The 018's
Provenance: The 018 chassis was raced by the Tyrrell Racing Organisation during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. The 018-type cars raced nearly a full season in 1989 starting in Imola and, in 018B form, ran the US Grand Prix and Brazilian Grand Prix in 1990 before the introduction of the 019. It appeared in a variety of liveries, from the plain blue of Imola and Monaco, to the blue and yellow with and without the XP sponsorship or Autobacs (Japan) sponsorship, and in the blue and white Epson sponsorship of 1990. I think the blue and yellow Camel Racing Service is the most attractive, so that's the way we'll go. You can also see the raised nose of the 019 in 018; it clearly has a higher nose than the 017, and more creative uses of airflow were being experimented with in the late '89 cars. 018/1 has the distinction of being the very first high-nose Formula One car.
After 018/1's final season, Ken Tyrrell sold #1 to Paul Stoddart, who I bought the car from, and it's in the process of being restored to the standards set by the 017 we have. The distinction 018/1 has, besides scoring a point in it's first race, is setting the fastest lap of the race in Canada in an era when not too many non-McLaren's set fast lap. This chassis will be for sale and will be painted in the blue and white Epson livery of early 1990.
Like 018/1, 018/2 was sold to Paul Stoddart after the 1990 season. Paul subsequently sold the car to Matthew Mortlock, who I bought the car from. 018/2 is probably the most successful Tyrrell of the final 15-20 years of the marque, though we can only get good data after 1987. Post-1982-83, which would be the 011-012 series of chassis, it's clearly the most successful. Driven by a great series of household names (at least in the households I know), it will be painted in the Blue and Yellow of the Camel Racing Service/XP Parcels Express livery.
How these things start: the very first step, as seen in December 2005, is to very carefully remove the old paint. This is 018/1. Every part will be inspected, crack-tested and/or x-rayed, and refurbished as necessary for a car you wouldn't be afraid to get into. You absolutely have to have confidence in all parts of your equipment.
Day Two--With an undertray (The "long floor" undertray) and an engine cover (which has slight damage) on, you can see that it starts to look like a real car.
August 2006:
Chassis 018/2 prior to stripping the remaining bits off it--then to the blaster...
Well, wouldn't you know that we'd find some differences in the parts for these cars; apparently there is a short floor, (undertray) and a long floor. They have very significant differences in how downforce gets generated. There are 5 or 6 significant differences between the two in these pictures, though not all are easy to spot from the pictures.
The short floor:
The long floor:
We've also found that the factory had issues with the rear uprights breaking where they had decided to machine a bit of weight off. While beadblasting and crack-testing a large batch, we found three rear uprights with cracks at the same spot, one damaged rear upright, and a couple with a "factory fix". If we hadn't found the group of spares, we would not have even known about this issue, as 018/2 did NOT have the fix. Phew!
Jan 2007: 018/1 is ready for primer, with 018/2 behind it; part one of the two pieces of the intermediate tail section that we're using to create a mold for the engine cover; side pod blanks being used for a part of the mold process for new side pods; and a look at all three cars--
Feb. 2007: 018/2 in primer; the green spots in the second picture are a glazing compound used to make sure the little imperfections are gone when the car's painted. 018/1's next up in the batter's box.
May 2007: "It lives.....(cue the Frankenstein soundtrack...)"
First time in this livery since 1989...Chassis 018/2..
April 2008: Little bits of progress..
This is chassis 018/1, which we're using to fit bodywork and the new bits we've been making.
A little more...
The Cars:
1989-90 Tyrrell 018/1, 018/2
Designer: Harvey Postlewaithe, Jean-Claude Migeot
Chassis: numbers 1 and 2 of 5
Engine: 3.5 liter Ford Cosworth DFR V8.
Wheelbase: 115 inches
Weight: 1102 lbs
Results: (1989)
Chassis: 018/1 -- Palmer/Alboreto
Imola: 6th (Palmer)-One World Championship point
Alboreto--DNQ
Monaco: 9th (Palmer)
Mexico: DNF (Palmer)(throttle return spring broke)
Phoenix: 9th (Palmer) (ran out of fuel running 4th)
Montreal: DNF (Palmer)(accident; set Fastest Lap of the race)
Paul Richard: 10th (Palmer)
Silverstone: DNF (Palmer)(accident)
Hockenheim: DNF (Palmer)(accelerator cable)
Hungaroring: Spare car
Spa: Spare car
Monza: Spare car
Estoril: Spare car
Jerez: Spare car
Adelaide: Spare car
1990—configured as 018B
Phoenix: Spare car
Brazil: Spare car
Chassis: 018/2--Alesi, Herbert, Alboreto, Nakajima
1989
Monaco: 5th (Alboreto) --Two World Championship points
Mexico: 3rd (Alboreto) --Four World Championship points & Podium
USA: DNF (Alboreto) (gearbox)
Montreal: DNF (Alboreto)(electrics)
Paul Richard: 4th(Alesi)--Three World Championship points (Alesi's first GP drive)
Silverstone: DNF (Alesi)(accident)
Hockenheim: 10th (Alesi)
Hungaroring: 9th (Alesi)
Spa: DNF (Herbert) (accident)
Monza:5th (Alesi) --Two World Championship points
Estoril: DNQ (Herbert)
Jerez: Spare car (Some accounts say this was the 4th place car--we can't confirm yet)
Adelaide: Spare car
1990—configured as 018B
Phoenix: 6th (Nakajima)--One World Championship point
Brazil: 8th (Nakajima)
How these things start out: 018/2 as it arrived off the plane....
Chassis 018/1: One World Championship point; set the fastest race lap in Canada; driven by Palmer and Alboreto.
Chassis 018/2: Twelve (and possibly fifteen) World Championship points, including a Podium at Mexico 1989, driven by Alesi, Alboreto, Herbert, and Nakajima. This car is one of the most successful of the later Tyrrells, a real workhorse. Unique car, in that it provided the first GP drive for Alesi and many of the early runs for Herbert and Nakajima.
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