>
> The Formula Juniors, like many other cars in vintage racing, have been forced
> out by cheaper, quicker cars.
I vouch for that. I run an early Junior and have been overrun by both
FFords and FVees. The early Juniors can run with the Vees, but not with
the Fords. FVees are an even cheaper way to go open wheel racing.
> The performance envelope of the Formula Fords and Juniors are very similar.
Only the later Juniors can keep up with the Fords. You won't see a BMC
or a Stanguellini in front of a Merlyn or Winklemann for long!
> The Juniors use an 1100cc engine, which, in competitive tune, costs as much
> as $10,000-15,000 to rebuild, while the less stressed 1600cc Formula Ford
> rebuild is one-third of that. The Junior engines were being rebuilt 1-3
> times a season while most Fords will go a full season on a rebuild. Once the
> sanctioning bodies started to allow Fords to run, it was inevitable that
> people with Juniors would switch to the cheaper to acquire and cheaper to
> maintain Formula Fords.
Again, only at the top of the pecking order. The early cars with BMC or
Fiat engines are cheaper to rebuild, but just can't go as fast. Speed
IS a question of money among Juniors. The early cars also used more
ordinary gearboxes. The Hewlands in the later cars are basically the
same as Fords. The Fords aren't entirely bullet proof either.
> I think the higher asking price of the Formula Juniors, in large part,
> reflects the more expensive Formula Junior engine. Bill Dolson would know
> for sure, but I suspect that very few Formula Juniors are selling at anything
> near their asking prices.
It also had to do with the feeding frenzy on collectible cars a few
years back. For some reason, a lot of Juniors held out for the big
money. They have started to become more reasonable again, perhaps
partly due to lack of interest. You can go faster in a Ford at 1/2 or
less the cost of a Junior. Some people just want to go fast, and
couldn't care less what Steve Earle admits.
On the subject of Monterey Historics eligibility, just because you have
one of the historic Juniors doesn't mean you will get in. Steve Earle
still gets loads of entries for Monterey. I was in the Historics last
year, but got turned down this year. Go figure. My car is more rare
than any Lotus, but I got turned down. I have had no problem with the
Wine Country event tho. There's a group of 4-5 of us that have a
wonderful time at the back of the pack: my Bourgeault, a BMC or two, a
Gemini, and sometimes a Stanguelini. Steve Earle didn't always run
Juniors, either. The story I heard was that the PO of my car was
instrumental in convincing him to give them a group. He also runs F1,
F2 and F3 cars from the same period in that group. It's gotten to the
point where if I want to run with other early Juniors, I have to go to
HMSA events and put up with Steve Earle's whims.
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