August, 2004 -- This is to chronicle the latest addition to the Team Terrific fleet of race cars — a 1968 Russell-Alexis Formula B car. It's a great story!

In the world of car collecting, there is always the wild-eyed dream of locating and buying a "barn find", a car that is in perfect shape, but been hiding in a barn for decades. Well, that is exactly what happened to me. I feel very fortunate to now have this car because of its very interesting history and its unique condition.

The story of this race car starts back in the mid-sixties when Gene Bashor, now 78 years old, purchased the car new. Gene is a gentlemen who has been working as a tech inspector with RMVR since 1987. He is a very private fellow, always quietly doing his job (performing the required safety inspection on race cars prior to each race weekend) with little or no fanfare. Few, if any, of us knew of his interesting and extensive racing background.

As it turns out, Gene was a very active and successful club racer. He started racing back in 1947 in a Ford V8 dirt-track midget. But in the 50s he migrated to road racing and by the sixties was racing Formula Junior cars quite successfully. To quote Gene "I can't remember ever entering a race without winning either a trophy or prize money." We should all be so accomplished.

Anyway, Gene wished to move up from FJ and purchased a new Formula B race car as a roller (no engine, but complete car otherwise) in February of 1968 from Fred Opert, the renowned U.S. importer of all manner of race cars, new and used. It was Gene's intention to fit the car with a Lotus 1600 cc Twin Cam engine. But, as misfortune would have it, Gene had some heart problems that prevented him from passing the race physical and he retired from racing. So, the Russell-Alexis went into storage where it has been lovingly cared for since then.

Over the years several folks became aware of the car and tried to buy it from Gene. But for his reasons he was unwilling to sell it. However, now 36 years later, at age 78 and with some other health issues (P.S. his heart is just FINE), Gene finally decided to part with the car. And to my good luck I was able to persuade him to sell it to me.

So, I now have my project car which I've been searching for since retiring. This isn't exactly what I had in mind, however. I'd envisioned a car needing a full restoration. The Russell-Alexis project is not a restoration! Rather, it is job of re-assembly and refurbishment. But the outcome will be something truly, truly unique — effectively a brand new 1968 race car that is absolutely period correct in every regard since virtually every part will be exactly as delivered to Gene in 1968. Pretty damn neat, huh?!? This does NOT happen very often.

Gene purchased a Formula B car. It was not uncommon for FFs to become FB cars in that era (or vice versa), the only difference in the formula being wheels and tires, motor, and transmission. Chassis of the era for either FB or FF could easily be converted to the other (or to European F2 or F3 specs, for that matter). Gene's FB purchase, while a FF chassis, was provided with proper 8"F/10"R x 13 wheels and Firestone tires (which, by the way, still hold air) and with the proper MK4 5-speed Hewland transaxle. A FF would have had different wheels and tires and a 4-speed Hewland. So, it was a FB car, albeit a roller (sans engine)

This car itself is also interesting and, to the aficionado, quite intriguing. Shrewd and/or knowledge readers will have already noted that the car is actually a Formula Ford. We know this because of the car's name, a "Russell Alexis", and its name-plate serial number ("J.R.R.D., AT/FF15") both leaving no doubt that the chassis is a Formula Ford. In 1967 Formula Ford had just come into being and in order to get in on the very rapidly growing acceptance of the new formula, the famed driving school of the era, Jim Russell Racing Driving School, commissioned Alexis to build a batch of Formula Fords for school cars and for resale to customers. This car is undoubtedly one of those 57 cars ultimately produced under the Russell-Alexis agreement and badged as "Russell-Alexis" cars. 

But there is some mystery with the car. Exactly how Fred Opert came into an unused Russell-Alexis FF chassis #15 is a mystery. And why it was already numbered with #66 is also unknown. It's possible that the chassis was unused, but the body work came off another active car. There is no doubt the chassis has never been used because no fluids have ever been in the brakes, radiator or clutch. Perhaps the body had been on another Russell school car, but the body's condition (pristine) belies that theory. Why would the body, in perfect shape, be taken off an active (barely active and most surely not wrecked) and put on an a new chassis?

We will try to research how Fred came into this early-build (i.e only #15 and built in Dec. of 1967) car which was never raced and sold to Opert and in turn to Gene as a FB chassis.

When I received the car the nose number was 93 (not 66 as on the sides -- see picture at top of page). It turns out that when Gene raced, he used #93. So when he got the car, he turned the nose numbers over (they were vinyl), and the first 6 in 66 became a nine and he modified the other 6 into a 3, creating 93. He told me he wanted to see what it would look like as 93, but, of course he never got to race the car.

Anticipating use in his new FB, in 1968 Gene purchased and rebuilt a Lotus 1600 cc TwinCam engine which he still has. But it was not part of my purchase. Rather, I will be building a period correct Lotus Twin Cam for the car.

I will add to this story as the car is completed. It is my goal to have it done by spring of 2005 and to let Gene take some laps in the car which he purchased 37 years prior. Happily, the number 93 is available from RMVR so the car will be able to run with his intended number on the car (nose and sides this time around!).