Coventry Climax FWE

PostPost by: englishmaninwales » Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:44 pm

Following a report in the newspaper of the sale of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s Albatross speed boat, I came across this auction for a 1957 Albatross Mk 111.
Feast your eyes on the beautifully presented 1400cc Coventry Climax FWE power plant, complete with twin Webbers (The Duke’s speedboat was powered by a rather more mundane Ford 100E sidevalve engine)

https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auct ... edboat-jt/

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PostPost by: nomad » Mon Apr 11, 2022 11:12 pm

I'm curious. Did the fire pumps get the nice Lady Godiva medallion? That just adds to the mystique of that engine! :D

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PostPost by: StressCraxx » Mon Apr 11, 2022 11:29 pm

nomad wrote:I'm curious. Did the fire pumps get the nice Lady Godiva medallion? That just adds to the mystique of that engine! :D

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Yes, they did. Some were obscured by the control panel or the overhead fuel tank. They were often pried off for souvenirs.
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAyNFg3Njg= ... ~/$_86.JPG
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=coventry+clim ... 5nfHx8.jpg
There is no cure for Lotus, only treatment.
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PostPost by: nomad » Mon Apr 11, 2022 11:44 pm

That is cool! Even in the throws of war England had a bit of Panache! I'd want one for a souvenir as well. :D

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PostPost by: Pastapesto » Mon Apr 11, 2022 11:47 pm

I have boat no A70. It's in pretty much the same condition as this one. They made around 160 with the Climax engine and most have sadly been lost due to the engines being used for racing and road cars with the bodies being scrapped. There are 30-40 odd still out there with the Climax engine and a few more with the early and later type ford engines as well as a few with a Rootes Holbay engine also (IIRC). Jeremy Clarkson tried one some years back and said it was one of the best things he's ever piloted. They were beautifully made and were/are amazing to use but sadly were too expensive when compared with cheaper boats using the newly pioneered (at the time) fibreglass bodied designs. The Climax engined boats ran single or twin SUs (never sold with Webers) and were the top of the range. Lighter and more powerful than all other engine options offered. There was a busy race scene in period which was revived in the last few years in Norfolk once a year (sadly no more). Beautiful things from a different era....... A sort of "Elan for the water" - they sound great too on "full chat" as a friend & fellow owner used to say. Hope that is helpful if you were interested?........ A
Last edited by Pastapesto on Tue Apr 12, 2022 5:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPost by: SENC » Tue Apr 12, 2022 1:57 am

What a great looking little boat!
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PostPost by: Mike Ostrov » Tue Apr 12, 2022 3:14 am

Having a bit of experience with the Lady Climax, she is a remarkable delight. Actually the FWB is 1460 cc. The FWE in the Type 14 Lotus Elite is 1216 cc and the FWA at 1098 cc. FW is FeatherWeight.

The Godiva emblem is opposite the control panel and very visible. A brass stamping with an antique silver finish, hence you might see both a shinny brass one or a silver emblem.

The FWP (pump) are: FWPM 742 cc for the Marine application, the standard FWP 1020 cc and the FWP 1460 cc, which is the most desirable for automotive conversion.

I have the FWM and the FWP 1020 cc. and we take them to the local reservoir and throw water at 100 psi ....92 feet, depending on the nozzle. On one outing, a boater idled over and asked if I could clean his hull. I replied, give me a moment to change the nozzle and will strip the paint, too, if you wish.

Hope the above is of interest. Cheers. Mike, still Club Elite Secretary, tech guy and World Registrar since 1980 or so.
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PostPost by: Davidb » Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:13 am

Mike Ostrov--if you can cast your mind back to 1977-80 you might recall the pale blue "Climax Special" racing car that came down from Canada every Monterey Historic weekend and tangled with the Lotus Elevens? That was me. I had shelves full of Climax engines and parts at that time! This was actually at the Portland Historics:
Climax at Portland.jpg and
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