For Sale

New Price Now Price
Used Piper Kent Hi-Tech Stainless FF Tri-Y Exhaust System $1,600 $800
NEW Van Diemen Kent Hi-Tech Stainless FF Tri-Y Exhaust System $1,600 $1,000

1983 Reynard Formula Ford Roller Sale Pending

Nice big wide cockpit! I am 6 ft, low 200s, and I made a seat that had me so low, people thought I was a kid or woman. I also own some Mygales, but I cannot drive them because there is no elbow room. My body fits but no room for my arms. Very fit or skinny people can drive the Mygales because they drive with their arms in front of their body. Since I have a belly, there is no room for my arms. The Reynard has elbow room, so that an old school guy can be comfortable. I can actually go faster in my 37 year old Reynard than my 6 year old Mygale (that won the Runoffs and FRP championship last year). This is because the Reynard is not like "driving while wearing a straight jacket." This may be relevant if you are used to driving sedans or SRFs.

My Reynard is a race car. It is not a show car. It has the original chassis with numerous repairs, dings, blemishes, etc. I put all my energy into performance. I have bought parts cars, and suspension parts, and hoarded them. Like any car in my shop, I was prepared to race it hard, and be able to repair crash damage or broken parts without missing a session. I had a crash in November 2017, when I went off leading a 20 car field at the ARRC race at Road Atlanta. I worked very hard for the next year rebuilding and upgrading the car. I even build all new custom aluminum billet upright assemblies (with larger wheel bearings that have less resistance, especially when loaded in corners.) After doing 90% of the job, I got busy with my business, and the car has sat for 2 years. I have lost my interest in driving (health issues and lakehouse restoration) and knew that I needed to find a buyer for the car who could take over my journey. Recently, I became aware that some Honda engine parts are temporarily unavailable, and I could sell the engine from the Reynard for a good price. That engine is gone. So now I am putting the roller Reynard on the market.

It was raced new in Ireland by Irish star Vivian Daly (brother of Derek) who won some Irish championship in 83. Imported to the USA in 84, and was purchased by Mark Sherwood. Mark ran Steve Keister in the car who won many races including the MARRS championship, which was a big deal in the 80s. The car was then owned by Dan Pyanowski, and Christian Morski,  who won many races. Morski started a rebuild in 2003 and it sat until 2015, when I bought it in baskets. I did 7 SCCA events and 5 FRP events.

Original Configuration. I will sell it as a roller with the standard components, including bilstein shocks, selected springs. I have the original dash and instruments, wiring harness, kent engine mounts, Hi-Tech bubble exhaust, spare set of wheels. It would need the engine installed, plumbing fabricated, wiring installed, freshly painted body fit. It would need a transponder and belts. $6500.

With Custom Front Uprights. I will also have the new front upright assemblies and aluminum brake calipers for sale (including 3rd spare upright) which I could include for $1500 more.

Custom Penske Shocks. I will also have my custom Penske shocks with adjustable eyelets which I could include for $1200 more.

EVO4 Dash. I will also have my Aim EVo4 dash and data system which I can include for $800 more.

Spares. I will also have my spares collection which I can include for $1000 more.

Everything! If you want everything, you can have it all, plus more, for $10K. 

Whether I separate it, part it out, or sell it as a lot, my goal is to get $10K from all of it. if I spent the time to sell off all the parts in packages or parts, I expect I could see $12-15K from it if I play it all out over time. If you are looking for a nice car to do some casual vintage racing, then perhaps the basic package is all you want. Perhaps you buy the spares package too. And/or the Evo4 system.

If you are looking to be more serious, then go with the custom uprights, brakes, and shocks, and embarrass your friends with their much newer cars. With a good kent, this car can beat anybody below the top-10 best FF cars in the country. Rick Payne drove it, and said it handled better than his Runoff winning Van Deimen (now owned by Jay Messenger). Jonathan Kotyk drove it for 3 sessions on a new-to-him track and finished 2nd in an SCCA Majors event.

These are notes on this basic Reynard before any add-ons.

HiTech exhaust

Excellent bell-housing adapter (no cracks & bottom intact)

Rhino transmission case ( 1 repair, pro welding)

Ring and pinion excellent condition (9-31)

Transmission cluster inspected and jigged by BWM recently

Cockpit adjustable rear anti roll bar (with zeroing mods)

Stiffened rear rockers

Bored wheel bearing sleeves in rear uprights (low drag)

Custom sandwich plate front engine mount (replaces original POS)

Modified side panels for increased cooling

Aim Timer

Recently new master cylinders

XLT super starter

Excellent bilstein shocks

Racetech quick release strg wheel hub and Momo-like steering wheel

Reworked main body (original was one piece canoe-like body),

    now two panels forward of roll bar with kevlar added

    and separate engine cover (painted for Honda engine)

    and separate original engine cover (needs repair and paint)

    and separate van diemen engine cover (needs repair and paint)

Original carb intake scoop

3 painted noses

unused and uninstalled fire system, and empty previous system bottle

Set Panasport wheels (on car) with used Hoosier spec tires

Set Panasport wheels (on car) with used Hoosier spec tires  

Lithium-ion light weight battery

Note: These pics are with all the whizzy custom parts, which would be removed if sold in original configuration for $6500.

 

 

Front droop limiter

Note: Most old FFs have bell-housing adapters that are cracked, often re-welded, cracked again, etc. Often the bottom is broken or cut out. The adapter in this car is "cherry". The rhino transmission case was an extra-stiff aftermarket case that is much more rugged than the original VW case used by Hewland. 

Rocker arm info 

On a rocker arm car, the rockers are always getting tweaked. Small incidents, wheel-banging, curb-hopping can all tweek the angle of the rocker. The Swifts and later 80s cars are much worse for this, than the early Reynards. It is not uncommon to be untweeking the rockers in a press, or doing minor fabricating repairs to "untweek". Because the rockers are rarely tweaked the same, side to side, you need to set the corner weights by turning the spring collars on the shocks. This results in different geometry side to side, and different wheel rates at different times. When Bruns designed the first Swifts, on the front, he actually used the main rocker and bellcrank on each side with an adjustable link in between . This allowed you to adjust that link to keep the shock perches and springs matched, when the primary rockers get tweaked. On my "whizzy" custom shocks, they have custom internals, but they also have  adjustable eyelets that allow you to set corner weights without moving the shock perches, hence adjusting out rocker variations.

I also have modified the rear anti-roll bar so that you can adjust out any preload caused by rocker variation.

These mods are very important improvements that make the car much more consistent and easier to drive. Removing these inconsistencies are a major help in making an older car more competitive with newer cars. They are fundamentals that help whether on vintage or modern tires, bias or radial.

Spare Parts

Spare chassis (has some minor damage, but suitable for restoration)

2 spare painted noses

Steering rack

Adjustable rear anti-roll bar

Rear subframe (under transmission)

5 rear rockers (2L, 3R)

1 rear upright assembly

2  front upright assemblies (plus 2 more if you have the custom ones installed)

several front sandwich plates and stay braces

rear lower suspension links

front lower suspension links

rear suspension mounts

several rear axles and CV joints

several front rockers (7 or 8 various-some ready, some need repairs)

spare fuel cell of unknown quality

new master cylinders

much, much more!