Post by Mark Huber on Sept 14, 2014 22:30:28 GMT -5
Following the 1961 Championship, The "Sharknose" Ferrari 156 was not competitive in in 1962, the 156/2 was only marginally better. Ferrari's fortunes had reached a low ebb, its chassis were overweight and lacked the torsional rigidity of the British constructors. The Ferrari design team was now headed by Mauro Foghieri, who focused on improving the interim model introduced in late 1962. The rear suspension was copied from Lotus, and the body work was tidied up. The front suspension was redesigned; the wire wheels were replaced with magnesium cast wheels, the wheelbase and track increased. The resultant car was the sleekest Ferrari F1 car to date, but it was still larger than the Lotus 25 and about 30 pounds heavier.
The 156/3 was more competitive than its predecessors, but was still not able to match the Lotus, BRMs or new Brabhams for pace. John Surtees had joined the team in 1963, and he did have some succss and good fortune with the 156/3 prior to the introduction of the monocoque Aero model in the latter part of 1963. Surtees placed 4th at Monaco, 2nd at Silverstone, 3rd at Zandvoort and won his first championship F1 race at Nurburgring in the 156/3.
I've wanted to build a 156/3 for a long time, but had not much hope that might happen as the shell has never been produced commercially. Some time back, a friend and fellow Forum member presented me with one of his hand crafted 156/3 body shells. I'm not going to mention names, but if you're interested in learning more about how this car originated, and who crafted it so wonderfully, it wont' be hard to find.
In any event, the shell was and is superb.. I decided the only changes I would make, besides a relivery, would be to carve out the cockpit opening and put in a new driver figure. As the hard part of this build was done by the prior owner and creator, I should have this car completed in fairly short order. I do understand that this car had a storied racing history in the UK, and I hope it can continue that tradition as a proxy racer next year.
The original shell with the Monaco windscreen and numbering.
The 156/3 was more competitive than its predecessors, but was still not able to match the Lotus, BRMs or new Brabhams for pace. John Surtees had joined the team in 1963, and he did have some succss and good fortune with the 156/3 prior to the introduction of the monocoque Aero model in the latter part of 1963. Surtees placed 4th at Monaco, 2nd at Silverstone, 3rd at Zandvoort and won his first championship F1 race at Nurburgring in the 156/3.
I've wanted to build a 156/3 for a long time, but had not much hope that might happen as the shell has never been produced commercially. Some time back, a friend and fellow Forum member presented me with one of his hand crafted 156/3 body shells. I'm not going to mention names, but if you're interested in learning more about how this car originated, and who crafted it so wonderfully, it wont' be hard to find.
In any event, the shell was and is superb.. I decided the only changes I would make, besides a relivery, would be to carve out the cockpit opening and put in a new driver figure. As the hard part of this build was done by the prior owner and creator, I should have this car completed in fairly short order. I do understand that this car had a storied racing history in the UK, and I hope it can continue that tradition as a proxy racer next year.
The original shell with the Monaco windscreen and numbering.