1970 Chevron B17 F3 Rolling chassis.

Built in June 1970 for Ken Sedgely to use in the UK Forward Trust F3 Championship in 1-litre format

Subsequently sold to Chevron dealer, Fred Opert who ran a Garage Facility in New Jersey in the USA.

Purchased by our vendor and raced in the States before returning to the UK

Totally rebuilt with a new chassis (the original F3/70/8 had been shortened). Old chassis included in the sale

This is a rolling chassis (dummy engine not part of the sale). New engine fitting kit and exhaust

The 1970 Formula 3 Chevron B17 was a development of the B15 with a stiffened centre section, new uprights and a tidied engine cover. Jürg Dubler and Peter Hanson both won major F3 races in this model using Novamotor engines.

After Reine Wisell's successes in the B15, the B17 sold well with well-established F3 star Jürg Dubler forsaking Tecno for a B17, the talented Kiwi Bert Hawthorne moving from Brabham, and B15 customers Peter Hanson and Barrie Maskell staying on board. Dubler got the season off to a good start with a win at Montjuich Park in April, and Hawthorne beat a strong British national field at Brands Hatch in May. Later in the season, Hanson won an International at Karlskoga and Dubler won the high-profile Zandvoort race at the end of August. Both Maskell and newcomer Chris Skeaping took their B17s to victory in significant British races.

With the introduction of the 1600cc F3 for 1971, larger stronger cars were needed but the B17s continued in use in hill climbs for some years.

This Chevron B17 Formula 3 rolling chassis (173/70/8) was built in June 1970 for Ken Sedgely to use in the UK Forward Trust F3 Championship in 1-litre format but was also took part in a few races in France. He used the car up until July 1971, when the engine regulations changed from 1-litre to 1.6, using a restricted Lotus Twin Cam engine. It was then sold to Chevron dealer, Fred Opert who ran a Garage Facility in New Jersey in the USA. Originally the bodywork was blue but was subsequently repainted in Opert's yellow livery. The next owner was David Wood of Florida who paid $3,400 for the Chevron. It was eventually purchased by our vendor whilst working in the USA for Lola race cars and raced by him over there before bringing it back to the UK.

It has been fully rebuilt with a new chassis as the original had been chopped by 10" to create a short-circuit car-park racer. This original chassis clearly stamped #F3/70/8 forms part of the sale. The newly built car has only competed in four races since it was finished. It has the correct Hewland MK8 gearbox with a new 7/31 CWP. The car is being sold as a rolling chassis as the MAE engine was on loan from a colleague. The dummy engine is fitted to aid transport and will not come with the car, however, the engine fitting-kit is complete and has a new exhaust system. The provenance has been verified by Kevin ''Hodge'' Hodgkinson, a Chevron employee from 1968-1971 who raced #F3/70/2 in period. There were nine B17 F3 chassis built in 1970.

Fully rebuilt and just awaiting an engine, this immaculate 1970's Formula 3 would be welcome at Goodwood and other top events with the bonus of a rebuild by renowned specialist John Bright.