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Once safety cells became mandatory all boats had to have safety cell or cages. The rule killed EP class which was popular. APBA needed a V hull class to replace EP. The Brighton Boat Company in Florida jumped at the opportunity to build a new celled boat for the new class. APBA liked the idea and decided the motor for the class would be the SST 60. Brighton was not a raceboat builder and the boat was overbuilt heavy, but extremely strong. The new class SSV was promoted in Florida and the class started. All the boats were the same Brighton SSV hulls/ OMC SST 60 Outboards. You could buy the complete package turn key ready to race. Seemed like a great idea. The problem was they were expensive and the initial performance was disappointing. The boats were slower than the former EP class on the short race courses, but ran well on the 1 1/4 big oval course. The class didn’t work and was dying. APBA jumped in and decided to make the class mod and increased the motor displacement to 70 cubic inches to allow the larger triples to race. The class name changed to Formula V . Same Brighton boat more engine choice. Boats were much faster 80 mph on the race course and dominated by Steve Cooler’s mod 90 Yamaha at most events. My guess is OMC and Mercury didn’t like the class. So the next FV version was various weights for different cubic inch motors up to 100 cubic inch, different boat lengths up to 16 feet and you could run a cage or safety cell. Thought was add more selection and different motor combinations. Problem was there was a huge difference in performance so the class as dominated by a few 100 cubic inch mod boats the rest of the entries disappeared. The short lived good News was Brighton Boat Company sold the SSV moulds to Baker Mariner. Baker had Rapid Craft Boat Company a Performance Boat Company build a lighter version of the SSV to run the 49 OMC EP motor. Again thought was this would establish a EP class. Rapid Craft model was the Cyclone same Brighton hull but much lighter (built with all Klegecell) The boat from Baker Marine bare hull was $3000.00.
https://www.collectorboats.com/s/cc_ima ... 1362976198
The FV Class failed and that was the end.
Two original Brighton hulls have raced in our T850 class. Both were competitive. The one boat went thru a weight reduction and raced in T750 with a mercury formula 60 4 stroke. That hull is currently a T850 and is the boat shown on T850Canada Facebook. The Rapid Craft Cyclone also has a mercury formula 60 4 stroke, but isn’t completed.

In 1999 the Titus family ran a Brighton SSV at 70 mph average on the 1 1/4 oval. It think it was the only time they raced that boat....impressive! Equally impressive was Scott Whittington’s original Brighton Racing in our T850 class. At the 6 mile lake Fraser cottage T weigh in Scott’s boatwas the heaviest....in a class with a minimum weight of 726 lbs...Scott boat with no driver, no gas, and no battery weighed in at 724 lbs! Yet he won every heat race that he got the lead at the start and was usually in the top 6.
I believe the boat is in Ontario with a 49 OMC.
Here is the thread where Scott sold it.
http://www.hpbc.ca/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=182

You will notice that the Rapid Craft has a front drivers canopy. The canopy was only on the Rapid Craft. 60 Racer was the name Brighton originally called the boat. That was changed when the class got the official name Super Stock V.
Scott was disappointed when he first got the boat and tested the boat with his Mike Wienandt SST 60 motor. The boat easily ran 73 plus mph. But it was very slow in acceleration even when he ran smaller pitch props. The smaller pitch reduced his top speed and should have improved acceleration, but didn’t. That was a surprise until the weigh in and found out how heavy the boat was. Scott was open to suggestions after the weigh in. I thought the SST 60 powerhead and the gearcase needed change. I said “the boat won’t run 70 plus, but you will be quicker on the race course. I want you to try my 56 OMC production block with a nitro gearcase and your best prop.”

He tested it on the lake and said it didn’t work. I told him forget what happened on the lake. Run it the next race. Totally different result. He won a heat that race!
Those pictures are of him winning races. I initially built that fishing motor 56 for Jimmy Allen to race at Waterford on our Critchfield. Jimmy won every race that weekend with it and said it was the best motor he had ever raced. The amazing feature of Scott ‘s combo was that it was one of the best accelerating boats in the field at that time.
There wasn’t anything special in the build, it was just one of those motors than ran better. Today with the better motors that motor would not be competitive.