Repco-wank, and Aussie V8 TL.

[Riain]

I'm reading about the Repco racing V8 era and the tiny team of 4 men pursued a couple of dead ends that probably cost them the 1968 F1 world championship among other things. So here's a TL where some things fall into place.

_______________________________________________________________

1964 the Tasman Series begins with a 2.5 litre engine open wheel formula.

The Climax FPF gets a new lease on life but Repco executives realise that the FPF will run out of life and go looking for an engine as a suitable replacement. They decide on the aluminium V8 engine family recently dropped by GM, specifically they chose the Oldsmobile F85 version as it has 6 head bolts per cylinder rather than 5 of the Buick. Frank Irving judges the engine can range from 2.5 to 4.4 litres for Tasman and Sports racing cars.

1965 the Tasman series cars are the fastest open wheelers in the world, BRM and Climax enlarge their 1.5 litre F1 engines to compete in the Tasman series.

The prototype Repco 2.5 litre V8 engine is first started on March 21st. It features new Repco designed and Commonwealth Aircraft Factory cast heads with chain-driven single overhead camshafts on top of the production-based block strengthened with external steel bracing.

The “Return to Power” is announced, in 1966 F1 cars will have 3.0 litre engines, the higher speed and popularity of the Tasman series is given some credit for this.

Coventry Climax announces that they will not build an engine for the 3.0 formula; Jack Brabham contacts Repco about building a 3.0 litre version of their prototype V8. Repco, Brabham Racing Organisation (BRO) and Motor Racing Developments (MRD - Brabham and Tauranac’s racing car building company) negotiate a partnership deal to ensure engines are developed to meet the needs of BRO/MRD’s F1 programme. As a result the engines are designated RB for Repco-Brabham.

1966 The 3.0 litre RB 620 engined BT19 debuts in South Africa on January 2nd, Repco built 6 engines using the Olds F85 production block before undertaking to have their own blocks cast by CAC along with the other major components. Brabham uses these RB620 engines in BT19 and BT20 cars of his own manufacture to win the 1966 F1 world championship, the first man to do so.

CAMS announces that in 1967 the Tasman series will go from 2.5 to 3.0 litre engines to align with F1. This is popular with Australian open wheel racers as International teams often sold their cars and other spares and equipment to locals at the end of the Tasman series rather than transport it back to Europe.

1967 Repco develops a new lighter 700 series block and two new head types, the 30 series cross flow head and the 40 series with inlet and exhaust ports within the V. The 40 series head is selected for the cleaner installation in the forthcoming BT24 F1 car.

Jack Brabham contests Tasman Series with new 3.0 litre formula in BT23A with RB 620 engine, wins at Longford in Tasmania. Brabham sells this car to a local racer at the end of the Tasman series.

Frank Matich installs 4.4 litre BT620 engines in two SR3 Sports cars and takes them to the US. He sells one car to Tony Settember and races five Can Am events in his own car, in his first events he finishes high enough to win some prizemoney, small by US standards but considerable by Australian standards. This funds the rest of his campaign, where he manages to finish high enough to win prizemoney on one more occasion.



Denny Hulme wins the 1967 World Championship in a BT24 equipped with RB740 engine, with Jack Brabham runner up.

Repco decides that with the Ford DFV being so much more powerful than the 740 that something drastic would have to be done. Further testing on the discarded 30 series head showed that there were power advantages to a cross-flow arrangement. To take advantage of this a radial four-valve arrangement using quad cams was proposed and designated the 50 series, but reluctantly rejected due to probable installation complexity. A short stroke engine was quickly cobbled together from existing engine parts but was found to have no power advantage over the existing bore and stroke arrangements. In the end a more conventional quad-cam, four-valve head, the 60 series was designed and developed. This was matched to an 800 series block which was shorter and lighter than the 700 series block but unable to be used for engines over 3.0 litres to make the BR 860.

 

[Alex1guy]

Oooh a racing Tl, that's refreshing, sign me up

 

[TheMann]

So, the effective goal is to make an Aussie rival to the Cosworth DFV, then? I like the idea, but I would always advise that if you do this that you make it so that anyone with the money can buy one, just as with the DFV, and perhaps get Holden to badge it at some point.

 

[phx1138]

I like this TL, too. I've always liked the Buick/Olds/Rover V8, & thought Repco deserved to do better. I also agree with TheMann, make it readily available.

That said, some questions. Are the heads available separately? Can Oz (& U.S.) hot rodders & racers get them? What are the limits to displacement of the 860s? (AIUI, the stock block, with the 300 Buick crank, could be punched to 301 or 302 ci, with 2.3 Ford pistons; with the Range Rover block & crank, up to 318ci looks possible.).

BTW: subscribed.

 

[TheMann]

So, if the Repco engine is able to be a rival to the DFV, who is most likely to use it?

1969 had Lotus, McLaren, Matra, BRM, Ferrari and Brabham, with Rob Walker's private Lotus, the private McLaren driven by Vic Elford and the private Brabhams run by Frank Williams and Silvio Moser. The factory Brabham is a given for Repco power, and we can safely scratch Lotus (the first DFV user and one of the last ones) and Ferrari (for obvious reasons) from using the Aussie engines, which leaves Matra (probably not) and BRM (maybe). New runners show up in numbers in the early 70s (count Tyrrell, March, Shadow and Surtees among these) and a second engine could well find plenty of success, who would use it to prove its abilities other than Brabham?

 

[Riain]

Like all my TL ideas this one will be quite modest and probably peter out by 1972-73. I have to get it down while I'm interested and have the bulk of the easy to get info in one place. When I have to start tracking down details of individual cars over long periods it all gets too hard. The purpose of this TL, if there is one, is to engage Aussie racing with the world and the world with Aussie racing while the narrow window is open.


Considering the size of the BR organisation the engines were 'widely' available, although I'm having a hard time working out how many Repco engines were made. MRD built 13 Repco powered cars between 1965-68, Frank Matich had 2 or 3 sports cars, Bob Jane had one in a Torana and there are other scattered around. But with a handful of people in Melbourne Repco will never be able to produce the output of engines and continuity of development that Ford-Cosworth did. Brabham already had trouble with the long supply chain from Europe to Australia, this was before air freight really took off, so that will be almost an insurmountable problem.


As I understand it the BT620 could go from 2.5 to 4.4 litres but I'm not sure if the 30/40/60 series heads can fit on them, I doubt it. The 700 and 800 block can mount 30/40/60 heads, the 700 block can go from 2.5 to 5.1 litres but the 800 block had its deck cut right down to make it lighter and can only go 2.5 to 3.0 litres.


Once the first 6 BT620 were built the gap between the Olds V8 (it was Olds, not Buick, the crucial difference is the 6th head bolt in the Olds version for high compression and turbo applications) quickly blows out very wide. Even the first 6 engines had Repco OHC heads and a big magnesium front cover for the camshaft chain-drives and work done in and around the original cam area. Later castings became more specialised, making the gap between them and the now Rover engine wider still. So basically hot rodders won't be able to slap Repco heads on their Rovers, Buicks or whatever, there are too many head bolts for starters let alone the stuff that changes a US pushrod engine into a successful F1/Indy/Sports racing engine.

BTW has anyone ever ammended a Wiki page? I'm sick of the links from Repco going to the Buick page engine section when there's a perfectly good Olds page engine section which would give people a much better idea of what actually happened. How is it done?

 

[phx1138]

Rob Walker's private Lotus, the private McLaren driven by Vic Elford and the private Brabhams run by Frank Williams and Silvio Moser. The factory Brabham is a given for Repco power...Matra (probably not) and BRM (maybe). New runners show up in numbers in the early 70s (count Tyrrell, March, Shadow and Surtees among these) and a second engine could well find plenty of success, who would use it to prove its abilities other than Brabham?

BRM would be the biggest beneficiary IMO, as opposed to the boat anchor they ended up with OTL. Could slso go to Tecno, or to Canadians Paul Seitz (Brabham-Climax OTL) John Maryon (Eagle-Climax OTL), Ahrens Racing Team (Brabham-Cosworth), Squadra Tartaruga (Brabham-Cosworth), Felday Engineering Ltd (Brabham-Cosworth). (Thank WP.)

I'm also wondering if Repcos wouldn't be available in F2/F3...

As for the swap for hot rodders, the Olds block was available in wrecking yards in not-inconsiderable numbers... How much of the conversion was bolt-on, & how much involved serious remachining? (Even the change to the Buick stroker crank required some machining, & the bigger bores needed resleeving, plus a mess of new non-OE valvetrain gear.) (Hope the link goes where you'd like it, now.)

 

[Riain]

I doubt Repco will be able to supply huge numbers of engines, especially to overseas customers, their operation was too small.

 

[TheMann]

I doubt Repco will be able to supply huge numbers of engines, especially to overseas customers, their operation was too small.

But that can be changed, you know. Repco sets up shop in England or the USA to supply engines to F1, maybe? Or perhaps a turbocharged 800 for Indycar Racing?

 

[bobinleipsic]

Maybe Repco can develop a 3 litre v-12??

bobinleipsic

 

[Riain]

Bear in mind gentlemen that Repco is a car parts manufacturer and engine reconditioner, they are not a car maker needing to display their prowes nor a racing organisation with a sideline in sportscars.

The whole rationale behind the V8 was because Repco wanted to keep the sideline in racing parts and servicing in Australia and NZ going once their stock of Climax spares was exhausted. Repco didn't give F1 a moments thought when they started developing the pushrod Olds V8 into an OHC racing engine, it was all about the domestic market and Tasman Series. That this engine won 2 F1 titles was a happy accident, but by the late 60s open wheel racing in Australia was losing popularity in favour of touring cars so the domestic market for pure racing engines dried up. At this point Repco dropped the RB like a hot spud and turned their attention toward the new Holden 308 V8 and with a flat plane crank and other stuff turned it into a F5000 engine for the domestic racing market. After a few years the F5000 market dried up as well and Repco went back to doing valve regrinds on red motors.

 

[Riain]

1967

The Six Day War closes the Suez Canal from June, forcing all shipping between Europe and Asia/Australasia to round the Cape of Good Hope.

FIA announces that in 1968 the Australian and New Zealand Grand Prix will become rounds of the F1 world championship. CAMS adds to this by declaring that no 1.5 litre cars, which routinely fill out the grids of Tasman Series Races, would be able to enter the Australian GP, only cars of 2.5 litre capacity and above will be eligible. This causes a flurry of activity in Australia and New Zealand to increase the fuel tank size to enable Tasman cars to complete a full length GP and engine size to be eligible as well competitive. Repco does a brisk trade in Climax FPF and V8s, including rebuilding older RB 620 as well as supplying new RB730 and RB740 engines.

The Ford XR Falcon GT wins the Bathurst 500 race in October.

Several leading Australian drivers decide that since their cars are now capable of running a full Grand Prix they might as well maximize the return on this investment. With the closure of the Suez Canal shipping to South Africa is readily available, so several Australians enter their Tasman cars in the South African Grand Prix to be run on New Year’s Day 1968. News of this reaches the South African racing fraternity and, taking advantage of the same conditions, several South African drivers enter the Australian and New Zealand Grands Prix.

Testing of the RB 860 leads to the discovery that at high engine revolutions that valve train toward the rear cylinders is prone to failure. However testing larger capacity engines destined for USAC and sports cars, using taller deck 700 series blocks, for shows that this vibration does not occur at the lower revs these engines operate at. With the start of the F1 season looming and the BT26 being designed with the cross-flow RB 860 engine Repco revisits the cross-flow 30 series heads that were put aside in 1967 in favour of the 40 series heads, and creates the RB 830 3.0 engine for the start of the F1 season. Despite producing significantly less power than the RB 860 and engines such as the Cosworth DFV the RB 830 is reliable, light and cheap to operate.

 

[bschenker]

Repco RB 620 questions.


It’s there somewhere that does help me?


The last races from the BT19 in 1967 were with heads (think named 640) similar the one used in the 740 engines from the BT24.


My question, is there somewhere tats can say me how many of this heads are built and maybe also hi bought some of this heads.


.

 

[Riain]

In my experience there is no reference to tell you anything detailed about Repco V8s that is easily available on the web. Indeed the basic information on the web is that the Repco V8 is based on a Buick engine, which is wrong because it was based on the Oldsmobile version.

As for stats, about the only ones I can recall were that there were about 35 Repco V8s made in total and only the first 6 blocks were conversions of the Olds production engines the rest of the blocks were cast in Melbourne at CAC Fishermans Bend.