UFSAE: The Early Years

A Brief History of UFSAE (1990-1997) as told by Phil French

UF FSAE was founded in 1990 as a two-year project to compete in the 1991 competition. Several members attended the 1990 competition (without competing) for research and experience. The team contacted a UF alumni and college recruiter (Bill Dixon) at Ford Motor Company and arranged corporate sponsorship. Final assembly of the car was completed after leaving Florida for the 1991 competition. It was a solid axle, composite (Spectra)/aluminum car. It was very light weight (lightest at the competition?) and won the cost event. However, the car suffered a failure of the structural composite body at one of the mounting points for a front A-arm. They patched the car with aluminum plating and completed at least some of the dynamic events at the competition. The engine was carbureted. The car's steering rack was mounted on the floor under the driver's knees. A toothed belt connected the steering shaft to the rack. However, the belt was known to skip teeth under heavy cornering load, making it very interesting to drive (my first experience driving a FSAE car).

Ed West was chapter president in 1992, and Vincent Martling was team leader. Both had been members of the 1991 team. The car was completely redesigned for 1992. It was still composite/aluminum in design. But, it used Kevlar and fiberglass instead of Spectra (which was prone to delamination, the cause of the structural failure in the 1991 car). The solid axle was abandoned in favor of the now standard double A-arm suspension. The design incorporated composite leaf springs (manufactured by Bear Archery in Gainesville) mounted transversely underneath the vehicle, and motorcycle steering dampers for shock absorbers. The team's first Torsion differential was also used, as well as a regulated flow, mechanical fuel injection system (no electronics). This was also the first car, both at UF and at the competition to use a butterfly style shifter mounted behind the steering wheel. Due to the drastic redesign attempt, a small team, and limited resources, the car was not completed in time for the 1992 competition. Vince went to work at Pratt & Whitney in south Florida.
 
Phil French was chapter president in 1993, and Ed West was formula team leader. Although no major redesigns were attempted for 1993. The 1992 car was significantly refined during the 1993 year, including designing and casting new aluminum rear suspension knuckles, incorporating a compact, lightweight NiCad power supply and updating the differential housing and mounting system. However, once again, final assembly of the car was not completed until the second day of the event. The car ran in the skid pad event and blew a cooling line. It was fixed and competed in the autocross and the endurance events (in the rain). Ed went to Western Washington University after leaving UF. He completed an automotive technology degree there and then started working at the university after graduation.
 
Craig Caisey was chapter president in 1994, and Phil French was formula team leader. Faced with a very small team at the beginning of the year, the team focused on evolving the 1992/1993 design and recruiting new members and sponsors. The 1994 car was mostly new, although the same body molds where used from the previous car. For the 1994 car, the new Kevlar/fiberglass/carbon fiber composite structure was improved for torsional rigidity, a new aluminum suspension was designed with the team's first anti-sway bars, and the aluminum space frame was redesigned for better torsional rigidity and packaging. The NiCad power supply was abandoned in favor of a more reliable lawn mower battery. The car was completed and tested a day or two before leaving for competition, a UF first. However, chronic clutch mechanism and mechanical fuel injection problems plagued both testing and performance at the competition. And, cracks were discovered in the rear A-arms the morning of the endurance event. The A-arms were patched in time for the endurance event. And, consistent performance in all of the events yielded a 5th place finish overall, by far the best finish in UF history at the time.
 
Tony Shawver was chapter president in 1995, and Randy Bedsaul was formula team leader. With the powertrain problems experienced in 1994, Randy's team focused mainly on updating the powertrain. They also attempted to construct another new structural composite body, incorporating side pods for improved torsional rigidity, which had plagued all the team's previous composite bodies. However, limited resources, both money and membership, forced them to stop this time-consuming project around Christmas break and re-use the 1994 body. The team then focused on incorporating a new Honda F2 engine in place of the Yamaha engine that had been used in all previous cars. They also scrapped the mechanical fuel injection system and incorporated the team's first electronic fuel injection system. The team left for competition with the car nearly completed, but not tested. However, last minute wiring and fuel injection problems left the team unable to compete in any dynamic events. Randy went to work at Energizer battery for several years before getting a position at a new company designing and building robotic parking garages. 
 
Tony Shawver was formula team leader in 1996. Tony had been a member since fall 1993 and had experienced the powertrain problems of the previous two years as well as the time consuming aspect of building structural composite bodies (not to mention the months of breathing resin, gel-coat, and core-bond fumes). Tony also had experienced the increasing difficulty the team was having getting a structural composite body accepted by the safety techs at competition. With those experiences, Tony decided to build the team's first all aluminum chassis. In an effort to minimize weight, the team decided to use a shrink-wrap type plastic, typically used in model car/airplane applications, for the body of the car. (I'm affraid I don't remember much more about the 1996 team/car. That was my first year at Ford. I kept in touch with the team, and acted as team steward at competition. But, I don't remember many more details.)
 
Sometime around 1995 or 1996, the team abandoned the transverse composite leaf spring suspension design and incorporated the team's first suspension based on custom mountain bike coil-over shocks. Although the transverse composite leaf spring was very light weight and low CG (mounted underneith the car), anchor mount stiffness and adjustability had been issues in the past. The UF team was one of the first, if not the first, team to incorporate mountain bike springs/shocks.
 
All formula and Baja teams from 1992 through at least 1995 or 1996 were based out of a double wide trailer at the UF Solar Research Park. The team owned no tools, other than a home-made band saw, and had no consistant access to a machine shop or welder. The team used personal vehicles and a small, home-made, open trailer to transport the Formula and Baja cars through the 1993 competition. For the 1994 competition, the team arranged sponsorship to provide a large Penske rental truck and two conversion vans. In 1995, the team arranged to share (and eventually aquire) a trailer that had been purchased for a short-lived UF Hybrid Electric Vehicle student team.