Cooper T65

Cooper T65

Chassis FJ/15/63

Chassis FJ/15/63 is the prototype Cooper Car Company Limited 1963 Formula Junior.
Only one T65 ( FJ MK IV ) was built and formed the basis for the production cars known as T67’s.

Chassis FJ/15/63 also known as the “Hydro Proto” and featured in the February 1963 Autosport Article with a Theo Page cutaway drawing, was shown at the 1963 Motor Show fitted with Hydrolastic suspension.

This proved unsuitable and the car was converted to coil springs.

Run as one of three works Tyrrell Car’s in 1963, driven by, amongst others, Timmy Mayer, Peter Proctor and John Rhodes, FJ/15/63 was returned to the works at the end of the 1963 season and allocated its chassis plate.

The car was then sold by the works to David Porter who ran Trevor Shatwell under the Flairavia Racing banner in International F3 in 1964. The car was then purchased by P.A.B.Stewart from Fife in 1965 who raced, hill climbed and sprinted FJ/15/63 until 1970 under the Caledonian Motors banner. The car was then acquired by Ian Mackenzie then laid up until purchased in dis- assembled state by George Cooper in 2007. George reassembled the car but did not compete with it.  I purchased the car from George Cooper in June 2009 and since then have been developing it, the major change being the finding of the original 6 speed Jack Knight ERSA gearbox in Brisbane.

Since acquisition Chassis FJ/15/63 has competed at Bo’ness, Doune, Prescott, Shelsley Walsh and Vernasca Hill Climbs and been raced  widely in Europe, New Zealand and the USA. Major events entered include Laguna Seca, Goodwood and Monza. The T65 won the E2 class of the Lurani Championship in 2014, 2015 and 2016.