Lotus Cortina
#1
Posted 19 April 2002 - 01:47
What is going on here? Ray Bell posting about Touring Cars?
Well, I have this picture, you see, and I thought at least Frank de Jong might like to see it...
Jim McKeown, August 1965 at the entry to the Tunnel of Love, Catalina Park...
#3
Posted 19 April 2002 - 10:26
Did many Lotus Cortinas get down under? Were they just racers, or was it sold as a road car?
#4
Posted 19 April 2002 - 10:44
You can't expect a Cortina to lift wheels on a straight, you have wait till 50 yards later........Originally posted by BRG
It's not a PROPER Lotus Cortina - it's not white with a green side-stripe. And it's got all four wheels on the ground!
This isn't white with a green stripe but it does have 2 wheels off the ground.
This was me at Catalina!
#5
Posted 19 April 2002 - 12:00
Maybe just a tad too much oversteer there? :Originally posted by Catalina Park
This was me at Catalina!
#6
Posted 19 April 2002 - 12:35
Originally posted by BRG
Did many Lotus Cortinas get down under? Were they just racers, or was it sold as a road car?
Well, I was just going to ask Ray if he was sure it was a Lotus - since some special Cortina's were produced locally as well, like the Cortina GT 500, which was somewhere between a GT and a Lotus.
#7
Posted 19 April 2002 - 12:44
Originally posted by BRG
Did many Lotus Cortinas get down under? Were they just racers, or was it sold as a road car?
The Lotus Cortina was never officially sold in Australia, I think, but the more mainstream Cortina GT made it to Australia as a road car model from 1963 onwards- initially fully imported, and later locally assembled. Touring car ace Harry Firth homologated an indigenous version of the GT for touring car racing and these GT and later GT500's won the 500 mile race at Bathurst 3 years running from 1963-1965.
#8
Posted 19 April 2002 - 12:52
#9
Posted 19 April 2002 - 13:15
Speaking of the New Zealand part of 'down under', several were imported by FoMoCo, all in the proper colours - until Paul Fahey resprayed his stripe blue. And just to confuse the issue the Lesco RT Cortina, which also had a stripe, was a GT, I think with Willment bits. I also think its stripe might have been black. Whatever, Kerry Grant in the pushrod Lesco car beat all the twincam Lotuses to win the 1964 NZRDC Saloon Championship, though Fahey in his Lotus was winner in 1965Originally posted by BRG
Did many Lotus Cortinas get down under?
Ford made a big thing about Lotus-Cortina being racing-cars, and for sale only to holders of competition licences. The BMC (or was it BLMC by then?) importers pulled the same stunt with the 1275S Mini-Cooper about the same time, but I suspect it was a sales ploy, and you could have bought either car for road use.[i]Were they just racers, or was it sold as a road car?
#10
Posted 19 April 2002 - 15:00
Originally posted by David McKinney
Ford made a big thing about Lotus-Cortina being racing-cars, and for sale only to holders of competition licences. The BMC (or was it BLMC by then?) importers pulled the same stunt with the 1275S Mini-Cooper about the same time, but I suspect it was a sales ploy, and you could have bought either car for road use.
You neglected John Ward, David...
He was one of the few to race in both Australia and NZ in Lotus Cortinas, and of course, his determination to avoid wearing safety belts was a costly business... Jim Palmer also raced one in australia, though I don't know if he did in NZ.
I reckon there were about 15 or so raced in Australia... drivers included Allan Moffat, Jim McKeown, Bob Jane, Spencer Martin, Brian Michelmore, Robin Pare, Jackie Stewart, George Reynolds, Steve Holland, Albert Poon, John Leighton, Bob Inglis, Max Volkers, Frank Leggatt... there are obviously more... probably another two or three in each state, in fact.
Not sure if they were sold as a model locally by either Ford or Geoghegan's (the Lotus distributors), but there was a small number on the road.
As for BLMC, that was later, still BMC at that time... though they rarely raced this model...
But Catalina Park would like to have seen them...
#11
Posted 19 April 2002 - 16:10
and about 20 others who raced L-Cs in NZ without winning the national championshipOriginally posted by Ray Bell
You neglected John Ward, David...
#12
Posted 19 April 2002 - 17:45
An Austin (or is it Morris) 1100? I learnt to drive in one of those! BuI wouldn't have wanted to race one - the steering was a bit low-geared, IIRC.Originally posted by Ray Bell
As for BLMC, that was later, still BMC at that time... though they rarely raced this model......
And is that a wounded Vauxhall VX4/90 in the background? Or was it sold as a Holden over there? In the UK, the Lawrencetune VXs were pretty quick in their day. I believe that Bill Blydenstein raced them and that was the start of a long association with the marque that saw him become the premier Vauxhall tuner in the UK for very many years
#13
Posted 19 April 2002 - 19:11
#14
Posted 19 April 2002 - 21:21
"You've gotta use XYZ suspension parts made by Bill Bloggs, 'cos it makes the front end fully adjustable and gives better turn-in. Everybody does it and you're got to too - but it involves moving the entire wheel arch slightly and remaking the area around it, 'cos this whizzbang suspension lengthens the wheelbase. If you don't do that you ain't running your car at any of our events, 'cos if you park an original car beside ours the scrutineers will spot the difference instantly...and if they don't throw you out, they'll throw all of us out....and we're not having that!".
Which I guess encapsulates the reasons why I have never been able to take saloon car racing at all seriously.
DCN
#15
Posted 19 April 2002 - 22:56
Originally posted by Doug Nye
.....we were cooling our heels beside the Southern Ocean at Victor Harbour .....
Ironically, this is the only place in Australia or even the non-US world where 'Harbour' is spelled 'Harbor'... neighbouring Port Elliot (these being the two names that can apply to the "1937 Australian Grand Prix" circuit...) is also uniquely economical with its use of letters.
Continuing with Doug's original words
"You've gotta use XYZ suspension parts made by Bill Bloggs, 'cos it makes the front end fully adjustable and gives better turn-in. Everybody does it and you're got to too - but it involves moving the entire wheel arch slightly and remaking the area around it, 'cos this whizzbang suspension lengthens the wheelbase. If you don't do that you ain't running your car at any of our events, 'cos if you park an original car beside ours the scrutineers will spot the difference instantly...and if they don't throw you out, they'll throw all of us out....and we're not having that!".
Congratulations, you have just brought this information to the fore so that someone in authority might take action and chuck the cheats out!
#16
Posted 20 April 2002 - 13:19
'Victor Harbor' - wind-up time mate, you blokes have a 'Labor' Party as well and I always include the 'u'...just as an annoyance. 'Bira' has described me as 'another grumpy historian' and I'm growing into the role.
DCN
#18
Posted 16 October 2009 - 12:41
As clear as I can see from the photo its appears to me that neither the front or rear wheels are in the centre of their respective wheels arches-so perhaps todays practices are exactly as they were 40 years ago.Just a nice pic I took of Jackie Stewart in a Ford Cortina Lotus at Karlskoga (Sweden) in 1965:
#19
Posted 16 October 2009 - 14:28
Roger Lund