1960 Huffaker BMC MK1 news, pictures, and information

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From 1961 through 1965, this car was owned and raced by Ron Hanford who placed 1st at the Mother Lode hill Climb in 1962. It was purchased by Doug Brown in 1965 who sold it in 1967 to Alan Johnson. Johnson continued its racing resume until selling it in 1972 to Cart Stirtz, who is the present owner. Mr. Stirtz raced the car in SCCA competition in the San Francisco Region from 1973 through 1978 as a Formula C car. It was driven to a 1st place finish at the Monterey Historics in 1974. It was the San Francisco region Formula C Champion in 1975.

A complete frame-up restoration to original condition began in September of 2001 and was completed in October of 2002. It was the SCCA Winter Slush Autocross B Mod Champion in 2002, driven by Dave Stevenson. It has continued its racing pedigree in various vintage race events from 2003 to the present, driven by Bruce John.

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BMC/Huffaker Car number 147 was first raced by David Ridenour as 147 and painted blue and gold to match his Lister/Jaguar which was numbered 146. Owned by Charles Dant from Orinda, CA.

The new owner is unknown but was reported as being purchased wrecked from Ridenour/Dant with repairs never completed.

Ed Broussea (Richmond, CA) purchased it in 1965-66, repaired it and returned it to the track in 1967. He raced it until 1970 and sold it to Jerry Kerns in 1971 (race history unknown).

The car then went to Alan Remick (race history unknown). Vintage racing was becoming popular and the car was sold to Frank Stenger of Oakland. At this time Carl Stirtz's BMC had suffered rear suspension damage and a rear upright was borrowed from Frank. The car then passed to Bruce John and in 1977 went to Carl Stirtz.

After completing the restoration of hte former Ron Hanford BMC/Huffaker (currently the Red number 91 car) Carl started another frame-up restoration of Dave Ridenour's former Junior. Restoration moved forward with the upcoming Formula Junior Golden Jubilee series and was completed in April 2008.

Joe Huffaker got his start in the automotive business creating racing specials and Formula Juniors, before moving into the competitive and exciting market of large displacement sports racing cars. The Formula Junior market had been a successful venture for Huffaker, but by the early 1960s it had become too competitive, with new makes and models appearing very frequently. Huffaker left the diluted scene, which was becoming plagued by high costs, for something with slightly more cubic capacity.

Huffaker Engineering sold their Formula Junior race cars for around $4,500 which included an engine. The cost was lower if the buyer just wanted it without the engine, including just running gear, fiberglass body, ladder chassis, and suspension.

By the late 1950s, the front-engined design was being displaced for the more popular mid-engine setup. Those marque's that chose to keep the front-engined design soon found their cars running near the back of the pack. Huffaker's BMC FJ racers had the front-engine design and was dubbed the MKI. It had an engine that was mounted at a 35-degree angle and mated to a four-speed BMC gearbox. Drum brakes could be found at all four corners. The completed car weighed a mere 750lbs which made it too light to pass regulations. To comply with rules, extra weight was added.

Power was from a modified Austin A-40 A-series engine that was given larger valves, modified cam and pistons, and a side-draft Weber carburetor. Horsepower was impressive at nearly 90 BHP from the small 980cc unit. With this finely tuned unit and experienced factory drivers, the BMC MKI earned nine first place finishes and two seconds. Though this was extremely impressive, the fact that they had only three DNFs was a true testament to the cars stamina and durability.

By 1960, the mid-engine design made the front-engined cars nearly obsolete. Huffaker responded to this new trend by creating the MKII. The MK2 had a wheelbase that measured 85-inches, a Volkswagen transaxle, and a coil-over suspension in both the front and rear. Drum brakes were at all four corners.

In competition, the MK2 were certainly fast and had track times better than the MKI. They could keep pace with the Lotus 18 but were soon overshadowed when Lotus unveiled their new car - the Lotus 20 in 1961. The Cooper MK2 cars were also quicker.

As a result, only 14 examples of the BMC MK2 were created plus a few kits. An MKII cost nearly $4,000 while the kit was priced at about $2,000.

The BMC MKII was powered by a new Formula Junior engine that displaced 1100cc and produced nearly 100 horsepower.

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