Topic: Solved NIC#195 - 1966 de Tomaso-Ford Formula A car of Bill Frank

[nicanary]

Year, make of chassis, and engine, and name of driver, please, all for just one point.

[nicanary]

Experts?

[serra]

1966 DeTomaso-Ford V8 driven by Bill Frank for SCCA Formula A South West Division

[nicanary]

1966 DeTomaso-Ford V8 driven by Bill Frank for SCCA Formula A South West Division

Yes. A very obscure car - it was the early days of Formula A, and that regional championship had only 2 entrants. Bill Frank was a Firestone engineer who did some work for John Mecom Jr., and bought the car off Mecom. It had originally been intended as an entry for the 1963 Indy 500, powered by a 260ci Fairlane engine, but I think Frank fitted the ubiquitous Ford 289ci motor for the race series. (I find this story, as told on the web, a bit odd - I doubt if de Tomaso had an Indy car built ready for '63, when the fertile mind of Colin Chapman had only just got round to doing it. Perhaps I shouldn't be so negative.)

No doubt this image was on your archive, serra. You have a computer with a memory bank which would shame NASA!

[Wendax]

NASA or NSA? 

[nicanary]

This morning I received an e-mail from Bill Frank's son about this car. He has met his father's old mechanic and this has revived his interest in his father's racing activities. He has used me as a first port of call in trying to trace the car, if it still exists. Obviously I can't help in any way, but I have suggested he scours the web for sites and forums which specialise in racing cars of that period. I have pointed him in the direction of a certain site which is a sub-forum of a well-known weekly racing magazine.

That forum has several US-based historians and it's possible they can help, but if anyone on AP can assist please let me know. I have retained his e-mail address.