History of Macon MR7 Chassis 100

Macon MR7

chassis 100 is a Formula Ford built in 1969. Happily, I do have a bit of period history of this car.

If anyone can provide more information, please get in touch with me. I will update this post if I obtain any additional history of the car.

Based off the serial number this would appear to be the first MR7 built, or at least the first in 1969.

Timeline

• Raced in England at unknown tracks and dates until it was sent to the USA. This is indicated by a photo of the car on the cover of the August 29th, 1969 issue of Autosport and a note in my scrapbook files that identifies the blue (second in line) car in the photo as chassis 100. It identifies it as “Racetune (????? Wilson)(works driver)” See scan in gallery below.
• May 1969 – Sold to Jo Grimaldi in the USA (indicated by a note in my scrapbook files)
• 1972 – Sold to Robert Brundage. Member of the SCCA – Northern New Jersey Region
• March 15, 1972 – Brundage obtained an SCCA Logbook (photos show car number 92 and the nose lacks cooling modifications). Color is indicated as light blue (same as in color photocopy of cover of Autosport)
  • June 3, 1972 – Driver’s School at Thompson, CT (log book comments indicate the rollbar did not pass inspection required replacement)
  • August 26, 1972 – Lime Rock, CT (log book comments indicate roll bar replaced by this time)
  • September 2, 1972 – Driver Joe Jamros. Northern New Jersey Region SCCA School (no location indicated)
  • September 23, 1972 – Lime Rock, CT
  • September 30, 1972 – Driver Joe Jamros. Driver’s School at Bryar Motorsports Park, NH
  • October 21, 1972 – Bridgehampton Race Circuit, NY
  • June 2, 1973 – Bridgehampton Race Circuit, NY
  • June 16, 1973 – Thompson, CT
  • July 14, 1973 – Summit Point Raceway, WV. Pages and photos in the scrapbook indicate the race number was 19 by this time at least. Cooling modifications to the nose are evident in scrapbook photos with car number 19 showing.
  • August 4, 1973 – Lime Rock, CT
  • August 25, 1973 – Lime Rock, CT
  • September 22, 1973 – Lime Rock, CT
  • October 13, 1973 – Lime Rock, CT
• Gap in history
• Sold to Tom Grudovich of Palm Beach, FL
• October, 15 2004 – Grudovich obtained a Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association (VSCDA) logbook for the car. Color is medium blue with a white nose and center stripe. Car number 308.
  • October, 2004 – Mid Ohio, OH with VSCDA
  • April 15, 2005 – Lime Rock, CT with Vintage Drivers Club of America (VDCA)
  • July 8, 2005 – BeaveRun, PA
  • October 1, 2005 – Summit Point, WV – Shenandoah Course with the Vintage Racer Group (VRG)
  • October 14, 2005 – Mid Ohio, OH  with VSCDA
• Sold to Joe Mendel of Pittsburgh, PA
• July 20, 2009 – Mendel obtains VRG logbook for the car. Photos show the car is all red with race number 95.
  • September 10, 2009 – Watkins Glen, NY for the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) Vintage Grand Prix
  • July 14, 2011 – BeaveRun, PA for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
  • July 13, 2013 – Pittsburgh International Race Complex, PA (formerly BeaveRun) for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
• 6th of August, 2016 – I purchased the remains of the car

During Joe Mendel’s ownership the nose received some crash damage resulting from a failed suspension piece at Watkins Glen. He says it occurred under hard braking going into the “Bus Stop”. The repairs leave the nose very heavy with fiberglass and they were unable to replicate the original profile of the radiator opening. The nose is repainted white and receives some checkered pattern tape to cover the paint/tape line.

Joe is unfortunate to crash the car again a year later again at Watkins Glen. He says he encountered an oil slick coming out of the “Bus Stop” and spun into the blue Armco. It is damaged primarily on the right rear but there was also damage to the right front. The body was not damaged further but the chassis, suspension, and drivetrain were all damaged. I think perhaps Joe might want to avoid Watkins Glen in the future. (Thanks to Joe’s comments after reading this post, I can include this information.)

It was disassembled at Fowler Automotive Street and Track, the chassis stripped and repairs begun. However, they were never completed. The parts were stored and the car sat until I purchased it in 2016.

Original Owner – Factory

2 photos

Robert Brundage

45 photos

Tom Grudovich

6 photos

Joe Mendel

9 photos