FORMULAVEE.ORG

Yes... It looks like they are. I may look for some dzus fittings and see if I can actually mount the body on the frame. It is just sitting on it now. That's why it looks a bit off.

Roger,

What ever it is/was, here is the reality. Without any documented history, log book or roll bar number to reference, you've got something of very low value (value meaning what someone would pay for it). To put it together to SCCA racing specs will cost a small fortune. A guess would be $10k in a heartbeat and maybe more. When your done, it will be worth less than half that. Not trying to throw rocks, but just suggesting not to make much out of what you have which is basically a homemade chassis and some bodywork.

Maybe a dune buggy in a future life?

I didn't think it was anything special. Just a little different and wondering if anyone knew what it was so maybe I could find some parts for it. I was thinking it would be better suited as a SOLO car, FST or even FS. Since I got it with the Zink C5 I bought, it was just going to be another project anyway.

Bill_Bonow wrote:Roger,

What ever it is/was, here is the reality. Without any documented history, log book or roll bar number to reference, you've got something of very low value (value meaning what someone would pay for it). To put it together to SCCA racing specs will cost a small fortune. A guess would be $10k in a heartbeat and maybe more. When your done, it will be worth less than half that. Not trying to throw rocks, but just suggesting not to make much out of what you have which is basically a homemade chassis and some bodywork.

Maybe a dune buggy in a future life?

It may be a one off and it may be a project that never saw the light of day. I am amazed though that no one on this site has been able to identify it or at least the bodywork. The quality of the design is too good NOT to find out who did it. Maybe the sub-forum is keeping some people from finding it?

Can it be tracked back through the seller?

Should you call American Pickers? Antique Roadshow?

ChrisZ

I never miss an American Pickers show and I am sure that in some future episode, they will find an old FV still sitting on it's trailer, in the back of an old barn! I am going to go over the frame again for a stamp. It started rainingg the last time I looked. The body sections all have DZUS fittings that have the right tabs on the frame so it had to have been raced at some point. The roll bar may have been upgraded. The previous owner died and his wife was selling all of his stuff. His garage was filled with his hobbies including the 2 FV's that I bought, a very nice old Vette, several Harley's and a ton of shop equipment including a cool 2-car lift. There was a 20x20 shed that had not been opened since he died. I am sure there are a lot of cool things in there. I have his name on a receipt for engine work. I think it was Dave Grimes but I will have to check.

I am a member of CFR SCCA. The Zink was from CFR (Central Florida Region which is just about all of Florida). I will see if anyone recognizes the car, assuming that the mystery car came from Florida. He owned a trucking company and it could have come from anywhere.

With the SARRC and ProVee stickers on it, it has probably raced. You might send the pictures to Fred Clark at Caracal. He may recognize it. His email contact here-

http://www.caracalcars.com/index.htm

Message sent to Fred and CFR. I will post an update when I get an answer.

Thanks.

Fred says it may be a car J R Russell built named the Illusion. He also said it may not be. It does have Illusion on the body. Anyone have contact info for him? I could not find anything on the internet.

Roger,
JR is the owner of Roxannes Headers - his contact info is available on his website http://www.RoxannesHeaders.com. He's been on a road trip to Alaska and I'm not sure but I THINK he's back by now.
Steve

Thanks Steve. I emailed thru the website you sent and will give an update when I hear back.

I went over the frame again this morning looking for a stamp but did not find one. Judging from the different-looking welding on the main hoop, I would say that the roll bar was replaced and it was not re-stamped. There are several inspection holes but no number that I could find. There are some new mounting tabs welded to the bar so it is possible that the stamp is now covered by a tab or weld. I am hoping that Russell will be of some help. I am going to clean and paint the frame next week to keep it from rusting. After that I will decide what to do with it. It is on my back porch right now. Lets just say I have a VERY UNDERSTANDING WIFE! The garage has 2 running VEE's, 3 transaxles, 5 engines, 2 beams and many boxes of "spares" (I use that term very loosely!).

No new info on the strange frame car. I did get some good news on the Zink though. It was raced in the early 1970's in the Central Florida Region. They said they would issue a new logbook after it gets thru tech.

Good News about the Mystery car named Illusion! I talked to JR Russell (owner of Roxannes Headers) today (he is in Alaska!!!) and he did indeed build and race the car. The car started out as a Protoform and looking at the front beam covers and the rear suspension... it makes sense. The pontoon on the right side of the car was his design and it helped with cooling as well as gave him a place to mount the battery and allowed him more space for shifting. He said it was always in the top 2 places at Sebring (usually only beat by Bob Goodrich). He has a lot of info on the car including the logbooks and photos so it will not be hard to get the car back racing again. The mono-shock design was one of the best handling additions he put on the car. He also owned and drove the 72 Zink that I bought and has all the paperwork and logs for it as well! He said he would call me back later this week and tell me more about the Illusion. He also said that he raced against a powder blue Mysterian that had pink wheels. Anybody know this car or driver from the CFR SCCA?

Now I can figure out what to do with the car.

Awesome news

Powder blue mysterian with pink wheels sounds like Mike Schiffer. Think he lives in Cape Coral.

Calling Mike Schiffer!! Are you a member of the board?

I think it is great news too! I do a lot of Family Histories in Genealogy and create films from the info. When I hit a brick wall in finding an ancestor, there is nothing better than finally finding the answer and that can take years in many cases. This car was a brick wall and now it feels good to know I have found it's history.

These are my other websites all dealing in History in one way or another.

http://www.dontforgetthepast.com
http://www.americanphotopublishers.com
http://www.usarmysignalcorps.com

Started life as a Protoform? Never would have guessed that in a million years. Jamais de la vie!

Bob,

JR just emailed and corrected my earlier message. The car was designed and build from scratch as The Illusion. Some of the features were similar to the Protoform Predator P2. The Illusion was a make and model in it's own right.