www.QV500.com - Stanguellini Formula Junior Part 2: Formula Junior
 
The late fifties was a classic era for single seater racing, some of the most beautiful machinery having been produced in what were the final days before mid-mounted engines became the norm. Formula Junior was the class of choice for ambitious young drivers and between 1958 through until the end of 1959, a Stanguellini was the car to have. Securing a reputation as the definitive front engined Junior, it notched up over 40 national and international victories plus several major championships. Famously, the Stanguellini FJ also launched the careers of Wolfgang Von Trips and Lorenzo Bandini, both of whom went on to drive for Ferrari in F1 during the 1960’s.
   

Formula Junior’s had to have their principal elements (engines, gearbox and brakes) sourced from cars homologated by the FIA in their International Touring class and with the exception of a Fiat 1100 Millecento cylinder block, most proprietary parts were sourced from the Fiat 1200. Although outwardly similar, Stanguellini produced three slightly different versions of their FJ that comprised 15 1958 cars with production-spec Fiat front suspension, around 70 1959 cars and possibly as many as 30 examples completed in 1960 with independent rear suspension. Before any of these, however, came the prototype (04087), completed in late 1957 and based on one of Stanguellini’s successful 750 Formula Corse single seaters. Powered by a modified Fiat 1100 engine, the prototype retained a two-port head and drew fuel initially from a pair of downdraught Weber carbs although these were later replaced by two cycle-type Dell’Ortos. Also incorporating a special rocker cover, the little prototype was tested by Juan Fangio who shook it down on several occasions at the Modena Autodrome.
 

CS 00122, Fangio in the car of Zanarotti		 As Lurani and Giambertone had yet to finalise the 1958 regulations, soon after completion, the prototypes Topolino-type front suspension was replaced with a Fiat 1100 assembly, the track being widened in the process. Sponsored by Bardahl and piloted by Roberto Lippi, the prototype went on to win four races in 1958 and secured the first Italian FJ Championship for Stanguellini. Customer versions began rolling off the production line in June '58, the first going to favoured drivers like Gastone Zanarotti and Pinto Nogueira who secured victories within weeks.
   
The FJ’s tubular steel ladder type frame was reinforced with integral stiffening tubes, the 80mm diameter side members being bound together by two tubes at the rear, two in the centre (aided by a stressed floor pan) and two at the front, welded into a rigid supporting bridge for the independent front suspension. The side members ran straight until being bent inwards at a point adjacent to the engine mounts and foot pedals, two diagonal bracing tubes joining the main central crossmember. A simple four-legged bridge at the back absorbed forces from the coils and shocks and supported, along with two straps, the 16-gallon fuel tank. Supplementary stiffening was provided by a small tube superstructure welded on by Vaccari and Baccarini's Carrozzeria Gransport. At the front, wide-spaced parallel wishbone suspension featured coil springs and on the 15 1958 specification cars, an anti-roll bar (this was removed for 1959). Wound to an unusually coarse pitch, the front coil springs were canted steeply inwards, much like Alfa Romeo’s Giulietta and gave a mild variable rate effect.
 
However, the use of this production-derived front end was largely a hangover from the Italian National Junior Formula of 1958 that required front suspension be sourced from the same car that supplied the engine. Choosing to retain the live rear axle located by a pair of short parallel trailing arms at each side with vertical coil springs and slightly angled telescopic shock absorbers all round, this system was very similar to the one seen on Stanguellini’s 750cc Formula Corse and some of the firms sports racing cars. Weighing in at 420kg (the class minimum was 400kg), the FJ used conventional brakes with un-ventilated 250mm A1-Fin drums.
   
Wheels were 12-inch Borrani wires. Driver disposition was always a problem on small monopostos and particularly those that used many off-the-shelf components. Stanguellini came up with a low seating position, convenient right-hand shift and marginally off-centre driving position that was dictated by the engine and gearbox assembly being angled across the frame and forcing the driveshaft well over to the right. Running a modified 1.1-litre water-cooled Fiat inline four, the cylinder block, head, cylinders and crankcase (exclusive of the sump) had to be sourced from a car homologated in the FIA’s Touring category. With only an overhead valve, pushrod engine with flat heads and rocker boxes permitted (overhead cams were illegal), the Fiat 1100 Millecento motor fitted the bill perfectly with its mass availability, four pushrod cylinders and wealth of hop-up parts. Displacement was 1089cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 68 x 75mm. Meanwhile, thanks to Stanguellini’s mechanical wizardry, the little 1100 was tuned to produce 78bhp at 6500rpm, more than double the standard units 36bhp.
 

CS 00134, Juan Manuel Bordeu, Fangio's protege		 Compression was set at 9.1:1 while two twin choke Weber 40 DCOE sidedraught carbs were fitted along with a mechanical Weber fuel pump and 12-volt Fiamm battery. Regulations stipulated that the gearbox had to be similar to a touring car component and thus, the Stanguellini featured a Fiat 1100 item enhanced with special ratios, a central shift lever and single dry plate clutch. The result was a car capable of 0-60 in 6.6 seconds and a top speed of over 135mph. Visually, the FJ was like a miniature Grand Prix racer with its gorgeous bodywork fabricated in lightweight aluminium by Carrozzeria Gransport of Modena.
   
Inspired by great front-engined racers like the Maserati 250F and Ferrari Dino 246, the little Stanguellini was blessed with perfect proportions and wonderful details. Cool air was fed to the engine by a front-mounted radiator and distinctive duct atop the removeable engine cover. A bank of five louvres were carved out from just behind each front wheel and helped extract hot air from the engine bay. To the drivers right, a single megaphone exhaust stretched almost the length of the wheelbase. Securing the Italian Formula Junior Championship in 1958 and ’59 and the first International series of 1959, not only was the Stanguellini beautiful but also the car to have until Colin Chapman arrived with his mid-engined Lotus 30 in 1960. Around 70 were completed in 1959, selling for $3500 each although a discount was available for bulk purchases. The advent of independent rear suspension fitted to the last 30 or so cars from autumn 1959 was not enough to keep Stanguellini at the front for long though, English garagistas like Cooper and Lotus taking over the Modenese firms mantle in 1960.