Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Just out of interest, what / whose F3000 were you working on?
The basic survival cell probably would've been fairly similar. There are certain limitations on size that are inalienable e.g. line between top of roll bar and front of cockpit, driver's feet behind line of front axle, minimum width across driver's shoulders, that sort of stuff. But F3 cars were smaller and more compact back then, compared to F3000 cars - and a lot simpler.
Back of the tub would definitely have been different. F3000 cars all used variants of the Cosworth V8, while the F3 cars only had 2 litre straight fours, but could be any one of Alfa, Mugen, Toyota or VW. You'd need a different spec tub (larger, stiffer, more complicated layup) on an F3000 to be able to withstand the additional weight and nearly 200 extra BHP of the Cosworth. Otherwise you'd have something with the torsional rigidity of a blancmange; F3 cars are very underpowered for their aero package and it takes a rather peculiar knack to drive them well.
Sides of tub would also have been different, as F3 cars of that era only ran a single radiator (not sure if that's still the case as I don't know the current regs). When you look at them from head on, you can see that one sidepod is much lower than the other, as it was a "dummy". Also, front suspension pickups were also very different as F3 cars ran smaller wheels & tyres than the F3000.
Sorry, I'll slope off and hide under my rock again. I know, I'm a geek...
