Restoration of the FORMULA-3

A new amusement stunt appeared in Israel in the late 1970s - driving on a vertical wall - the "death loop". It was organized by a local businessman, a dentist. For performing the stunt, he invited a professional driver from Greece, who would bring his own automobile with him. The driver's name was Johnny.

The stunt was fairly famous: motorcyclists perform the trick on the vertical surface of a gigantic cylinder - a "barrel", riding at high speed and performing various tricks.
Here, the motorcycle was replaced by a light, tube-base construction racing automobile. This was a 1950s FORMULA-3 car with a FORD engine and a gear shift with rear-wheel drive.

The car was mercilessly exploited in performing the stunt, repairs were done somehow, so that any of the performances could have ended in tragedy.

On the day of one of the performances, Johnny walked into the RALEX Autoservice garage and requested that Rafi check out the condition of the FORMULA-3 auto. "I heard about you here in Ashdod. Perhaps you could help me.  I have a broken-down car, but the owner of the stunt is forcing me to drive it. I'm afraid of being killed during a stunt. He used me, but refuses to invest money into the repair of the car, though it was part of the agreement".

The condition of the car was awful. Everything had been soldered, twisted, cracked, skewed.

The car was completely worn-out. Many of the joints needed to be replaced. It was impossible to allow this car to perform the stunt. And RALEX Autoservice made the corresponding conclusion: it was dangerous to use the automobile without the appropriate repairs. The owner of the stunt refused to pay for the repairs on the automobile. Johnny was happy that he no longer had to risk his life according to the contract he had drawn up with the owner of the stunt. The FORMULA-3 auto was left in the garage until better times.

The years passed and one day, Johnny came into the garage. He had come to Israel from Greece as a tourist. He looked at his racing automobile and with a kind smile said, "Leave the wreck for yourself. Maybe one day you will restore it. You love the work so much. You'll bring this car to life." Rafi was very pleased with the present.

Today, the FORMULA-3 is completely restored. New tubes have been installed, a new heart. The rest of the parts in the car - original, British. This car now brings happiness to hundreds of people visiting the RALEX Museum. FORMULA-3 is alive!