What Happens To Old Formula 1 Cars

I thought this might interest you guys.

https://racer.com/2023/10/06/mclaren-has-a-top-secret-heritage-center-we-went-there/ 

Really nice article - interesting to know what they have to go thru to keep those beasties alive.  I can't imagine what that three year cycle costs.

Thanks for sharing the article. Very interesting.

I have to wonder if they've converted all the dimensions for the early (60's/70's) cars to CAD/CAM format and if they could make a car based on those.  If you asked them to build a replica Mk-20 or Mk-19 could they do it?  The idea wouldn't be profit, but if you'd got all the tooling then why not take orders just to keep those tools working and paying for themselves.

Very interesting regarding the tooling.  Instead of keeping it for a maybe, they figure to just make the tooling again if they need to make a specific part.

Some years back I found a video of some urban explorers who were poking around in the Caterham F1 facility.  Shedloads (literally) full of forms and bucks to make various carbon fiber odds and ends.  That takes up a ton of space!

This might be a place where "additive manufacturing" really shines, maybe not for the actual parts but for moulds to make the parts.  Data takes up very little physical space.

I work on 3D (metal) industrial printers, one site makes parts for B-52's and other military aircraft that are still in service, but that which the original manufacturer no longer provides parts for. It's so much cheaper to build a part from scratch (actually Titanium powder) than it is to keep all the old tooling and equipment around to make one the old way.