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Elephant's graveyard?


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#1 Sharman

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 09:41

For the past 6 months I have been looking for a number of cars, Lotus 19 964, Chevron B19/21 71.32, XK120 GKY907, Lotus Eleven 795GPE which were well known and documented to a point. I have asked on this forum and elsewhere without finding a lasting trail after the early 70s. It has got me wondering if there is an ethereal paddock full of quiescent metal waiting for the eternal starter to drop the flag at the last trump...or, are they squirrelled away in some locked shed on a distant airfield where an avariciuos dwarf repairs to chuckle evilly and rub his hands over his private hoard. A la Schlumpf or whoever else might fit the bill. I can't believe that they have just crumbled away into rust and aluminium oxide, there are enough of us around who would step in and buy an old car if they were going for peanuts, and if they were worth more than peanuts then they would have been preserved if only for their identity. So where are they, not only those I mention above but all the others, I know we have a thread on barn finds but there appear to be not enough barns to go round.

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#2 llmaurice

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 10:07

For the past 6 months I have been looking for a number of cars, Lotus 19 964, Chevron B19/21 71.32, XK120 GKY907, Lotus Eleven 795GPE which were well known and documented to a point. I have asked on this forum and elsewhere without finding a lasting trail after the early 70s. It has got me wondering if there is an ethereal paddock full of quiescent metal waiting for the eternal starter to drop the flag at the last trump...or, are they squirrelled away in some locked shed on a distant airfield where an avariciuos dwarf repairs to chuckle evilly and rub his hands over his private hoard. A la Schlumpf or whoever else might fit the bill. I can't believe that they have just crumbled away into rust and aluminium oxide, there are enough of us around who would step in and buy an old car if they were going for peanuts, and if they were worth more than peanuts then they would have been preserved if only for their identity. So where are they, not only those I mention above but all the others, I know we have a thread on barn finds but there appear to be not enough barns to go round.


I think many of the old single seaters ARE still in existance ,locked away in garages whilst the owners wait for them to be worth a fortune so they can sell them , This is very prevalent with Classic F3 cars in particular now they've seen all the old "Historic "FF2000 cars get drastically overpriced.

#3 alansart

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 10:32

I think many of the old single seaters ARE still in existance ,locked away in garages whilst the owners wait for them to be worth a fortune so they can sell them....


.....or in my case waiting for when I can afford the time and money to get the car back on track again (It's never going to be worth a lot!)


#4 Stephen W

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 11:13

I recently saw a Mallock U2 Mk 11 up for sale. It needed restoring but at £2000.00 as a roller it looked OK. There are still bargains out there!

On the other hand there are people looking for insanely large amounts for cars that were never competitive!

:wave:

#5 Lee Nicolle

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 11:17

.....or in my case waiting for when I can afford the time and money to get the car back on track again (It's never going to be worth a lot!)

That describes a lot of cars. Time to get going, time to run them. Though you may be surprised how muc they are worth. That is if they are complete and in one place!

#6 Derwent Motorsport

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 13:09

Mind you before there was a "historic" scene I think quite a number 1950's cars like 500cc F3, clubmans, F750, and some sports cars did get scrapped. If the think of the number of F3s there were about in say 1957 and the number that turn out for the odd race now, there must have been many go missing. Some may have been made in to grass track cars, I know some FFs did.

#7 Terry Walker

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 13:25

Some find their way into the hands of secretive hoarders - mad collectors who fill their barns with old cars and can't bear to let one go, but equally can't restore them either. All the old car universe knows of these sorts of guys. Ones with a mad desire to accumulate Morris Minors (or even madder ones wanting all the world's Morris Marinas). The acquisitive instinct. The magpie mentality.

Others do indeed get scrapped, often literally. H'm the scrap merchant says, lots of aluminum in that engine, the gearbox case is ally, the body is ally. Give you the going rate for scap ally. Okay, says the old guy's widow, looking at the heap of trash in the shed.

And the long-disused Lotus 19 Climax with four flat tyres and a seized engine gets shredded and recycled.

Edited by Terry Walker, 28 April 2011 - 13:26.


#8 layabout

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 14:20

I would like to add a Chevron B15, chassis# 9 to that list. I've seen the thread on TNF about the ownership of various B15s, but have had no luck finding this one. Can anybody shed some light on it?

Thanks you


#9 Sharman

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 15:16

I would like to add a Chevron B15, chassis# 9 to that list. I've seen the thread on TNF about the ownership of various B15s, but have had no luck finding this one. Can anybody shed some light on it?

Thanks you

Give me the history you know and if I trip over it I will pass the info on to you. PM if you prefer it

#10 Sharman

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Posted 28 April 2011 - 15:16

I would like to add a Chevron B15, chassis# 9 to that list. I've seen the thread on TNF about the ownership of various B15s, but have had no luck finding this one. Can anybody shed some light on it?

Thanks you

Give me the history you know and if I trip over it I will pass the info on to you. PM if you prefer it