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Gold Bug Lotus 26R, who can tell me about them?


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#1 63Corvette

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 17:35

http://www.finecars....html?no_cache=1

 

I race against the 26R as they are in my Vintage race class. They have always been neat cars, but I have never been able to find anyone who would tell me how much they weigh? I have heard everything from 700 lbs to 1050 lbs, but the owners clam up when asked;-) I would also suspect that they all run "Brian Hart" 23B engines (or better) by now. Does anyone know if ALL 26Rs were "Gold Bugs" or only Ian Walkers? Any fun stories?


Edited by 63Corvette, 03 August 2015 - 20:49.


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#2 David Birchall

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 18:44

I depends on what series 26R they are-of course, after fifty plus years almost everything has been changed on most of them. I owned a series one and a series two in the eighties. The series one cars were not far off stock specification but with a Cosworth built engine good for about 145 bhp. They had AR aluminium brake calipers and adjustable Girling shocks. The series ones even used the rubber dough nuts in the drive shafts but that must have been awful in racing and most were modified to sliding joint I think. The body was slightly lighter than stock.

The series two 26R was a much more serious project. The engine was a Cosworth/BRM mongrel in some cars with about 155 bhp. The suspension was fully adjustable, many components were magnesium (rear uprights, diff casing, gearbox casing...) The body was lighter again but now had flaired wheel openings to accommodate 6" wide wheels. The headlights were 5" and faired in. The drive shafts were now roller spline to avoid sticking in the splines. A series Two 26R driven by a competent driver could harass seemingly much faster cars--in their day.

Nowadays they are much faster! My series one had been fitted with and ex Bill Brack Hart 416B Twin Cam (4 cylinders, 1600cc, Formula B) These are still said by some to be the best development of the Lotus Twin Cam and can put out a relatively reliable 180bhp--they destroy the original gearbox however, so now you need a straight cut, dog-box.

Many cars have full cages which make up for the lack of stiffness in the Elan design.

Avon tires made the cars stick like a Formula Atlantic back in the eighties - God knows what they use now but I am sure they are better!

In my car I recall a race long duel with a 427 Cobra at Westwood-he would power away on the straights but I could catch him under braking and cornering--until I took "Deers Leap" at about 140 mph and the sliding spline drive shafts locked up at full droop--I communed with God at that point...


I still have a racing Elan sitting in my garage-it has a better race history than some 26Rs and has a number of original 26R parts on it but my racing days are behind me.

Brilliant cars, very fragile, a bitch to work on...

Edited by David Birchall, 03 August 2015 - 19:03.


#3 Garsted

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 18:53

The gold bugs were just the Ian Walker cars, named for the colour he painted them.  This topic should help

 

http://forums.autosp...an#entry5480472

 

Re the weight:  700lbs sounds totally implausible.  I believe a good racing Elan today can approach 600kg, and the best engines are rumoured to produce about 180 bhp.

 

Regards,



#4 David Birchall

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 19:00

I forgot to address the weight issue-my series one with an ultra lightweight body, no trim and minimal roll bar weighed about 1200 lbs. A street Elan weighs about 1500 lbs wet.

Edited by David Birchall, 03 August 2015 - 19:01.


#5 63Corvette

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 21:03

Fascinating story David! Thank you both. I ran with Gil Nichol in his 26R at the Monterey Historics and at Sears Point many times. I don't know all of the names of the drivers of the other cars, although Ed Tucker of Lotus Southwest had one back in the day (early 1960s). I have a close friend who raced a stock Elan (not 26R for many years, eventually replaced the rubber donuts with sliding spline halfshafts) but, as you say, "Brilliant cars, very fragile, a bitch to work on... "  ;) 

Hopefully others will chime in with thier stories....................



#6 David Birchall

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 03:30

I too ran with Gil Nichol- sometimes he would win, sometimes I would. Great guy.

#7 Stephen W

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 09:23

I suspect there are more 26R Elans about now than were ever built in period.

 

:eek:



#8 Ray Bell

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 11:15

I'm certain there'd be a lot more Elans without the donuts than ever left the factory...

Originally posted by 63Corvette
..... I have a close friend who raced a stock Elan (not 26R for many years, eventually replaced the rubber donuts with sliding spline halfshafts).....


I recall that back in the eighties Owen Wuillemin and Norm Smith conspired with Dave Mawer to modify a whole bunch of VW driveshafts with CV joints (Superbug? Maybe Kombi?) to take care of this issue. Members of Club Lotus Australia were canvassed, I'd think, to produce a guaranteed market for them.

#9 63Corvette

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 16:08

I suspect there are more 26R Elans about now than were ever built in period.

 

:eek:

I am sure that you are ALL correct  ;)  One sure test of a "real" (original) 26R is to see if you can read a newspaper through the fiberglass bodywork. If you can, it's a "real" one. :rotfl:



#10 Ray Bell

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 21:50

With the number of Elan moulds there are around the world, I'm sure someone else would be able to make the wafer-thin stuff...

I'm sure we'd have photos somewhere around here of the local ones.

#11 kayemod

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 22:15

With the number of Elan moulds there are around the world, I'm sure someone else would be able to make the wafer-thin stuff...

I'm sure we'd have photos somewhere around here of the local ones.

 

The original car bodies were made from old-fashioned fibreglass, chopped strand mat for the most part and polyester resin. As Ray says, there are plenty of Elan moulds around. Using today's epoxy resins and carbon & Aramid (Kevlar and others) reinforcements, something much lighter, stronger and more rigid than the old ones would be pretty easy to come up with. Practically all mouldings originating from Lotus were unpigmented, the colour was always paint. Not an Elan of course, but some racing Elites, Les Leston's car in particular were almost see-through, but that wasn't because the body was significantly lighter than standard, he'd just been very economical with the paint. Since the Elite was a fibreglass monocoque structure, thinning the bodywork wouldn't have been a good idea. You'd save weight, but only by weakening the structure dramatically, not a great idea with a Lotus, as we know, many areas were marginal as standard.



#12 David Birchall

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 23:17

My S1 26R had been fitted with an ultra lightweight S4 style coupe body in about 1971 following a roll over at Mosport that wrote off the original body. The S4 body was supplied by Lotus to the Canadian owners ("Lotus East"?) It was so thin that I would demonstrate by pressing down on the centre of the roof-a compound curve-and it would just give way. This did not increase chassis stiffness or feelings of confidence for me since I was "protecting" the chassis, not the other way around!

I'd post a picture but which fly by night operation should I use?

#13 Ray Bell

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Posted 05 August 2015 - 00:36

postimage.org...

No problems there yet.

#14 David Birchall

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Posted 05 August 2015 - 03:13

Laguna Seca 1986 I fink-the Alfa is the prototype TZ2:

http://s14.postimg.o...fsxt/img076.jpg

After five attempts that's the best I can manage...

Edited by David Birchall, 05 August 2015 - 03:19.


#15 Ray Bell

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Posted 05 August 2015 - 04:42

Originally posted by David Birchall
Laguna Seca 1986 I fink-the Alfa is the prototype TZ2:

img076.jpg

After five attempts that's the best I can manage...


Don't be so hard on yourself...

You just didn't realise you needed to click on 'Hotlink for forums (1)' the same as Imageshack.

Edited by Ray Bell, 05 August 2015 - 04:43.


#16 Catalina Park

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Posted 05 August 2015 - 06:45

I am sure that you are ALL correct  ;)  One sure test of a "real" (original) 26R is to see if you can read a newspaper through the fiberglass bodywork. If you can, it's a "real" one. :rotfl:

I was laying under a 26R and could see the steering wheel through the floor.



#17 kayemod

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Posted 05 August 2015 - 09:31

I was laying under a 26R and could see the steering wheel through the floor.

 

Sounds like a nasty accident, hope you're feeling better now.