8 replies to this topic

[jrosenzweig]

Am i right in believing that the BRM H16 was only used in the Lotus 43 and not in the Lotus 33 which used the Climax. Lotus 49 only used the Ford DFV. Please let me know if i'm got it wrong. ta



Jamie

[Ray Bell]

I think this is completely correct, although there are few guarantees with these things. However, there were unique features to these chassis, the BRM H16 was too big to go with the 33 chassis, the 49 was designed around the DFV. The only other possibility is that the tub of the 43 may have shared some lineage with Indianapolis cars.
Anyone disagree with that analysis?

[Bernd]

Yes the 43 was the car that used the H16. The 49 was only ever ran with a DFV and was as Ray said designed around it. The 43 is VERY similar in style & basic look to the 49 which I'm sure confused some parties over the years. The Indy variant was the 42 which used a 4.2 Litre derivative of the H16.

[Ray Bell]

I seriously doubt the H16 at Indianapolis thought, Bernd. Anyone else ever heard of this? Or was it a type number allocated but never built? Lotus used the dohc Ford engine at Indy that year, BRM would have been totally engrossed in keeping the 3-litre versions going...

[tombe]

The Lotus 42 was built in 1966 for Indy with a 4,2 BRM H16 engine. The monocoque was modified in 1967 with a Ford V8 in a tubular engine bay (Lotus 42F).
This according to Doug Nye's "The Story of Lotus 1961-1971".

Tom Berge

[Ray Bell]

But was it actually built? Or just a projection, or a chassis with a blown up 3-litre mockup?
It never ran at Indy.

[Marcor]

It seems that two Lotus 43 were built. After their F1 career (some races in 1966 and 1967), the 43s were sold for independent conversions to F5000.

The two cars raced in the "famous" 1969 Madrid GP race (there's a topic about that race) in the hand of Russel (with a Ford engine, classified third) and Lamplough (with a 4.7-Litre Ford engine).

[Bernd]

Yes a prototype was built but as you say it never ran...

Also I dug a little and found that the 49 was basically just a slimmed down 43 and shared most of the design principles etc of the earlier design.

[Allen Brown]

I can add a little more on the two Lotus 43s.

At the end of 1967, both 43s, plus the unused Indianapolis 42B chassis, were sold to Robs Lamplough for use in the planned Formula 5000. The cars were converted to Ford power by Nichols Engineering, of Bideford, Devon, whose usual business was producing Ken Nichols' FV and FF Nike chassis. The cars were fitted with a strong rear bulkhead on which was hung a triangulated spaceframe engine bay. Lamplough kept 43/2 for himself and sold 43/1 to Scottish club racer Jock Russell, who had previously raced a Lotus 24 with a 4.7-litre Ford engine.

Russell first appeared with the his at Phoenix Park on 15 September 1968 (just a day after Lamplough had debuted 43/2 at Oulton Park) but the scrutineers rejected the car. The first competitive outing for Russell and the 43 came in the Lothian CC meeting at the new Doune hill climb two weeks later where they failed to qualify for the run-offs but had the consolation of the class award.

See http://www.oldracing....asp?CarID=43/1 and http://www.oldracing....asp?CarID=43/2 for their major race results.

Allen