For a long time, the cheapest way to go wheel-to-wheel racing was simply to buy a Formula Vee, an extremely simple open-wheel racecar built almost entirely with stock Volkswagen Beetle mechanical components. With horsepower in the mid-double digits, Formula Vee was essentially a slightly bigger go-kart. Because of the cheap and plentiful nature of components, Formula Vees could be built for virtually nothing when introduced in the late 1950s and owing to their extremely light nature, towed behind the family sedan, too. Today, while classic and vintage car markets boom, the simple Formula Vee remains an affordable vintage racing option, as this 1965 Bobsy Vanguard chassis project shows a $2,850 Buy It Now tag on eBay.
Source: ([sc:ebay itemid=”151620329299″ linktext=”old.school.restorations on eBay” ])


Of course, the Vanguard is currently disassembled, but the seller in Alabama indicates that, aside from a master cylinder, generator fan, fuel cell, seat, and some bodywork TLC. The body panels do look in excellent condition and the ladder frame doesn’t look too terrible either.

The rear and front subframes were left assembled. Bobsy was the work of Ohio’s Jerry Mong and the Vanguard sold well among the Formula Vee chassis before Mong replaced it with the Bobsy Vega in 1967. A number of closed-wheel sports racers also bear the Bobsy name.

I personally love old formula car headers, which were occasionally just absolutely gorgeous pieces of functional art. The Bobsy’s spidery tubes look like a sterling, if worn, example of the type.

The seller suggests the electronics will need a complete rewiring, which is perhaps not as monumental a task as it sounds with such setup. I’d ask if a price near $3,000 is reasonable for a racecar that’s been around for a half a century, but the answer to that probably depends greatly on one’s mechanical aptitude, available time, and intent to go vintage racing.