1970 Chevron B17 Formula B

History

The Chevron’s early history is currently unknown. What is known, according to the owner, is that more than a decade ago Giles Greenfield discovered a damaged Chevron frame hanging on his friend, Greg Lapinksi’s, wall in Portland, Oregon. Giles bought it from Lapinski with the intent to restore the car to Formula B spec.

The project stalled with Greenfield until his friend and current owner purchased the frame from him. The frame did have a chassis number stamped into the frame at that time. It was B17/18/70. 

Lapinski had told Greenfield that at one point the Chevron had a sports car nose on it. This was evidenced by additional brackets that were welded onto the frame to support the larger sports car nose. 

They then boxed up the frame and shipped it to ex-Chevron employee, Brian Strickland, in England to restore the frame. According to a June 8, 2006 Autosport article by Marcus Pye, Strickland already had experience restoring at least one other B17 chassis. That one turned out to be the ex-Peter Hanson B17 Formula 3 car.

The frame for the B17 offered here came back from Strickland to the current owner in the U.S. It arrived with its original bulkhead still bearing the B17/18/70 number integrated into the newly restored nickel-bronze welded frame.  

While the frame had been away in England with Strickland, the current owner and Greenfield acquired the necessary bits to complete the car. These included among other things a Hewland FT200 gearbox, bodywork, suspension, dash and gauges, radiator, etc. A Lotus twin cam engine was also sourced.

Once all the bits has been acquired, everything was entrusted to Horizon Racing in Washington state to complete the restoration of the car. The restoration was finished a couple of years ago. The Chevron has not been raced since. 

What is unknown at this point, is why the chassis stamping number is B17/18/70. The chassis tag also reads F3-70-18. This sequence of numbers is different from other Chevron B17 cars that we know of.  So if matching numbers, or history back to day one is a must for you, this is probably not your car.

If, however, you are looking for a gorgeous classic Chevron FB car, restored to original factory specifications, that can race virtually everywhere in the U.S. and overseas, then this one is worth considering. It is especially worth considering because it will be sold. The owner is not a racer, and is no longer interested in displaying the car.  So someone is going to get this beautifully and properly restored Formula B race car.  Make an offer. Don’t be shy. Don’t kick yourself later for having missed it. 

The Chevron will need the usual going through, safety systems updated, and new tires to be genuinely race ready. The quality of the restoration, however, can be seen in the photos below.

Description

Frame rebuilt by Chevron employee Brian Strickland. Finish assembly by Horizon Racing. Zero time on the entire car since restoration.

Engine: Lotus twin cam built by Bob Yarwood. 45mm Weber carburetors. Engine freshened by Loyning Engines. Zero time since freshening.

Zero hours on a rebuilt Hewland FT 200 gearbox with all new internals and new donuts.

Fully rebuilt AR Calipers

New clutch and brake master cylinders

Bespoke set of B17 shocks from England 

New magnesium wheel centers

New fire system 

Rev. limiter

All Smiths gauges including mechanical tachometer

New dry sump tank

New aluminum radiator/oil cooler 

All new fasteners, and rod ends. 

New Fuel Cell

Spares include:

Complete set of wishbones and radius rods

1970 Chevron Front & Rear Wings and mounting hardware

Two rear magnesium wheels

Ft 200 gear sets

Various other parts

This is a great time to pick up a Formula B and race it in the U.S. Continental Grand Prix Reunion Series at venues such as Indy, Road America, COTA, and more.

The Chevron can also be raced across the U.S. with various other groups including SOVREN, CSRG, VARA, CVAR, SVRA, and others. The Chevron could additionally be raced as a Formula B in the HSCC Jim Clark Trophy Series throughout Europe. You could also install a Cosworth FVA engine and race it in Historic Formula 2, or install a 1 liter “screamer” engine in it and run it in the HSCC’s History F3 Championship

So you have multiple options for this gorgeous Chevron B17, and all of them are good ones.

All vehicle descriptions are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Corrections, and supplemental information, are always welcome. Buyers are responsible for confirming vehicle histories, condition, and authenticity to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Motorsports Market is not the owner of the vehicle and assumes no liability for errors and omissions.

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Photos

Videos

Chassis dyno video at:

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