1965 Brabham BT 8 Sports Racer

With big engines, they will introduce you to religion at the top end of fifth gear

The Brabham BT 8 is one of the most desirable of the Coventry Climax-engined sports cars of the 1960s. Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac laid down nine chassis for the 1964 season, just two in 1965, and only one chassis in 1966. The car described here, from ’65, is the best known and most successful of all, chassis SC-2-65, which was first supplied to Bill Kay in the U.S. for Peter Revson to drive.

Originally fitted with a 2.0-liter Coventry Climax engine, SC-2-65 was entered by Kay Racing in the SCCA Championship. A 2.7-liter Coventry Climax (430-17-1287) was substituted from BS-2-65 when the car was returned to the UK. In period, BT 8s were powered by various other engines, including the BRM and Oldsmobile V8s.

The 2.7-liter four-cylinder with dry sump and separate oil tank was rebuilt by Tony Mantle while in BS-2-65, with a new cylinder block, steel crankshaft, Carrillo rods and Omega pistons, resulting in a 10.5:1 compression ratio. It...