Vintage F1 tech

[Giancarlo]

Does anyone know where to find detailed technical information on vintage F1 cars? Cars in particular would be the McLaren MP7a, Lotus 49, or Ferrari 312 (but any would really do).

In particular, I'm curious to how they were constructed and engineered. Any details on suspension geometry, construction materials, and chassis layout would be greatly appreciated. Any and all pics of the cockpit are welcome. I'm not too concerned with information regarding the engines, weight, or how successful they were.

Shortly I will begin to design our next FASE (aka: Formula Student) car and I'd like to look to the past for inspiration. Out last car was a complete failure and our current challenger is complex to the point that its a several hour job to adjust roll stiffness...and its a bit homely too.

Aside from a few books, I really have 0 information to design a car. If our past cars were successful, I would be able to evolve certain aspects - but I don't have that privilege. Every car we've built has been from a clean sheet, so I find it no surprise that every car has had quirks. I'd like a simple platform to base the next few cars on, thus I'm interested in what they did and how they did it in the late 60's w/o the help of computers.

Thank you for your time,
Giancarlo

[Ted68]

A great book is Racing Car Design and Development, by Len Terry and Alan Baker, 1973, Bentley Press, Cambridge. Also, any and everything written by Carroll Smith (no, not Shelby).

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchR ... pment&x=30

[RH1300S]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lotus-49-Michae ... F8&s=books

Any good?

The 49 had an aluminium monocoque - effectively two big "tubes" (fuel tanks) joined together leaving a hole for the driver to sit in; with the engine being used as a stressed member. Rear suspension was partly mounted on the gearbox and some loads were fed forward to the rear of the monocoque with radius arms. The front suspension was mounted on the front bulkhead of the monocoque and a small tubular frame projected forwards to carry the radiator. Front suspension had inboard springs/dampers activated by the top arm. The lower suspension arm (like the rear) had long links that picked up on the tub.

I know that throughout the life of the 49 they experimented a lot with anti-squat and anti-dive geometry.

Look closely at cockpit photos and you will see that the steering wheel was offset slightly to the left.

[RH1300S]

This may prove to have some interesting info:

http://www.hobbygrandprix.com/modeling/ ... nuals.html

[Carlos]

RH1300S That's a really useful link, the manuals supply so much information, especially concerning suspension, bulkheads, subframes and mounting fixtures for secondary components.