12 replies to this topic

[Hse289]

Hi, popped down to Goodwood to see if anything was going on, luckily for us cars from the Masters series were testing.

Ford Falcon



BMW



This GT40 had Peter Gethins name on it, i guess he must have raced it in period.



Alfa Romeo

[Hse289]

Lotus Cortina, it was a bit damp out there.



Ford Anglia





Mini Cooper

[Hse289]

Aston Martin, love to know more of this car, did it race in period



Ford Falcon



Ford GT40


Austin Healey


There is a couple of detail shots in the relevant thread.

[Phil Rainford]

Looks like they were all having fun on the exit of the chicane


PAR

[Hse289]

Yes it was good place to stand and watch, it was very cold though. I must add my 17 year old son took these photo`s.

[Alan Cox]

This GT40 had Peter Gethins name on it, i guess he must have raced it in period.

John Allen's 'The Ford that beat Ferrari' records Gethin as having raced 1022 (which was painted red when owned by Nick Cuthbert) in period. Not noted particularly as a GT40 driver, I also see that he drove Mirage M10001, too - something I don't think I was aware of.

[Phil Rainford]

I also see that he drove Mirage M10001, too - something I don't think I was aware of.

Also drove the Hill Lola at the 1974 British GP.....you learn something new every day


PAR

[Bloggsworth]

Lotus Cortina, it was a bit damp out there.

Opposite lock and with 4 wheels still on the ground...

[Hse289]

Thanks for the comments and thanks also to Alan for the info.

[Bloggsworth]

Could some knowledgable TNFer explain to me how it is that Lotus Cortinas in 64 spent half their lives waving the inside front wheel at the crowd, but nowadays seem to have all 4 feet planted firmly on the floor - Was there an homologated option Lotus Components didn't notice when I worked in Delemare Road?

[Tim Murray]

This post from DCN in this earlier thread might give a few clues:

Somewhat off the point but when our own car snapped the end off a valve stem (of all things) in one cyl in the Adelaide Classic Rally about three years ago we were cooling our heels beside the Southern Ocean at Victor Harbour wondering what the hell to do for the next two and a half days when one of the Rally organisers scooped us up, rushed us back to Adelaide and equipped us with a Lotus-Cortina in which to complete the event. This was fantastic, off-white and moss green stripe, waving front wheels, lovely job. Over a beer with the mechanic who'd built the car we got to talking about modern restoration practises with Lotus-Cortinas and he recalled pumping the Lotus-Cortina club for info about how to rebuild the car, where to obtain parts etc, and he was given a stark warning, which went something like this:

"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

[Peter Darley]

Opposite lock and with 4 wheels still on the ground...

Page 120 of "Jim Clark - Life at Team Lotus" shows how JC took the Chicane in period. DCN will be pleased to see daylight under two wheels !

[bradbury west]

I have always understood that it was the early A frame cars which cocked a wheel so easily, a point which Len Terry pointed out to ACBC when he was asked to return to Lotus in '62. Len is quite clear about it, as he told the audience at Mike Oliver's first lotus "do" at Eynsham Hall. When he was shown the cars in the metal, prior to any testing, he told ACBC that the wrongly interpreted design of the A frame by ACBC, based on a crib from Len's earlier Terriers ( as perhaps did the Walklett bros with the original G4s, but which worked fine) would lead to the inside front wheels lifting very readily. ACBC refuted that idea, and at the first tests, at Snetterton IIRC, the drivers displayed the cars' 3 wheeled propensity. Later models with cart springs do not do it, not the least due to " modern" suspension knowledge etc - as also seen on modern historic rallying mk1 Escorts as opposed to the originals' suspension spec, inter alia. The A-frame cars also had a habit of pulling the diff-mounted rod-end fixing out, leading to loss of oil, qv the 6hr race at Spa.

I cannot comment on cars which perform in modern historic stuff, although I recall when John Whitmore returned to the fold, but had not raced for some years, and tried a current car in '94-ish, he was amazed at just how differently the car rode and handled, that after posting a time some 4 secs better than the owner

Roger Lund