Lewis Kerr won the inaugural SCCA National Championship Runoffs for Formula Vee in a Formcar, and Roger Barr finished second.
[2] Caldwell's final FV design, the D-13, had a zero-roll-stiffness rear suspension and aerodynamic body that dominated SCCA National Races for several years.
Sam Posey again was the main driver for the team with Brett Lunger and Ray Caldwell driving selected rounds.
The D7 returned in 1968 where it finished fourth at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the first round of the 1968 United States Road Racing Championship.
The D-7 experimented with live axle suspensions, front and rear as Caldwell believed that was the optimal geometry for keeping the exceedingly wide tires flat on the track.
Chrysler entered the Trans-Am Series with their two pony car types the Plymouth 'Cuda and the Dodge Challenger.
Caldwell "owned" the team/cars and was responsible for the final completion of the chassis' after receiving them from AAR (photos of the cars as-received from AAR at Caldwell's temporary Autodynamics West shop at Reath Automotive in Long Beach, Ca, Sam Posey's Mudge Pond Express page Chapter 6 page 129 and Autoweek ads for the Challengers "for sale" in the issue of 5/22/1971 confirms) versus AAR sending the 'Cudas back to Chrysler for travelling display purposes and later sold off to SCCA Club racers, Temporary housing for all of the Autodynamics crew was set up at the Cloud Motel in Lakewood, Ca.
AAR performed all the initial engineering, modification and extensive fabrication of the body-in-white (no VIN Numbers for street use) uni-bodies, fenders, k-frame and "other" components (progress of chassis development and completion dated letter from AAR/Bob R.L.
It has been stated that the first chassis was left in the acid too long weakening the roof and structural integrity of the car (see Chapter 6, page 135 Mudge Pond Express confirms).
The de-stroked 340 ci based engine to 305ci Dodge V8 engines (built by Keith Black) proved unreliable due to factory lifter angles and push rod length design not conducive to high rpm racing requirements causing multiple retirements.
The cancellation led to a financial crisis for Autodynamics which was forced to reorganize under Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code.
[11] In 1972, Caldwell and entrepreneur Bob MacArthur launched an electric passenger car development program in an attempt to save the company.
The firm converted a number of gasoline production cars to run on electric motors, but lead-acid battery technology was too heavy and inefficient for widespread acceptance.