1959 Stanguellini Motoposto Formula Junior news, pictures, and information

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Chassis Num: 137

This monoposta racecar is serial #137, and was manufactured in Modena, Italy, in June of 1959 by Vittorio Stanguellini, also known as the "Magician of Modena." The all aluminum body was produced by Vaccari & Baccrini-Carrozzeria Gransport. The engine is a modified Fiat 1100 cc with Weber twin-choke carburetors and can produce 78 hp at 6500 rpm.

The car was first sold to Peter Carpenter and he raced it extensively throughout Europe during the 1959 series of Formula Junior, placing 5th place at Monza and 2nd at Di Salerno. The Formula Junior cars were designed to provide an international class of single seat racing cars. It would train and develop a new breed of designers and drivers. Specifications were intended to limit the components to production units.

This car was partially restored in 1970s and spent approximately 20 years in a private museum of an Italian car collector in Miami, Florida.

The current owner purchased the car in 1994 and has spent the last 8 years restoring it to the original racing condition.

Automobili Stanguellini, an Italian sports car builder, is remembered for their sports cars and for competing in races such as the 24 Hours of LeMans, Monza, and other International competition. The single seat racing cars were given aluminum bodies and had modified Fiat 1100 cc engine that produced nearly 80 horsepower, thanks in part to the Weber twin-choke carburetors. Vittorio Stanguellini was known as the 'Magician of Modena' and his vehicles provided many podium finishes for the drivers.

Racer
Chassis Num: 00132

The 1959 Stanguellini Motoposto finished in red and bearing the number Zero (0) was offered for sale at the 2006 Russo & Steele Auction held in Monterey, Ca. It is #00132. It was originally owned by Raphaele Cammorata of Milan who campaigned it in the Grand Prix di Napoli, Coppa Junior at Monza and more. He became the national Italian Champion in 1959.

It was then purchased by Don Wasserman who raced it at Sears Point where the vehicle was involved in an accident. The car was flipped and incurred damage. It was sent to Nino Epifani for a six-year body-off restoration. Terry Burke was the vehicles next owner.

The Motoposto racer was campaigned in the 2006 Sears Point Wine Classic race.

On auction day the vehicle was sold for $121,000.

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Racer
Chassis Num: CS00159

This 1959 Stanguellini Formula Junior racer has a build date of December 5th of 1959. '159' was exported to the United States, arriving in early 1960. As Cooper's rear engined Type 52 had been introduced before 159 was built, 159 was obsolete before its arrival in The States. 159 bounced around the Northeast and Midwest through the 1960's and early 1970's, at one time selling for $250.

159 was rescued by noted vintage racer Peter Giddings in 1977. Dennis Burkey of Virginia ran 159 in the Mid-Atlantic area into the late 1980's. Pam Clapp Lyford brought 159 to the Northwest in the early 1990's.

It is currently owned by Bill Weed, who purchased the race car from Mrs. Lyford in 2005.

The car is powered by a four-cylinder engine capable of producing 85 horsepower. There is a Fiat gearbox, Borrani wire wheels, and Dunlop tires. The front suspension is independent, while the rear is a live axle setup.

Vittorio Stanguellini was a good businessman and an excellent builder of racing cars. He was born on March 24th of 1910. 23 years later he was creating racers and building a reputation. The Second World War slowed his progress but shortly after the treaty he had regained momentum. His 1100 twin cam Fiat-based engines were in high demand. War torn Europe was eager to get back to racing and these were excellent, durable, competitive, and affordable racers. By 1950 he was producing, what would become legendary, a dual overhead camshaft 750 engine which would be used successfully in single seater and sports cars racing.

Much like other specialty-equipment producers such as Abarth, Stanguellini often modified and enhanced pre-existing equipment. He operated Modena's larger Fiat dealership and was renowned for his metal work and truck-body fabrication business. His legacy though, was with his racers. Part of that success was due to his Sporting Director Adolfo Bedoni who aided Stanguellini in the creation of some of the world's best F1 feeder series racers.

Count Giovanni Lurani envisioned a racing series that would be inexpensive and could help drivers prepare for the next level of racing, such as Formula 2 or Grand Prix. The series would be called the Formula Junior and it took some convincing to get it approved by the Italian Automobile Club. Stanguellini saw an opportunity and by 1958 had created some racers that would qualify for this new series. More importantly he created machinery and had gathered components to construct more racers. By the time the series was granted full international status in 1959, Stanguellini had a front-engined racer that was competitive, tested, and proven. Over its racing career in the Formula Junior series the Stanguellini cars would capture over forty national and international victories and several championships.

For the 1958 season the rules stated that any engines of Italian origin could be used. This rule was relaxed in 1959 to include any production car classified in the FIA's Appendix J GT category. The other major components were the gearbox and brakes which also had to come from FIA homologated cars in their International Touring Class. Other rules for 1958 stated that the front suspension was to come from the vehicle that had housed the engine. The minimum weight allowed was 400kg.

For 1958 the Stanguellini was created from a tubular steel ladder type frame and reinforced with integral stiffening tubes. The front suspension was an independent suspension with parallel wishbones, coil springs, and an anti-roll bar. The coil springs were tilted at a steep angle pointed inwards. In the rear was a live axle located by parallel trailing arms with coil springs pointed at a vertical angle. There were angled telescopic shock absorbers similar to the ones used on the Stanguellini 750 cc Formula Corse. Al-Fin drum brakes were placed on all four corners and provided adequate stopping power for the 12-inch Borrani wire wheels. The driver sat low in the seat and located to the right was the shifter. Regulations stated that the gearbox had to be similar to production cars so Stanguellini selected a unit from the Fiat 1100. Minor modifications by Stanguellini included a special gear ratio and a single dry plate clutch.

There were strict requirements for the engine such as overhead cams were not permitted. The Fiat 1100 Millecento motor meet most of the requirements and was chosen for the Stanguellini racer. Located in the front the 1.1 liter Fiat four-cylinder engine had a 68 mm stroke and a 75 mm bore resulting in a 1089 cc of displacement. With some special tuning, the engine was modified to produce 78 horsepower; an increase of 42 horsepower over the standard unit. The engine kept cool by the front-mounted radiator and a unique duct that was located atop of the engine cover. Louvres located above the front wheel aided in the circulation of cool air.

The body work was courtesy of the coachbuilder Gransport of Modena. The body was similar to the Grand Prix racers of its day, but smaller. The body was aluminum due to its lightweight features and rigidity. The resulting 420kg racer could race from zero-to-sixty in just 6.6 seconds and reaching top speed at 135 mph.

In 1957 Stanguellini created a prototype bearing chassis number 04087 which was based on their prio 750 formula Corse single seater cars. The prototype was powered by a Fiat 1100 engine which received modifications to include a two-port head and two downdraught Weber carburetors. After time, these were replaced with two Dell'Ortos. The legendary Juan Fangio was given the honor of performing test runs at the Modena Autodrome. With additional tweaking and testing, the prototype proved to be a potent competitor. By the following year there were 15 Stanguellini Formula Junior's created, each with production-specification Fiat front suspension. Driven by Roberto Lippi and sponsored by Bardahl, a Stanguellini racer captured the first Italian FJ Championship in 1958 after winning an astonishing four races during the season. The popularity of the proven racer skyrocketed and for 1959, around seventy examples were produced. Thirty more were created in the following year.

There were around 30 examples created in 1959 that were given an independent rear suspension setup.

In 1959 the Stanguellini captured the International Championship in 1958 and in 1959. They also captured the International Series Championship in 1959. The racers dominated until 1960 when competitors such as Colin Chapman and his mid-engined Lotus 30's and the mid-engined Cooper's proved too nimble and powerful for the Stanguellini.

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Racer
Chassis Num: CS00139

Stanguellini Formula Junior CS 00139 History

CS00139 was the first Stanguellini Formula Junior to be imported into the United States by the Momo Corporation, jointly owned by Briggs Cunningham and Alfred Momo.

Entered by Cunningham in the SCCA Nationals meeting held at Montogomery, New York on 9th August 1959, driven by Walt Hansgen. Finished 2nd overall - CS00139 is believed to be the first Formula Junior car to race in the US.

The Cunningham team entered Hansgen in a Stanguellini for three further events in September 1959
- 6th September - Thompson Raceway - 3rd overall and 2nd in un-restricted class
-12th September - Elkhart Lake, Road America - 1st overall but not awarded any points as no Formula Junior Class.
- 26th September - Watkins Glen, Seneca Cup - 1st overall and 1st in Formula Junior class, thereby posting the first official sanctioned win by an FJ car in the US.

The Cunningham Team ordered another Stanguellini for the 1959 US Grand Prix Formula Junior support at Sebring on 11th December 1959. Contemporary photographs show Cunningham driving the newer car in the race. Hansgen won the race, the first all Formula Junior race in the US, in the older car, (believed to be CS00139, but subject to further research).

The date at which 00139 was sold by Cunningham is uncertain.

The history of 00139 during the 1960s and 1970s is not well documented, it passed through a number of owners in the US, understood to include Steve Weed of New York and Ali Lugo, also of New York. The final owner in the US was Robert Auten of Bedminster, New Jersey.

The car was purchased by Michael Lavers of London, UK in 1980 in an unrestored condition. Sold to Brian Horwood of Mayfield, Sussex, UK and restored by him over a three year period.

Between 1983 and 1986, the car was raced extensively in the UK by Brian Horwood - the race history is still being researched by the current owner.

In 1986, it was purchased by Tony Hildebrand of Speed Six, Edgeware, Middlesex, UK. It was then sold to Martin Bunn of Pulborough, Surrey, UK.

From 1986 through 2006 it was raced extensively by Martin Bunn at historic events in the UK and Europe including Monza, Spa, and Nurburgring. Participated in the inaugural Goodwood Revival Meeting in 1998 and the 2003 Goodwood Revival.

In 2005 it was purchased by the present owner, Gordon Wright. It has been raced in UK Historic Formula Junior Championships in 2006 and 2007. It has earned a 2nd in Class A1 of the FJHRA 'Millers Oils' UK Championship in both 2006 and 2007. It was the Winner of the Italian engined class in the 2006 FJHRA UK Front Engined FJ Championship.

In 2007, it was repainted blue, matched from traces of original paint found on the car. It was the overall winner of the 2007 FJHRA UK Front Engined Formula Junior Championship.

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