Andy Antipas' 1973 Titan Mk6 Formula Ford Racecar
Owner: Andy Antipas
City: Littleton, Colorado
Model: 1973 Titan MkVI
Engine: Ford Kent 1.6L
Prepared by: owner
Titan Formula Fords
Charles Lucas Engineering introduced their Titan Mk6 model in 1970. It was the company's third
offering for the popular Formula Ford class. It would become one of the best selling Formula Fords
in history.
What came before it? The Titan Mk1 and Mk2 models were one-off racecar projects, never intended for
serial production.¹ In 1967, Charles Lucas selected the name "Titan Mk3" for his company's first
product introduction. The Titan Mk3 model was specifically
designed for Formula Three.
Four for Ford: the Titan Mk4 model was essentially a de-rated and cost-reduced version of the Mk3
with a nominally stock Ford Cortina engine in lieu of the Mk3's well developed, Lucas-tuned,
Ford/Cosworth MAE racing engine. Produced through 1968, the Mk4 was engineered to meet all the rules
which made Formula Ford an inexpensive place for young drivers to get started in roadracing.
The most significant technical difference between Titan's Mk4 and the Mk5 for 1969 was that
Titan Mk5 racecars were supplied with newly available Hewland Mk8 gearboxes.
Design changes for the 1970 season were more clearly visible. Designer Roy Thomas provided the new
Mk6 model with Brabham BT23 style, wide based, two piece upper control arms. This provided racers with
noticeably surer feel and grip, especially under heavy braking loads. Furthermore, Thomas redesigned
the bodywork to improve downforce and reduce drag.
The Titan Mk6 quickly earned a great reputation by winning important races. In the U.K., Derek Lawrence
and Ken Bailey won at least 35 major races. Lawrence placed second in the 1972 BOC Championship, third in
the 1972 Sunbeam Electric Championship, second in the Daily Express Championship, and second in
Britain's important 1972 Formula Ford Festival. He also won the 1973 STP Championship. Bailey placed
second in the 1972 Sunbeam Electric Championship. In U.S.A., Jim Harrell drove a Titan Mk6 to victory
in SCCA's 1971 Formula Ford National Championship.
Race results led to sales. According to the Titan Registry, over three hundred Mk6s were built
between late 1969 and early 1974.
Despite increasing commercial success, in 1971 company founder Charles Lucas decided he wanted to
move on to other pursuits. He sold the company to Roy Thomas and his wife Diane. Under Thomas
family management, Charles Lucas Engineering was quickly reformed as Titan Cars. Production moved
from Huntingdon where they had been directly opposite the Lola works to a smaller
facility in nearby St. Neots, about ten miles to the south. The new location was still convenient
to their two key suppliers: Arch Motors (frames) and Specialised Mouldings Ltd. (fiberglass bodies).
Importers Fred Opert Racing in New Jersey and Pierre Phillips Racing in Oregon were key
to the success of the Titan Mk6 in North America. Both importers fielded race teams. Interestingly,
they also created model variants out of thin air so they could market cars as "new and improved".
Over three and a half years of production, the Titan Mk6 design barely changed. The most notable
running change was introduction of a revised nose cone (a.k.a. the "duckbill nose") which appeared
on U.S. market cars during 1973.
Charles Lucas Engineering and Titan Cars both used this distinctive gryphon logo.
A gryphon had previously appeared on the Lucas family's coat of arms.
Features and Specifications (as photographed)
| Engine: | Ford Kent 1600cc prepared by Ivey Engines Inc.
711M6015BA engine block.
Lucas aluminum valve cover.
Weber 32/36 DGAV carburetor.
Pipercross foam air cleaner.
Motorcraft distributor.
Bosch blue ignition coil.
Taylor Spiro-Pro 8mm silicone spark plug wires.
Dry sump lubrication system.
Titan oil pump.
Mocal 10-row aluminum oil cooler.
Purolator oil filter mount. |
| Cooling: | custom copper and brass crossflow radiator from Englewood Auto. |
| Exhaust: | authentic sand-bent four-into-one headers by Mike the Pipe. |
| Transaxle: | Hewland Mk8 four speed.
Rotoflex drive couplings.
Girling 3/4" master cylinder.
Girling slave cylinder. |
| Front Susp.: | unequal length wishbones, where the upper wishbone features a two-piece, wide-angle design.
Alford & Alder (Triumph Spitfire pattern) forged uprights.
SPAX double-adjustable coilover shock absorbers.
Adjustable anti-sway bar.
Titan proprietary steering rack. |
| Rear Susp.: | inverted lower wishbones, single top links, and twin radius arms.
Titan proprietary magnesium uprights.
SPAX double-adjustable coilover shock absorbers.
Adjustable anti-sway bar. |
| Brakes: | (master) Girling master cylinders (0.7" front, 0.75" rear) with remote reservoirs and remotely adjustable bias bar. (front) Girling 14LF calipers. Solid rotors. (rear) Girling 14LF calipers. Solid rotors. |
| Wheels/Tires: | American Racing "Silverstone" 8-spoke alloy wheels.
Avon Formula Ford / ACB9 racing tires (5.0/22.0/13 front, 6.5/23.0/13 rear). |
| Electrical: | Odyssey PC545 sealed/nonspillable drycell battery.
Tilton Super Starter XLT starter. |
| Instruments: | (left to right)
Stewart Warner coolant temperature gauge (100-240F),
Smiths Chronometric tachometer (500-8000rpm), and
Stewart Warner oil pressure gauge (5-100psi). |
| Fuel System: | custom Fuel Saft wedge-shaped under-seat fuel cell.
Bosch electric fuel pump. |
| Safety Eqmt: | Sabelt six point cam-lock safety harness.
SPA Design quick release steering wheel hub.
FireBottle Halon centralized fire supression system. |
Engine Installation
Ford Kent 1600cc prepared by Ivey Engines Inc.
Weber 32/36 DGAV carburetor.
Throttle linkage.
Bosch electric fuel pump, as supplied and recommended by Jay Ivey.
Bosch blue ignition coil. Taylor Spiro-Pro 8mm silicone spark plug wires.
Tilton Super Starter XLT starter. Titan oil pump.
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Original sand-bent mild steel exhaust headers by famous fabricator Mike the Pipe.
This is one of the very few vintage racecars we've found with authentic sand bent headers.
Advantages: bend radii not restricted to just one or two mandrel sizes, coumpound curves are
feasible, there are no seams or ridges at splices to disturb airflow, no expensive bender or
dies are required for their fabrication, and - importantly - sand bent headers are period correct.
Sand bending is a simple process. Workable lengths of mild steel tube are packed with fine-grade
dry sand and then capped. (A vent hole is left so hot steam can escape.) An oxy-acetylene torch
is used to heat and to keep the tube dark cherry red through the bend area, as a second person
carefully draws the tube around a suitable old piece of pipe. It takes skill and practice to
get the heat and force distributions right. As shown here, the results are worth the effort.
An extra slip joint may make header installation and removal easier. It will also help prevent cracking
at the connection between tube and flange. As you can see, the flange connections have been
brazed (instead of fusion welded) with a large, smooth radius for the same reason.
Engine coolant has been re-plumbed to external lines. Previously it ran through
longitudinal frame tubes, as on many other racecars of the era.
Dry sump oil pan. Large canister oil filter.
The car's original radiator featured a built-in oil cooler, so it wasn't out of the way
to mount the engine oil reservoir in the nose of the car.
Mocal 10-row aluminum oil cooler.
Overflow / breather tank.
Hewland Engineering Limited Maidenhead, serial number H8-903.
Front Suspension / Etc.
From this angle, the Titan Mk6's unequal length wishbones look perfectly traditional.
Designer Roy Thomas provided the Titan Mk6 model with Brabham BT23 style two-piece upper
control arms. When braking, the rearward piece is loaded in tension and the forward piece is
loaded in compression, which explains their relative cross-sections. Moreover, the rearward
pick-up has been moved to a more robust part of the frame.
Imagine a line drawn through the upper and lower pivots of the front upright. It's not perpindicular to
the ground. Its angle to a perpindicular reference is called "kingpin inclination". Six to eight degrees
is typical. Now extend the imaginary line to the ground. The distance from where it touchs the road
to the center of the tire's contact patch is called "scrub radius". Four inches is typical for vintage
racecars. Kingpin inclination and scrub radius affect steering effort and driver feel.
Alford & Alder (Triumph Spitfire pattern) forged uprights.
SPAX double-adjustable coilover shock absorbers.
When Andy restored this Mk6 (~10yrs ago), he hired Front Range Motorsports to handle chassis repairs.
Frame construction details. Note oval cross-section tubes, doubled tubes,
and out-of-plane diagonal stiffener.
Adjustable dead pedal.
Throttle pedal mounting features positive stops for both forward and extent of travel.
This car's nifty fabricated steel brake fluid reservoirs are period correct.
The brake fluid overflow catch bottle is probably a newer improvement.
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Rear Suspension
No surprises here: inverted lower wishbones, single top links, twin trailing links.
In one respect the Titan Mk6 suspension is typical for its era: it seems no attempt was made to
minimize frontal area or coefficient of drag. Later Formula Fords are much more streamlined.
SPAX double-adjustable coilover shock absorbers.
This rear anti-sway bar appears to provide a very wide range of adjustment.
Interior
Sabelt six point cam-lock safety harness.
At left: Tilton cable operated brake bias adjuster.
Spa Design quick release steering wheel hub, part number 01827300150.
Stewart Warner coolant temperature gauge (100-240F) and oil pressure gauge (5-100psi).
Smiths Chronometric tachometer (500-8000rpm).
Andy Antipas's Titan Mk6 is marked with car serial number 73677.
The frame is also stamped with an Arch Motors number: AM 73/10.
Gear shifter knob.
The floor of the footbox is steel. Further back, the car has an aluminum floor.
Diagonal braces to the main rollhoop were added to keep this particular Titan Mk6 in compliance
with Sports Car Club of America safety requirements from years after it was built.
Modifications like this are badges of honor. This car was worth updating.
The roll hoop braces pivot out of the way for drivers seat removal.
Lower brace mounting bracket.
Another safety enhancement: a taller roll hoop has been installed over the scuttle and sturdily braced.
Original Titan fiberglass drivers seat.
FireBottle Halon centralized fire supression system.
Odyssey PC545 sealed/nonspillable drycell battery.
Fuel Safe under-seat, wedge-shaped fuel cell.
Exterior
Fellow Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing member John Brosseau wishes Andy good luck.
We enjoyed watching Andy win the first Group 3 race of Rocky Mountain Vintage Racers'
"Octoberfast" weekend at Pike's Peak International Raceway, October 29, 2011.
Andy circled the 1.400 mile circuit with a best lap time of 1:04.844,
which works out to an average speed of 77.73 miles per hour.
As the Titan marque's registrar, Andy tries to keep informed of the whereabouts of the 364 original
Titan racecars. Andy can tell you where about 170 of them currently are. He personally owns two.
His other car is the one-of-a-kind Titan Mk3a built for Ben Moore and sometimes driven by Charles
Lucas in Formula Three races during 1969 (i.e. chassis number 68317, frame number AM-26).
Andy painted this Titan Mk6 himself. He selected the paint scheme - orange with a broad white
stripe - to honor the 1972 Team Titan semi-works racing team of Derek Lawrence and Ken Bailey.
Andy's business - Titan Motorsport North America, LLC - offers a range of service parts
for Titans and other Formula Ford racecars, plus helmets and safety harnesses.
Stickers (left to right): "Ivey Engines Inc.", "Rocky Mountain Division Championship Series",
"HSR West (Historic Sportscar Racing West)", "Fred Opert Racing", "In Memory of Roy Thomas
(1935-2001) Charles Lucas Engineering, Titan Cars, Chequered Flag, Tom The Weld",
"FF Legal and Proud", "Team Titan", "Spax", "Sabelt", "Pipercross Performance Air Filter",
"Red Line Synthetic Oil", "Sports Car Club of America".
Stickers (front to rear): "I Support The Workers - Milwaukee" (Sports Car Club of America),
"Sports Car Club of America", "RMVR Ltd." (Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing), "High Plains
Raceway Founding Contributor", "Danny Collins (1929-2004) May the road rise up to meet you."
Bodywork by Specialised Mouldings Ltd., England
Pipercross foam air cleaner. Lucas battery disconnect switch.
Fred Opert Racing is one of the two companies that imported Titans to North America.
The company has been in continuous operation since 1965.
American Racing "Silverstone" 8-spoke alloy wheels.
Avon Formula Ford / ACB9 racing tires (5.0/22.0/13 front, 6.5/23.0/13 rear).
| Notes: | ||
| (1) |
Charles Lucas Engineering built two one-off racecars before developing the Titan Mk3 model
and offering it for public sale. The name "Titan" and the model designations "Mk1" and
"Mk2" may not have occurred to company owner Charles Lucas or to designer Roy Thomas until
after they were well along with plans for the Titan Mk3.
The Titan Mk1 was reportedly a sports racer, either similar to or built from a Lotus 23. Unlike the Ford-powered Lotus 23 that Charles Lucas drove on some occasions in 1965, the Titan Mk1 was reportedly powered by a 2.5 liter Maserati engine. We've been unable to confirm rumours that the Titan Mk1 may have been raced by Swedish driver Picko Troberg. The Titan Mk2 was in a fact a Lotus 35 Formula Two racecar (#35/F/19) modified to accept a Martin 3-liter aluminum V8 engine. As mentioned in Motor Racing magazine's November 1966 edition: "Piers Courage was due to drive the new Lotus-Martin V8, a modified monocoque single seater powered by Ted Martin's new GP engine, at the Snetterton Autosport Trophy meeting on October 16. The car is being sponsored by Charles Lucas." After a few warm-ups, Charles Lucas Engineering clearly hoped to compete in Formula One races. The Lotus-Martin was completed in time for Roy Pike to enter the 1966 Boxing Day Formula Libre race at Mallory Park, and he finished third on a rain soaked track. The car's second appearance would have been the non-chamionship Formula One "Race of Champions" contest on March 12, 1967 at Brands Hatch. Piers Courage qualified 14th quickest, but he suffered an engine failure and did not start. Again, race reports from the Brands Hatch weekend identified the car as a Lotus-Martin. We've also seen it referred to as a Lucas-Martin. In April, while testing at Snetterton, Piers Courage suffered a shunt which set the Lotus-Martin on fire. He emerged unhurt, but Charles Lucas declared the car a total loss. It may be that he made an executive decision to focus on the new Mk3, which was nearly complete. A year later he advertised the Lotus-Martin for sale. | |
All photos shown here are from October 2011 when we viewed the car at RMVR's October "Spooktacular" Event
at Pike's Peak International Raceway, near Colorado Springs.
Photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishRaceCar.com, copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
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