How to help
There are many ways you can help the various research projects that are published on OldRacingCars.com. Wherever possible, our research is based on primary sources, by which we mean material produced at the time - such as organisers' results, magazine reports, programmes, photographs and the records of owners and car constructors. This material is of huge value and we welcome donations of copies.
Programs
We are collecting entry lists from event programmes for all the categories currently covered by OldRacingcars.com but as the Formula 1 Register have already built a huge collection of F1, F2 and F/Junior programmes, we have focused our efforts on Formula 5000, Formula Atlantic, Indycar, Can-Am, Tasman, European sports cars, Formula B and Formula Super Vee.
At present, we have several active programme hunts under way. More »
Photos
Photographs of the leading F5000 and Indy cars, especially from 1973 onwards, are now available. However, we are in need of pictures of Formula A and F5000 cars from 1967 to 1971 and of Indy cars from 1969 to 1972. Remember that OldRacingCars.com will not publish a picture without the express permission of the copyright holder so please only send your own pictures, not scans from magazines or other publications.
Pictures
of rare cars, or those at the back of the grid, are always welcome. Pictures
of second-hand cars in minor events are a particular treat.
Production records
Do you have a copy of part of the production records of a manufacturer? Existing manufacturers such as Lola have been most helpful and partial or complete production records are known to exist in one form or another for Brabham, Chevron, Cooper, Lotus, March, Modus, Ralt, Trojan and others but access to these has sometimes been limited.
It's amazing how widely some of these records have become scattered and even an excerpt can be of great help.
Magazines and Annuals
The magazine collections available to OldRacingCars.com is quite extensive but there are gaps that
need to be filled.
A loan or donation of any of the following would be greatly appreciated:
- Echappement (7 copies needed)
- Competition Press & Autoweek (about 120 copies needed 1966-1969; 18 copies missing from 1970s)
OldRacingCars.com also has collections of Autocourse, Autosport, Motor Sport, Motoring News, Grand Prix International, Formula, On Track, Canadian Track & Traffic, Speed World International for this period plus a wide collection of yearbooks. However, there is much that we still need. More »
Official race reports & results sheets
Most of the F1, Formula 5000, Can-Am, Tasman, F2 and Atlantic results published have come from magazine reports; Indy results have come from Phil Harms' thorough research. Copies of US F5000 "box scores" are available but any organisers' official practice sheets, grid listings or results sheets can add important detail.
Drivers, owners and crew
The eventual aim of each project is to identify individual racing cars and to fully document their history. Outside F1, cars are rarely identified and we need the help of former owners, drivers and crew to help put the puzzle together. We don't expect you to remember something as obscure as a chassis number but if you can remember previous and subsequent owners; or where and when a car was bought, and where and when it was sold; that information could be very helpful. Even remembering that your car was "ex-Smith" could be a useful clue. Current owners may find they have got paperwork with a car that identifies a part of its past and OldRacingCars.com will be happy to help fill in the gaps.
Contact Allen if you can help with anything.