Howard Freeman's 1968 Merlyn 11 Formula Ford Racecar
Owner: Howard FreemanCity: Toronto, Ontario
Model: 1968 Merlyn Eleven
Engine: Ford "Kent" 1600cc four cylinder
Restored and race prepared by: John Dodd's British Sports Car Workshop.
Transition Model: the Merlyn Eleven Formula Ford
This is one of only eleven Merlyn "Eleven" model Formula Fords ever made. Colchester Racing Developments
went on to make many "Eleven A" model racecars (including Bernard
Bradpiece's and Dave Fairchild's), and subsequent models too.
Howard Freeman's Eleven represents the transitionary design Colchester built after revising their Formula
Three car for the brand new Formula Ford racing class.
Merlyn - Colchester Racing Developments Ltd.
Merlyn - Chassis No. 122-FF-68 - Mark Eleven
Manufactured By: Colchester Racing Developments Ltd.
Colchester, Essex, England
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Features and Specifications
| Engine: | 1.6L Ford four-cylinder.
Weber 32/36 DGV carburetor.
K&N air filter.
Bosch distributor (with breaker points).
Bosch blue ignition coil.
MagneCor "Electrosports 80" 8mm spark plug wires.
Dry sump lubrication system.
Titan oil pump.
Atlas oil filter. |
| Cooling: | front mounted copper/brass crossflow radiator.
(Coolant lines added outboard of spaceframe.) |
| Exhaust: | custom 4-into-1 header. |
| Transmission: | Hewland Mark 8 4-speed with reverse, rebuilt by Taylor Race Engineering.
Webster rear cover.
Rubber drive donuts. |
| Front Susp.: | unequal length wide-based wishbones.
Triumph Spitfire, 1967-on (Alford & Alder) forged steel front upright.
Koni steel bodied double-adjustable coilover shock absorbers.
Adjustable anti-sway bar.
Modified Triumph Herald steering rack. |
| Rear Susp.: | inverted lower wishbones, single top links, and twin adjustable trailing links.
Merlyn magnesium uprights.
Koni steel bodied double-adjustable coilover shock absorbers.
Adjustable anti-sway bar. |
| Brakes: | (master) dual Girling master cylinders with bias bar. Tilton remote adjuster. (front) Girling 14SP calipers. (rear) Girling 12SP calipers. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Weller Racing steel disc wheels.
Dunlop Racing "Formula Ford" tires (135/545-13 CR82 front, 165/580-13 CR82 rear). |
| Instruments: | (left to right) Smiths oil temperature gauge (90-230F),
Racetech dual oil pressure (0-100psi) and coolant temperature (30-110C) gauge,
Stack tachometer (0-10000rpm). |
| Fuel System: | Ford mechanical fuel pump with push-on fittings. |
| Safety Eqmt: | Willans six-point cam-lock safety harness.
FireBottle 2.5 pound centralized fire suppression system.
Quick release steering wheel hub. |
| Racing Class: | Formula Ford. |
Engine Installation
Merlyn's frame design didn't make a low-mounted exhaust installation easy.
This custom 4-into-1 exhaust header was evidently pieced together from a "box of bends".
Custom fabricated aluminum reservoir for engine oil. (The engine is dry-sumped.)
Stock Merlyn overflow / breather tank.
Bosch "blue" ignition coil.
K&N air filter.
Weber 32/36 DGV carburetor.
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Bosch distributor (with breaker points). MagneCor "Electrosports 80" 8mm spark plug wires.
Titan oil pump. Atlas oil filter.
Starter motor.
At left: custom fabricated coolant overflow tank.
At right: regular Ford mechanical fuel pump with push-on fittings.
This Webster rear cover fits on Hewland Mk4 through Mk9 transaxles.
TRE99210 - (WR) 444-23
Apex universal joints with their distinctive red rubber protective covers are a popular
choice for shifter linkages. Apex Tool Group has produced universal joints since 1933.
Vintage style copper and brass radiator, protected by a screen. We photographed this car on
a cool day, and you can see that duct tape has been applied to reduce cooling efficiency.
Even without any oil cooler installed, this car probably has plenty of cooling capacity.
As on many other early Formula Fords, Merlyn plumbed coolant through frame tubes.
The coolant has been discretely re-routed through aluminum tubing, hidden under the car's
fiberglass bodywork. This eliminates concerns about the coolant eroding/corroding frame
tubes, but it doesn't reduce heat in the drivers compartment.
Front Suspension
Front view.
Overview.
Unequal length wide-based wishbones.
Tie rod ends are installed at the upper control arm (outboard) and steering arm connections.
This is period correct and probably more economical than Heim (a.k.a. "Rose") joint rod ends.
This style of Alford & Alder forged front uprights were used on Triumph Spitfires from 1967 on.
These uprights have ears for brake calipers whereas earlier style Spitfire/Herald uprights require
adapter brackets, evidently because they were originally designed for use with drum brakes.
Girling 14SP calipers.
Merlyn 11 frame details.
Tilton cable operated remote brake bias adjuster.
Modified Triumph Herald steering rack.
Interestingly, steering racks on Triumph Heralds were mounted with c-shaped rubber-lined clamps.
This steering coupling is also from Triumph Herald. Its purpose is to
absorb any misalignment in the steering, without binding.
Nylon bushings at the inboard control arm pick-up points undoubtedly improve handling precision.
Rear Suspension
Inverted lower wishbones, single top links, and twin adjustable trailing links.
Adjustable anti-sway bar.
Shock absorbers have been repainted, and are now color coordinated with the car's body.
Rubber drive donuts.
Merlyn's proprietary magnesium rear uprights.
Interior
Willans six-point cam-lock safety harness.
A quick release steering wheel hub is an important safety and convenience upgrade.
Smiths oil temperature gauge (90-230F), Racetech dual oil pressure (0-100psi) and coolant temperature
(30-110C) gauge, and Stack Chronotronic tachometer (0-10000rpm). Note: this tach replicates the look
and needle movement of a vintage chronometric tach, but adds a peak RPM electronic tattle-tale feature.
Merlyn Eleven gear selector mechanism. (Pushbuttons for operating the Stack Chronotronic tachometer
are visible at the edge of the instrument panel.)
Merlyn gear shifter knob.
Whereas this Merlyn 11 has diagonal tubes bracing the left and right of the footbox, both the
Merlyn 11A racecars we've previously photographed used steel sheetmetal to reinforce this area.
The red knob (labeled "Tilton") is for adjusting forward/rearward brake bias to accommodate
track conditions (e.g. rain), weight distribution changes, tire condition, etc.
By class rules, the knob must be out of reach of the driver while racing.
Foreground: the steering column is also drilled for a further forward steering wheel position.
FireBottle 2.5 pound fire suppression system (and also a battery, in the foreground.)
Welded-on brackets for an earlier fire extinguisher can still be seen on the frame.
Shiny new aluminum firewall.
Merlyn cast aluminum fuel filler cap.
Compared to how the Merlyn was originally built, this roll hoop is taller. An even more recent change is
that shoulder harness attachment points have been moved downward to suit use of a HANS (head and
neck restraint) device. With these alterations, the car complies with modern safety requirements.
Hella battery disconnect switch.
Exterior
At Mosport, during VARAC's 31st International Vintage Festival, Howard Freeman piloted his Merlyn
Eleven to a fine third place finish in the Saturday afternoon Monoposto feature race. His best
lap of 1:38.191 around the challenging 3.957km circuit equates to an average speed of 145.08kph.
(It must be hard to concentrate with rather odd homebuilt racecar parked next to your Merlyn.)
The Perspex windscreen on this Merlyn Eleven is different in size and shape compared
to windscreens on Eleven-A's we've previously photographed. Generally, it's taller.
Colchester Racing Developments fabricated their own frames and their own fiberglass body parts.
The fuel cell is mounted underneath the driver's seat.
Adjustable anti-sway bar.
Custom 4-into-1 header.
Merlyn Eleven fiberglass engine cover. (It's shorter in length than what we've
observed on Merlyn 11A racecars.)
Weller Racing steel disc wheels.
Dunlop Racing "Formula Ford" tires (135/545-13 CR82 front, 165/580-13 CR82 rear).
All photos shown here are from June 2010 when we viewed the car at VARAC's 31st International Vintage Festival
at Mosport International Raceway, near Toronto Ontario. Photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishRaceCar.com,
copyright 2011. All rights reserved.
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