Robert Romanansky's Macon MR7 Formula Ford Racecar
Owner: Robert RomananskyCity: Mountain Top, Pennsylvania
Model: 1969 Macon MR7
Engine: Ford Kent 1600cc four cylinder
Race prepared by: Tivvy Shenton
Macon Race Cars
Angus MacPhail and Tony Houghton combined parts of their names to create
the tradename "Macon". The two friends also combined skills to design and build
a number of interesting racing vehicles in the late sixties and early seventies.
The very first Macon was a land speed record motorcycle/sidecar combination, but the
young company reached its stride and gained its fame in Formula Ford. Along with Lotus and
Alexis, Macon Race Cars was one of the first firms to build cars especially for
the newly announced and very exciting Formula Ford class. The Macon MR6 was initially
developed in 1967. Much of the early testing was completed with Syd Fox serving as test
driver.
You might possibly recall that the very first Formula Ford race ever held (at Brands Hatch,
July 12, 1967) was won by Ray Allen who drove a Lotus 51. Soon thereafter, Allen switched
to a Macon MR6 and with it he continued winning races.
The most famous Macon driver was an Australian named Vern Schuppan. After some success
in Formula Ford with Macon sponsorship, Schuppan went on to drive Formula One and
Indy cars. He won the Le Mans 24 hour Race in 1983, driving a Rothmans Porsche 956.
MACON RACE CARS
TYPE MR7, CHASSIS NO. 107, DATE 4 8 69, (10 138).
Macon sold a few cars to British customers in early 1968, before Tony Houghton was
introduced to Fred Opert, the well known New Jersey based importer of racing cars. From
that meeting on, Macon shipped most of their production to the United States. The tiny shop
could hardly build cars fast enough. Macon Race Cars built about twenty cars between 1967 and
1971. Thereafter, the rate of sales declined but production continued over years. Before
Tony Houghton's death in a sailing accident, the Macon badge had been placed on about
forty race cars.
Peter Alexander of PA Motorsport acquired rights to the Macon Race Cars name in 2004, and
from that time has been supplying genuine Macon spare parts from original molds, jigs,
and drawings.
Features and Specifications
| Engine: | 1.6L Ford Cortina 2737-block four-cylinder engine ("non-uprated", see below).
Weber 32/36 DGV carburetor.
RamAir foam air filter.
Bosch distributor.
Bosch blue ignition coil.
Mallory Pro-Wire Silicone / Stainless Steel 8mm spark plug wires.
Dry sump lubrication system with rear mounted reservoir.
Titan oil pump.
Mocal remote oil filter mount.
Fram Toughguard TG2870A engine oil filter.
Setrab 10-row engine oil cooler. |
| Cooling: | crossflow radiator.
Original through-the-frame coolant plumbing has been disconnected in lieu of external plumbing.
Original swirl tank. |
| Exhaust: | four-into-one headers. |
| Transaxle: | Hewland Mk8 four speed.
Open differential.
Metalastic rubber "doughnuts" on the halfshafts. |
| Front Susp.: | unequal length wide-based wishbones, featuring two-piece upper
control arms and Heim joints at inboard connections.
Triumph (Alford & Alder, forged) uprights.
Koni steel bodied coilover shock absorbers.
Adjustable anti-sway bar. |
| Rear Susp.: | inverted lower wishbones, single top links, and twin adjustable trailing links.
Proprietary Macon magnesium uprights.
Koni steel bodied coilover shock absorbers.
Adjustable anti-sway bar. |
| Brakes: | (master) dual Girling master cylinders with remote reservoirs and adjustable bias bar. (front) Girling 14L MkII calipers. 9.25" solid rotors. (rear) Girling 14LF MkIII calipers. 9.75" solid rotors. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Weller Wheels 13x5.5 steel disc wheels (~12.6# each).
Dunlop Racing "Formula Ford" tires (135/545-13 CR82 front, 165/580-13 CR82 rear). |
| Electrical: | Sears DieHard LG-3 (lawn tractor) battery.
Hella battery disconnect switch.
Ford starter. |
| Instruments: | (left to right)
Smiths coolant temperature gauge (30-110C),
Smiths Chronometric rev counter (500-9000rpm),
oil pressure gauge (0-100psi).
|
| Fuel System: | under seat fuel cell.
FF1600 fuel pump with push-on fittings. |
| Safety Eqmt: | Schroth Racing six-point cam-lock safety harness.
Centralized fire suppression system.
Vitaloni California mirrors.
Momo steering wheel on quick release steering wheel hub.
|
| Racing Class: | Formula Ford |
Engine Installation
1.6L Ford Cortina four-cylinder engine.
Engine block casting number 2737E6015B indicates that this is the early Cortina version of the Ford
Kent crossflow engine. One difference is that these earlier engines had compression cavities in the
cylinder head in combination with flat-top pistons. From about 1971 on, Ford built the engines with a
flat-surface cylinder head and dished pistons. The later engine is also figured to have a more
robust bottom end. Most racers of vintage Formula Fords have updated to the later design, but
Bob Romanansky's Macon MR7 still has a non-updated Cortina engine.
Weber 32/36 DGV carburetor.
Bosch distributor, Bosch blue ignition coil, and Mallory Pro-Wire Silicone 8mm spark plug wires.
Titan oil pump.
Fram Toughguard TG2870A engine oil filter mounted on a Mocal remote oil filter base.
Four into one headers.
Note the lack of seams and the variety of bend radii in these headers. These are the real deal:
they were sand-bent. In other words, sections of mild steel tubing were packed tightly with dry
sand and then capped. (Vent holes were undoubtedly drilled to let hot air escape.) Then, the
tubes were heated up and bent around various sized bits of old pipe or tree-stump. Cool!
This tall coolant swirl pot helps separate air bubbles from coolant. Its original installation height
was about two inches lower as you can tell by the original port, which is now blanked off.
Sears DieHard LG-3 (lawn tractor) battery.
Setrab 10-row engine oil cooler.
Original Macon fabricated aluminum engine oil reservoir.
Hewland H8-480. This transaxle features a four speed gearbox.
Front Suspension
Triumph (Alford & Alder, forged) uprights and Girling 14L MkII brake calipers.
Unequal length wide-based wishbones... and all of the inboard attachment points are adjustable.
Two-piece upper control arms also simplify suspension tuning.
Koni steel bodied coilover shock absorber.
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Rear Suspension
Inverted lower wishbones, single top links, and twin adjustable trailing links.
Metalastic rubber "doughnuts" on the halfshafts.
Widely spaced trailing links (in contrast to early Lotus Formula Fords.)
Macon was one of just a few small Formula Ford constructors to develop their own magnesium
rear uprights. Several other Formula Ford constructors purchased Macon's uprights for their
own cars including specifically Huron, Jamun, and Jomic.
Proprietary Macon magnesium uprights and Girling 14LF MkIII brake calipers.
Interior
You want to step in and give it a try, don't you!
Schroth Racing six-point cam-lock safety harness.
Roll hoop and head rest.
Vintage Momo steering wheel mounted on a quick release hub.
Smiths coolant temperature gauge (30-110C) and Smiths Chronometric rev counter (500-9000rpm).
Smiths Chronometric rev counter (500-9000rpm) and oil pressure gauge (0-100psi).
The scuttle is fabricated our of box tubing.
Apparently this car's yellow racing stripe was originally narrower.
Note also centralized fire suppression system and remote reservoirs for brake master cylinders.
Rather than make having adjustable faces on the pedals, the complete pedal and master cylinder assembly
is mounted on a sled, and can be moved closer to the driver. The range of adjustment is huge!
(This is almost certainly NOT an original feature of the Macon design.)
Exterior
Macon Race Cars logo.
Bob Romanansky prepares to contest the Jefferson 500 at Summit Point.
Fred Opert Racing became the North American distributor for Macon Race Cars, and ultimately
the company's most important customer. Complete cars were shipped to Opert, and also in some
cases kits which may have been assembled or used for spare parts.
Macon's fiberglass bodies were produced by a company called Centaur of Southwold, Suffolk. The
mold Centaur used for the main body section was second hand. It had earlier been used for one of
the cars in the movie Grand Prix.
Before being sectioned and made narrower, the Macon MR6/MR7
body mold was used for producing McLaren's M4 model.
Hella battery disconnect switch. RamAir foam air filter.
Wraparound Perspex windscreen. (Perspex is British-English for acrylic, a.k.a. "Plexiglas".)
Vitaloni California mirrors.
Weller Wheels 13x5.5 steel disc wheels (~12.6# each).
Dunlop Racing "Formula Ford" tires (135/545-13 CR82 front, 165/580-13 CR82 rear).
All photos shown here are from April 2010 when we viewed the car at VRG's Jefferson 500
at Summit Point Motorsports Park, West Virginia. Photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishRaceCar.com,
copyright 2011. All rights reserved.
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