Restoring The Bricklin Racecar

Page 1

NOTE: CLICK ON ALL PHOTOS FOR LARGER IMAGES

In the summer of 1974, a couple of enterprising young racers from California decided that the recently introduced Bricklin SV-1 was the ideal racecar for the IMSA Endurance Racing Series. Based on the success of Roger Penske’s Matadors in NASCAR and the Javelin in the SCCA Trans Am, the AMC powered Bricklin looked to be a Corvette and Mustang beater. With the support of the local Bricklin dealer, they were able to persuade Malcolm Bricklin to donate a prototype vehicle and developed sponsorship to start constructing the car. Rules at the time required that GT category vehicles retain basically stock suspension components and standard external appearance, though extensive engine modifications were allowed. The chassis had a complete rollcage installed to IMSA specifications, stock springs and shocks were replaced with racing coil over units, lightweight doors were fabricated from the originals plexiglass windows for the doors, rear quarters and rear deck were added, an aluminum fuel cell replaced the stock tank and fiberglass bumpers fabricated to replace the heavy stock units. A race engine, complete with dry sump, was commissioned and a feverish effort was made to complete the car and debut it at the Daytona 24 Hour race in January, 1975. Rumor has it that the Bricklin factory support never materialized but the car was somehow completed and made it to the race, nearly bankrupting the driver - owners. The Bricklin was very slow in practice, could not qualify and was never seen or heard from again.

By coincidence, the author was at Daytona for that race and commented to his crew, "There’s one of those strange Bricklins - Do we know those guys ?"

Fast forward twenty five years - The author was contacted by a friend who just purchased a West Los Angeles building and found a strange junk car in the weeds outside. Upon inspection, the car turned out to be a Bricklin, almost deteriorated beyond repair and and currently used as a garbage container and home for mice and bugs. But it had a roll cage, remains of plexiglass windows and a fuel cell and old racing decals decayed from the weather. As any car enthusiast would do, it was suitably purchased, trucked home and further evaluated. Lo and behold, this was the ‘74 Daytona Bricklin, thought to have been lost forever. After serious discussions with the wife and a massive garage cleaning, a plan of restoration was undertaken; a project of not inconsiderable effort which, like all projects of this nature, is taking twice as long and costing twice as much as expected. And, in some indeterminate amount of time, the Bricklin will be ready for vintage racing.

Following is the story:

The first step was to disassemble the vehicle completely, determining what needed to be repaired and replaced. As it turned out, everything but the basic chassis and body shell warranted replacement or attention. The motor was seized up solid from years of rain poring into it, the suspension bushings had deteriorated from the smog, the fuel system had been eaten by mice and the wiring had been devoured by similar carnivores. Fortunately, another ‘74 4 speed Bricklin with low mileage but unrepairable, had been obtained to provide replacement parts. An AMC Hornet or Javelin was even considered for more spares but good judgement prevailed.

New chassis parts turned out to be readily available - Beginning with the front suspension, new suspension bushings, tie rod ends and steering components were purchased. Most are standard Moog replacement parts, available online from sources such as carparts.com and J.C. Whitney. Urethane rubber strut rod bushings that eliminate the caster change under acceleration and braking and generally tighten up the suspension were sourced from WSC Motorsports. A note on installation of suspension bushings and balljoints - The lower control arm inner bushing needs to be pressed out. When the new bushing is installed, it is best to use a spacer inside the lower control arm to prevent the arm itself from bending under the high pressure involved in installing a new bushing. Replacing the lower balljoint is very simple. If your ball joint has never been replaced it will be riveted in. Simply chisel or grind off the rivet heads and remove the old ball joint. New replacement balljoints are designed to bolt in to the existing holes left by the rivets. All suspension arms, spindles and uprights were bead blasted to remove rust, magnafluxed and x-rayed to inspect for cracks, checked for straightness and painted or plated. The steering box was inspected and found to be in good condition but racing components such as shocks and springs were beyond repair so new coilover shocks were located. Wheel studs were in such poor condition that new Moroso 3 inch studs were warranted.

Chassis rust was fortunately only a surface problem, cleaned up with a wire brush, sandpaper and coats of Rustoleum. The typically rusted areas such as the fresh air plenum under the windshield needed only a wire brushing and painting, unusual in a car this old and neglected. A good example is how nicely the wheel well cleaned up, as shown in this photo. And, for those of you have not yet undertaken a derusting and painting project, consider that the wire brushing and painting of the chassis have consumed most of the time to date with an estimated 60 hours invested in this part of the project alone.

Originally fitted with a Corvette aluminum radiator, a replacement was found from Griffin Industries. The motor has been replaced with the stock AMC 360 from the donor Bricklin, an easy replacement suitable for initial testing and topped off with the original Offenhauser dual quad setup, now housing 450 cfm Holleys. New Offenhauser alloy valve covers replaced the corroded original aluminum covers. The ignition will be a Davis Unified Ignition HEI setup which requires only a one wire hookup. Headers originally made for a Javelin replace the original racing exhaust, which had rusted beyond repair.

The factory dashboard was long gone, replaced by a sheet of aluminum which had seen better days, as had the gauges. So a new dash was fabricated, aluminum with a composite plastic cover; somewhat retro looking and yet vintage racecar appropriate. Coming soon is an Autometer 5 inch tach and 200 mph speedometer, along with a full complement of gauges. The balance of the interior was nonexistent, the race seat having been used for some other project years ago, the fire extinguisher system likewise missing; but the roll cage was in good shape, needing only a few tubes installed to bring it to current vintage racing specs.

As this article ends, the motor is installed and reassembly has started on the front suspension and steering. The next article will focus on the interior, refurbishing the lightweight doors, rear suspension, rear axle assembly and unique problems found in replacing the one - off fuel cell.

For additional information about this project, feel free to contact Dave Wolin at ceo@davewolin.com or 800-443-0268.

A note about the author - Dave Wolin has a background of over 30 years in professional racing, operating factory racing programs for manufacturers such as Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Kia. His cars have won numerous professional racing championships as well as winning the Baja 1000 Off Road Race and Pikes Peak Hillclimb. He has been awarded SCCA’s "Jim Cook Trophy" for professionalism in racing and the Motorsports Press Association - "Professional of the Year" award. Currently operating a program for Kia, he has set world speed records for the Kia Sephia, Spectra, Rio and Optima. Today, he resides in Oakhurst, California, near Yosemite National Park, where the Bricklin project has begun to consume most of his spare time.

Parts List:

AMC V-8

Valve cover gaskets - Fel Pro VS50001

Intake manifold / valley gasket - Fel Pro MS96011

Exhaust manifold gaskets - Fel Pro 1434

Suspension

Inner Tie Rod End (short one) - Moog ES368RL

Outer Tie Rod End (long one) - Moog DS757

Pitman Arm - Moog K3055

Idler Arm - Moog K3087

Lower Ball Joint - Moog K 3083

Inner Lower Control Arm Bush - Moog K3059

Sway Bar Links - Moog K3093

Urethane Strut Arm Bushings - WSC Motorsports 83-7009

Sources:

J.C. Whitney
Box 3000
LaSalle, IL 61301
800-529-4486
www.jcwhitney.com

www.carparts.com

WSC Motorsports
4857 Pine Hill Court West
Stone Mountain, GA 30088
770-413-9126
www.classicone.com

Griffin Radiators
100 Hurricane Creek Rd.
Piedmont, SC 29673
800-722-3723
www.griffinrad.com

Summit Racing
Box 909
Akron, OH 44309
800-230-3030
www.summitracing.com

American Performance
675 S. Industry Rd.
Cocoa, FL 32926
321-632-8299
www.oldcarparts.com

Back To Dave At Home Back To Contents Gallery of Motorsports