I am after a Lotus Eleven fibreglass series 2 bonnet. Series II's are 3 inches longer than the earlier split axle cars in the bonnet to accomodate the independent front suspension. I have perused a lot of what has been written about Eleven's and there is some reference to the later car being longer, but no where can I find that says by how much.

I took the opportunity to measure Dick O'Keefe's Photon Special Lotus built in the 50s using a fibreglass bonnet moulded off an Eleven, whilst at Winton last weekend, and it measured 4 foot 2 inches. When I got home I measured the series II one and it is 4 foot 5 inches. Measurement taken from rear of bonnet to a line vertically above the top lip of the centre of the radiator inlet.

Unfortunately you can't get a series I bonnet and add 3 inches to the rear of it. The distance from the rear edge to the beginning of the headlight cover recess is the same in both instances, so it appears that Williams and Pritchard added the extra inches in the complexity of the actual nose.

In the rebuild of my Eleven, I intend to have the alloy bonnet put right, but would prefer to use a fibreglass one and keep the alloy one aside.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of a series II Lotus Eleven bonnet mould here in Australia, I would really appreciate it if you could let me know.

There was an Eleven body on Ebay recently, but it was a series I unfortunately.

Ed

I'll put the feelers out Ed and see what's lurking in peoples sheds.
I'm catching up with a bloke next week who used to campaign a lotus eleven back in the day so I'll pose the question and see if we can turn anything up for you.
Otherwise you could look at lengthening the bonet in the nose, which wouldn't be that big of a deal to be honest and would be preferable to having a new one made in terms of cost.
I'd be more than happy to offer you some advice on how best to tackle it if you'd like to drop me a line.

Cheers
Clark Watson
0418 698 332
clark@vfr.net.au
Vintage Fibre Restorations

Gday Ed,
Sorry to say there's been no luck here at my end in regards to turning up a mold or any bonnets lying around. I'll keep my ear to the ground and let you know if anything turns up. As I mentioned previously give me a ring when you get a spare 5 minutes if you like. If you can get your hands on a good short Fibreglass bonet I could talk you through how to legthen it easily while maintaining the strength and integrity of the part. If your not keen to tackle it yourself we could perhaps look at giving you a hand later on in the year when things quiet down a little. Either way I'll keep my ear to the ground for you.
Cheers
Clark Watson

This is one area where a Westfield would come in handy. The replica bonnet is very close to the real thing but measure first before relying on my word for it.

Although similar, the contours of an S-2 nose are different enough from the Eleven S-1 that even the headlamp covers have a different angle and fit. Williams & Pritchard took it upon themselves to add more room for the front wheels to move around and space for the headlamps to clear the tires, so you are correct that modifying an S-1 nose would be a tough way to go. But you will often find minor differences in overall length even in the same series and an inch or so variation is normal.

Westfield produced a number of Elevens a few years a couple of years ago, so the moulds still exist.
There are a number on the road in the UK. try The WSCC here
A very helpfull group of people, I'm sure someone will get a tape measure and tell you how close they are to the originals. HTH

Ed, whether it would still be around or not after all this time is the question , but in Tassy we did have Lotus 11 replicas racing). Brian Bowe built his HEA specia l(s/c Simca motor) which raced at Longford in 1965. Kerry Cox modelled his Paramount Jaguar body off the same Lotus 11 mould but stretched for a longer wheelbase. I'm pretty sure Brian's car ended up with Derek Holden, then onto Doug Webb, then I don't know. Brian Bowe is still around in Devonport - it might be worth your while contacting him. You never know...
You can see shots of the car in Brian's and Derek's ownership by typing their names (separately) into the Advanced Search on the oldracephotos.com website. Whether its series 2 I couldn't say. Best of luck. ellrosso

Lindsay, Brian Bowe did not build the HEA. That was Harry Atherton from Launceston (hence his initials HEA) who firt raced it in 1961 or 62 and rolled it at longford 1962. Those same moulds for Lotus 11 (with rear section lengthened) were also used for the body on Bob Wright's first Tasma rear engined car, which my father had a hand in building the chassis and body.

Makes sense Rob, thats why Harry ordered a 20x30" print last year of Brian at Mountford cnr in 1965! Thanks again for info.