Surtees also fielded an entry in another newly formed series in 1969, becoming part of Formula 5000 after taking over a project started by Len Terry and Roger Nathan,[1] and his team constructed its own cars for the first time.

The team ran the full 1970 season, but Surtees was forced to run the first four races in an old McLaren due to a delay in the construction of his in-house F1 car.

Hailwood returned to Surtees for a full year; joining him were Australian Tim Schenken and Italian Andrea de Adamich, the latter of whom brought sponsorship money to the team.

Schenken was replaced in 1973 by Brazilian Carlos Pace, and the team only ran two full-time cars after de Adamich left following the season opener.

It was a difficult year for Surtees, as Pace left the team in mid-season, and replacement Derek Bell struggled to qualify for races, capped by Austrian driver Helmut Koinigg's fatal crash at the 1974 United States Grand Prix.

A fourth place by Pace at his home track were the only points Surtees managed to get, and they failed to finish in the top ten in the Constructors' Championship.

1976 was much better, however, as Surtees landed a well-known, but otherwise controversial sponsorship deal with Durex condoms, and Australian Alan Jones joined the team.