£ 25,000

Brabham BT35-4 Formula 3, Chris O'Brien's 1971 car - SOLD

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Brabham BT35-4 Formula 3, Chris O'Brien's 1971 1600

Brabham BT35-4 Formula 3, Chris O'Brien's 1971 car

Description:

Chassis 4 is an early BT35, built for then-new 1600 cm3 F3 regulations of 1971 and first raced in England by Canadian Chris O’Brien. Chris kindly provided a terrific set of period photos (two shown here) along with a link to the YouTube video below, where he starts alongside Dave Walker but fails to finish in spectacular fashion. Great close-ups of the car, for reference purposes!

Although restored BT35-4 is unusually original, retaining period features such as the Graviner fire safety system. The car has not raced for a very long time.

Gearbox is Hewland Mark 8, HC8-1175, fitted with 13:36 CWP and five forward ratios plus reverse.

Restoration work (before many years in storage) included rebuilding the car around a repainted chassis, and installation of the main components of the oil, water, fuel, hydraulic and electrical systems. Fuel bladder tanks are fitted to each side pod. Finishing is required, along with some updating (e.g. oil and water to be rerouted outside chassis channels, headrest, HANS belt mountings, extinguisher). Bodywork is new and very high quality, with excellent fit and painted finish in cream white. Seat is in grey GRP. Wheels appear to be original 4-spoke magnesium alloy Brabham units, in good condition but need resurfacing to restore their period lustre. Four wheels only, no spares.

Along with a missing 1600 Twin Cam engine these is no rear wing support. Other main components are present and in very good condition. Non-original parts include outer and inner CV joints, to be replaced with original donuts and universal couplings for historic racing.

BT35-4 can be viewed at the Crosslé factory, where we would be delighted to complete and prepare this car for historic racing. 1600cc Formula 3 cars from 1971-73 ran at the Monaco Historic GP in 2010, and few single-seaters offer a more accessible path to such events. In the UK they compete in HSCC Classic Racing Cars and Derek Bell series, while Classic F3, Historic Monoposto and other European series welcome these ‘slicks and wings’ F3 cars at top continental circuits.