Club Lotus Castle Combe 26th May

PostPost by: Spyder fan » Mon May 28, 2012 4:43 pm

A few photo's from Saturday below.
It was a real pleasure to put some faces to names, although I didn't need it with Steve (ElanFan) as he's just like his avatar :lol: :lol: John Pelly (GrumpyBodger) was on top form and good company throughout the day.

As Steve mentioned on his other thread, everyone follows their own agenda so it's difficult to make sure you meet people. I didn't bump into Pete taylor (where were you?) or Mark (Elan in the Forest).

Both my cars went extremely well with no problems, I had a very easy first run in the S4 to get the feel of it and then got progressively quicker in the afternoon until I let my brother drive to show me how its supposed to be done, he reckons he got it to lap quicker than the +2 and that it handled better and the +2 had AO48 semi slicks fitted versus standard road tyres for the S4. There were fewer cars doing the trackday this year, but far more cars in the paddock which gave it a really good atmosphere. The standard of track driving was much higher than previous years so there were less opportunities to shame some newbie in his Exige and of course the weather ensured that the track conditions were perfect, so again no chance to bait the 2Elevens, but Freddie managed to pass a fair few modern Lotus which caused the usual looks of disbelief.
doughnuts.jpg and

DSCN4275.jpg and

DSCN4279.jpg and

DSCN4213.jpg and

DSCN4257.jpg and

DSCN4276.jpg and

DSCN4217.jpg and
Kindest regards

Alan Thomas
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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Mon May 28, 2012 9:28 pm

I was supposed to be at Combe in the morning and Prescott in the afternoon, but didn't manage either...struck down with man-flu on Friday.

But it has its compensations in this fine weather, sitting in the warm shade sipping Pimms. That seems to sooth a sore throat very well!

There's always Silverstone.....

Mark
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PostPost by: gino1 » Tue May 29, 2012 11:53 am

Nice photos, glad you posted.
Its been a few years since i've participated at any event in the UK after the main Donington fair disappearing.
If any one else has some photos of the event would be nice to see.

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PostPost by: Spyder fan » Tue May 29, 2012 6:41 pm

Hi Gino,
There are lots more photo's here on my Photobucket page http://s991.photobucket.com/albums/af33/spyderfan/Castle%20Combe%20Club%20Lotus%2026th%20May%202012/

some more of my favourites below: The red & silver Elan, kept us all entertained by the drivers total commitment and car control, totally excellent to watch and not your average pedaler, well done to Dave Merlane 8)
The Lotus Sunbeam was similarly entertaining, I didn't see a clash between Dave's Elan and this car, but it would have been fun to watch.


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PostPost by: Spyder fan » Tue May 29, 2012 6:47 pm

Elanintheforest wrote:I was supposed to be at Combe in the morning and Prescott in the afternoon, but didn't manage either...struck down with man-flu on Friday.

But it has its compensations in this fine weather, sitting in the warm shade sipping Pimms. That seems to sooth a sore throat very well!

There's always Silverstone.....

Mark


Mark,
It must have been proper man-flu to keep you away from Combe & Prescott. Interestingly the owner of our guest house attended Prescott and drove up the hill in her 1955 split screen Moggie Minor, no prize won apart from a sense of pride in actually making it to the top. Apparently the old girl is so wheezy that she's lucky to make it up the rise from Nettleton to Castle Combe at more than 20mph (The car, not the lady!) I can highly reccomend the accomodation and welcome at Fosse Farmhousehttp://www.fossefarmhouse.com/Fosse_Farmhouse/Fosse_Farmhouse_b%26b,_guesthouse,_hotel,_accommodation,_self_catering,_castle_combe.html

Maybe see you at Brands Hatch; unfortunately I won't make Silverstone.

Alan
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PostPost by: Maulden7 » Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:16 pm

Only just seen this thread, & really pleased that my 65 S2 Elan was able to show just how great these old cars are when compared to the modern Lotus machinery (it's not me .... it's the car itself)

The pic below was given to me by one of my passengers & taken by the trackside photographers.

Image

Check out the wall deflection of the front n/s tyre - that's with a fat Greek guy in the passenger seat! But ... the tyres hung on (though the tread did pick up a lot)

Mike Taylor's Sunbeam, no chance of matching him. Mike has 100bhp more than me, & in a car that weighs just about the same as an old Elan, plus wide slicks. I wish!

Dave Merlane
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PostPost by: holywood3645 » Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:34 pm

I like the look of this car but do not know what it is?

Any ideas?

James
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PostPost by: elanfan1 » Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:45 pm

I KNOW I won't get the details right and someone following will correct me but I seem to recall that was a car that was discovered unused for many years and the bodywork had never been touched and had degraded. There was a big debate as to whether it should be restored/polished etc and it attended a couple of Donington's in that condition - until it either changed hands or the decision was made to polish it up. In my opinion it looks a lot better and has lost nothing from this treatment.

I seem to recall it is effectively a Lotus 6 but with a special body - I'm sure others will put me right.
Steve

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PostPost by: Etienne 7 » Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:32 pm

My pictures of Elans:

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A special one!
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I was there with my brother, we cycled from Bristol and ended up all sunburnt!
There was an amazing line up by the HLR!!

Image

What a great Lotus day !!!
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PostPost by: Etienne 7 » Tue Aug 07, 2012 2:33 pm

PS: If some of you want these pictures in high resolution, drop me a line !
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PostPost by: Spyder fan » Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:23 pm

Maulden7 wrote:Only just seen this thread, & really pleased that my 65 S2 Elan was able to show just how great these old cars are when compared to the modern Lotus machinery (it's not me .... it's the car itself)

The pic below was given to me by one of my passengers & taken by the trackside photographers.

Image

Check out the wall deflection of the front n/s tyre - that's with a fat Greek guy in the passenger seat! But ... the tyres hung on (though the tread did pick up a lot)

Mike Taylor's Sunbeam, no chance of matching him. Mike has 100bhp more than me, & in a car that weighs just about the same as an old Elan, plus wide slicks. I wish!

Dave Merlane


Dave,
Did your S2 start life as a racer that wasn't road registered? The G registration circa 1969 is intriguing me.
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PostPost by: Maulden7 » Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:20 am

Dave,
Did your S2 start life as a racer that wasn't road registered? The G registration circa 1969 is intriguing me.


Alan - a question that I am asked everywhere I go with the car!

The car was sold as a kit, direct from the Cheshunt factory (no dealer involvement) in September 1965, but not road registered until February 1969.

I bought the car in 1987. Road legal, with MOT (drove it home) but it looked very different from what it does today. In 1988 I commenced a full "nut & bolt" restoration (took me 6 years!) based on a new galvanised Lotus chassis, so I have literally seen every nook & cranny, & there was no evidence at all that it had been anything but a road car. However, it does have a close ratio gearbox (that appears to be original to the car) & the engine had clearly been through a major rebuild from original spec, with larger valves & a non standard camshaft, plus a 4-branch manifold. The guy who I bought the car from had assumed that it was in standard spec so had no other information.

The body was stripped to the gel coat prior to being painted as it is now, & it had originally been dark blue, followed by two blow overs, first in BRG, & then in yellow (as it was when I bought it) The layers of paint came off in big strips over large areas of the body!

Subsequent to the first rebuild, I decided to convert the car to its current state, & after a couple of years work (& spending lots of money with Messers Thompson & Matty!!!) this was largely completed in 2006 (though you never really do totally complete these things!)

So ......... who knows? Was it originally used "off road", or did it simply sit around for over 3 years waiting to be fully assembled & road registered. One thing's for sure, by the time it did get onto the road, the S2 model had become quite crude in comparison to what could be bought new.

Whatever, it's part of the family, & nearly gets as much love & attention as my children & grandchildren.

If anybody can help with any history I would be very grateful to hear from you.
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PostPost by: trw99 » Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:39 am

Dave, Allan

I have come across a small number of cars that were registered very much later than their build dates and concluded that in the majority of cases they were bought as kits and then the first owner took an age to get the kit put together.

It is conceivable that a car bought as a kit spent it's first three years as a track car, but I think it unlikely unless there is evidence of bodywork and suspension change. Furthermore, I understand that Elans racing at that time had to be road registered, though I am willing to be corrected. And of course there would be a record somewhere of a car competing over a three year period.

I live in hope that one day someone discovers an un-built Elan kit stuck away in a corner of a barn. That would fetch a handsome price! Not sure if you could legally register it as a 'new' car now, though.

Tim
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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Wed Aug 22, 2012 10:52 am

There could be a very simple explaination. If the car was originally registered in Jersey, Isle of Man etc, then bought by somebody on the mainland in 1968, it would have been given a 1968 registration number. Nowadays it would be given an age-related number.

There are many classics around that have later registration numbers due to the practise of the day.

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PostPost by: Maulden7 » Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:45 pm

There could be a very simple explaination. If the car was originally registered in Jersey, Isle of Man etc, then bought by somebody on the mainland in 1968, it would have been given a 1968 registration number. Nowadays it would be given an age-related number.


Thanks, now there's a thought that hadn't occurred to me, & this caused me to look for the letter I received from the Lotus Factory Historian many years back!

This said that the original owner was a Mr R.T.Feere, & he bought the kit on 26th August 1965 (I had remembered September ...... sorry ...... it's my age you know) Is that a Channel Islands / Isle of Man family name perhaps?

I bought the car from a man living on the south coast in Bexhill-on-Sea.

Any thoughts on the name Feere?

Edited to add - a quick google reveals a lot of Feere's still around, & the name has a clear French like link (a number in Western Canada & the Southern States of the USA) Could just be a coincidence, but lots of French related family names on the Channel Islands?

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