. as the stamping indicates 1974.

it would be interesting if i have the remains of one of the cars that crashed in canada, the allan lader Sept 1973 one, the michael Hall july 1974 or Bill eagles one ( ? was this a crash, or just a DNF?) the car still has all the BT40 particulars, the wheels, uprights,etc.

Underneath all the paint are some Bright blue /bright green paint and stripes.. not sure if i could any pics in period of the car to locate where it came from.
in any case, happy holidays!
john

[Bryan Miller]

Rear wings BT40s.

I am the one that started this and have become sidetracked , so back to the grindstone .

We actually need two things , the wing and also the lovely tubular wing mount system.

I have a few small parts for mounting the wing and on the RHS rear also part
of the mount is for the oil cooler .

I am working with Lee Chapman in the USA as one source and also going to try and convince the owner of the only car in Australia to let me use his fora mould.

Calculations at the moment are if we can get a reasonable wing , then make perfect that wing , take a mould which will have to be at least in two parts then produce wings running the cost of the mould off over say 5 wings they should work out at approx $ 1000.00 each plus freight which will be a pain as these are bulky.

There doesn't seem to be any mould in the U.K. I have already checked with the person that best knows the U.K. situation , so we will probably have to do them ourselves .
There is a need for 4 wings in Australia plus supports .
We only have one correct set-up in Australia and as luck would have it that car is in Western Australia , 3000 kms away from me .

I will contact Lee and see where he is at.

Seperate matter , does anyone know what the mount on the LHS front of the bottom of the engine subframe holds , all cars I have looked at have nothing mounted , is it something for an F2 car that doesn't get used on Fbs
like my car BT40-18 ex Chuck Dietrich which I will fit with a correct Hart 416B Twin-cam which has Lucas injection , when I find it , or is it something for a high pressure Lucas pump mounting ???
It is two small tubes connected to a scalloped out cross plate and definately factory.

[jstree]

Bryan,
Ive never looked at the structure you described on the bottom of the chassis, but i went down and took a look at it after you mentioned it. Mine is unmarred by anything ever mounting to it..my guess would be that it might be some kind of shield or cage to protect the fuel injection transfer pump or that weird super thin lucas alternator mounted to the engine? mines an FB .. so i dont think it ever had FI.

as far as the wing goes, im really surprised that it was fiberglass.. this seems really heavy and unpredictable to make, especially with internal structure to withstand downforce. I would think it would be easier to make a negative copy of the chord of the wing, then just make duplicates of the chord and ship them to whoever needs them.. were essentially talking about a couple sq meters of sheet aluminum and some wooden chord dies made with a jigsaw.. very low cost. The patterns for the end plates would be almost as easy. Alot simpler and quicker to measure and create than a fiber glass mold, too. Ive had a couple conversations with old timers, and that seems to be the manufacturing method of choice.
heres an example of the chord manufacturing:
http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...ribs/index.htm

the aluminum is then simply wrapped around a sufficient number of evenly spaced chord templates- negative and positive shapes to form the aluminum, then the chords can be rendered in aluminum with flanges ( again formed on the wooden bucks) and riveted to the inner surface to make the full width wing with sufficient strength.

it would be a matter of minutes to take a negative of the wing with styrofoam, or drawn directly on a piece of wood at the end of the wing, and then transfer the positive shape to a piece of wood.

maybe we should transfer this discussion to another thread?
john

[jstree]

i posted a answer yesterday, but i think because i included an external link, it was stopped. my mistake.

Im really really surprised that the wings are fiberglass , not aluminum. that seems a bit weird from a manufacturing standpoint, as its so easy to make one out of aluminum..and aluminum wing chord patterns are ( relatively)easy to ship and create.

I think the bracketry you're referring to is a shield for the transfer pump or the alternator that could be mounted on BDAs? I looked at mine, and it looks as if nothing was ever clamped or attached to it.

[Bryan Miller]

John,

Yes , I believe aluminium would be a lot easier to make , however as I am Chairman of CAMS Historic Eligibility for all of Australia I need to be seen to do the right thing so Fibreglass is the only option .
Having stated that , the correct three mounting points on the fibreglass wing
are all recessed into the bottom surface which whilst not impossible in alloy is far easier in 'glass.

Re. the mounting bracket , if your car had a Hart 416B in period most probably it would have run Lucas injection.

As the cars were also for European F2 with at least one with a BMW M12/7 and another with a Cosworth BDG the bracket could be something for one of those two installations.

On your rear subframe there is the removable gearbox '' hanger'' , my car has a number on the LHS top that matches the AM number of the complete unit does yours , I also have a brand new never fitted perfect spare still with perfect Nickel plating and that has it's own number .

[jstree]

if the fiberglass is really the manufacturing method ( ive never seen a period wing on a BT40) then you could still measure the shape of the cross section chord out on a piece of wood, and use that wood to make a fiberglass molding buck. either a negative of the chord, or have the buck inside the wing.
it would probably be best to make a negative of each wing surface. then attach both halves together...

not necessarily too bad...

The only other BT40 ive seen here in colorado has an aftermarket wing on it.

[s004jrc]

Originally Posted by Chris Townsend

Agree that Titmus probably had a second BT40 in 1973 as he doesn't debut 40-33 in UK until 9 Sept 73 [Adam Ferrington noted chassis number at Oulton Park] and he's been driving a BT40 in SCCA before then. Hardly likely that he would have shipped that car back to UK for a few races and then back to US. I think he wanted to get a second car as back up and have a newer chassis for the SCCA run offs. 33 must have sat around the shop at MRE for some time as 36 is ready by June.

Quick recap on BT40s

11 - Opert: Probably Hall at 1972 ARRC then Brian Robertson [w/o Singapore GP] [probably used by Roos]. 1974: Rebuitl and raced as hire car by Opert team, 1975: Gary Wallace

12 -Works F2: Watson; 1974: Eugenio Baturone; 1977 John Hart; 1979: Barrie Dutnall

13 - not built?

14 - John Wingfield F2/F.Atlantic 1974: Wingfield for Ray Mallock, also 1975 then loaned to Len Booysen. Maybe taken back to ZA by Booysen

15: not known

16: not known

17: Ken Duclos to 1976, then Peter Gates Sr

18: Chuck Dietrich, 1974: David Ralston; 1976 Ned Clark

19: Vittorio Venturi F2; 1974 "Shangry La"

20: Italy, probably unused F2; 1974: Hans Rudi Wittwer

21: Graham Eden for Cyd Williams to 1976, then David Winstanley

22: Not known

23: not known

24: not known

25: not known

26: not known before 1982 in SCCA NE with John Macaluso. Area suggests might have been an Opert car or Canadian

27: not known, in Matthews collection recently

28: not known

29: not known

30: Olney Mairs to 1975, then Mark Munroe, 1979 Richard Christ

31: not known

32: not known in period but f/s Coys Padova 2006, suggesting Euro hillclimb history more than anything else

33: Titmus

34: not known

35: John McDonald [Hong Kong]

36: Works F2 de Adamich, 1974: Tom O'Leary; 1978 John Ledlie

37: Alan Lader probably replacing an earlier car, written off. 1974: Ron Householder

38: not known

39: not known before 1975: Moto Kitano Japanese F2. Suggests previous history in US or SEA.

Unknown users:

Opert has at least three cars in rotation, including one late season for Jaussaud at Trois Rivieres and new there, so 38?

Ed Reeves buys a car for Dave Morgan, damaged in pre-season and never raced

Albert Poon has one and keeps it in family to at least 1977 so can't be Kitano car

Craig Hill has one to end 74 and then goes to Howard Kelly 1976

Gilles Leger [Montreal] has one

Michael Hall perhaps rents from Opert, more likely to own car

John Milledge

Ron Southern [Glen Ellen CA] retained to at least 1976

Chris

Sorry for the very late reply to this posting, but I have recently become interested in the history of open wheel racing, was interested to see if my dad's name popped up anywhere. And I came across this post!

My dad is Ned Clark and he was the owner of the BT40-18. He is still an avid racer at 64 years old, and currently active in karting as well as restoring a 1985 Indy car for vintage racing. If anyone is interested in the history of his BT40-18, please let me know.

I grew up around that little race car, and I am sure my dad would be happy to share stories and photos of his days in the SCCA.

[Bryan Miller]

Hi,

Re. BT40-18 , I own the car now and it's in Australia and has been for quite a few years .
It was purchased from the Westerburg Collection in the USA by a South Australian Tim Kuchel , who then also purchased BT40-36 an ex works car and as I needed another project purchased the car from Tim about 4 months ago .
Car came with both the SCCA logbooks detailing every race it ran in .

Bryan Miller.

[Daisy Dobermann]

Originally Posted by Chris Townsend

Phil
BT40-30 was used in F3 in the UK. I have a chassis observation quite early in the season. I have contact with the family of the guy who owned it, and they have most of his archives, so we should be able to find the MRD invoice. I don't want to say who the owner or driver was at this stage. Hopefully there will be a copy invoice there for the sale to the USA

That the car could later be fitted with March bodywork is not such a surprise. Cyd Williams' BT40 ended up clad in 73B bodywork in the UK, though I didn't know Marc B did bodywork kits for the pre 75 models, nor that they fitted spaceframe Brabhams!

So, Phil, don't be confused the BT41 has a clean history! I'll email you.

Chris

hi Chris, I've been following the threads on this BT40 drama. I've recently acquired BT40-16 (one of the missing ones) from Mike Campbell-Cole in North Yorks. The car was imported into the United States by Fred Opert and supplied to Earl
“Doc” Hartley of the Drawn Metal Tube Company, Connecticut. It's activities from then go cold. McLaren bought
the car with others in 1983 and it remained with them until Mike bought it in 2003. It's in very original condition with a Hart built BDA 1600cc and FT200.
I also bought from Mike a BT41-32 F3 car with very little past history other than he thought it was from a Dutch collection. If anyone can add to either of these it would be appreciated.

[deimh]

Originally Posted by troubadour

I remember giving Cam a picture of the car from the winners circle of a pro Formula B race at Watkins Glen in August of '72 with Bertil Roos, Fred Opert and Miss Columbo Yogurt. Hope this fills in some of the gaps. Gary Wallace

toubadour, I have been chatting with Fred Opert and mentioned that I had come across this post about a picture of him, Bertil and Miss CY and he indicated that he would love to get a copy!

Any chance of this?

(PM also sent)

[deimh]

Originally Posted by deimh

toubadour, I have been chatting with Fred Opert and mentioned that I had come across this post about a picture of him, Bertil and Miss CY and he indicated that he would love to get a copy!

Any chance of this?

(PM also sent)

All, it has also been established that Robert Kime drove the Titan Mk6 that I currently own when it was first owned and raced by Fred Opert Racing in 1971/2.

Does anyone have any idea of how to contact Robert Kime. I have some addresses / phone numbers for him in Florida, but it seems he has moved on from these addresses.

I have managed to find a number of news paper articles regarding him driving his Brabham in 1972 if this would be of interest to those here?

Any help from you guys (and girls) tracking him down would be much appreciated. - as would a copy of the photo fro Fred Opert...

[deimh]

Originally Posted by troubadour

Chris, I just stumbled onto this site and have some information you may find interesting. In early 1975 I bought the Bertil Roos car from Fred Opert as a roller then bought a Hart motor from him later that spring. Before I bought it Bob Kime raced it as a Formula C with an 1100cc BDA. He was northeast division champ in '74 and finished second in the runoffs that year. I raced it in CENDIV nationals and regionals as an Atlantic through the '79 season. I sold the car to Cam in the spring of '90. All of the paperwork went with the car but if memory serves the chassis was #11. I remember giving Cam a picture of the car from the winners circle of a pro Formula B race at Watkins Glen in August of '72 with Bertil Roos, Fred Opert and Miss Columbo Yogurt. Hope this fills in some of the gaps. Gary Wallace

Sorry for this additional post guys, but this is the quote that I meant to go with my above post a couple of days ago asking for any info on Robert (Bob) Kime....

When I talked to Fred Opert about Kime, he told me that Bertil Roos (at least initially / on occasion) actually raced in Robert Kime's Babham - so its possible that Roos might have raced two Brabhams in period, his own and also the one owned by Robert Kime (which according to Fred Opert was white, with possibly a blue stripe)

[allenbrown]

Post as much as you like deimh - it's good to know someone's in conversation with Fred and that his memory for detail is so good.

[Chris Townsend]

Originally Posted by deimh

Sorry for this additional post guys, but this is the quote that I meant to go with my above post a couple of days ago asking for any info on Robert (Bob) Kime....

When I talked to Fred Opert about Kime, he told me that Bertil Roos (at least initially / on occasion) actually raced in Robert Kime's Babham - so its possible that Roos might have raced two Brabhams in period, his own and also the one owned by Robert Kime (which according to Fred Opert was white, with possibly a blue stripe)

Bob Kime's car was the one used by Roos at Watkins Glen in 1973
That would make it BT40-11, the car now owned by Phil Franzone in Australia, which came with documentation from that race.

Opert ran at least three BT40s in 1973. Brian Robertson destroyed one of the early cars at Singapore GP in May. This was rebuilt and run as a rental car for David Fram and Bob Beyea in 1974.
Roos gets his BT40 at Mosport in August, having earlier run an Opert BT35.
Mike Hall's car was run by Opert, and Jaussaud also has a car at Trois Rivieres




Really like your stuff on your Titan BTW deimh. We need more stuff like that, good detail from log books!

[Collin Jackson]

Guys

I just got my hands on (4) Brabham badges for the nose and (3) for the the steering wheel! Better to be lucky than good!
-I have BT40-37 -Ex: LAder/Householder car.

Car is coming along.
-New wiring, new re-made oil tank, new fuel cells.
-Re-building the original FT200 now as well as the BDA engine
-Hubs were good but the whell bearings were pitted badly.
-All new rodends for the suspension
Currently looking at what to do about the armstrong shokes?
-Rebuild seems impossible. Several USA sources of custom made
vintage shocks that look original and are vintage legal.
Any ideas?
Also anyone got any Griling 4-piston front calipers?
-Mine work but the castings were re-welded around the bleeder

Collin j (cjackson at bmandm dot com)

[Phil Franzone]

Hi Guys I have been out of circulation for a while. I have the original of BR, FO and Miss CY. Came with the car. I thought I sent Fred a copy but I never got a reply. May have disappeared into Cyberspace. Happy to send another copy.