Lotus Cortina

[englishmaninwales]

Not sure if this link has been posted on here before, apologies if it has. Lots of interesting detailed history.
http://www.lotuscortinainfo.com/
Of interest to Elan owners is the experimental 1963 Mk1 registration 550 VAR fitted with IRS setup using modified Elan rear suspension. This can be found in Works Car Studies.

Happy reading!

Malcolm

[john.p.clegg]

Another nice read...

John

[jono]

Mark Kempson of this board (Elan in the Forest) developed this site

[englishmaninwales]

Ahh! Well done Mark

I was a very lucky 8 year old when my father bought a brand new 1965 Mk1 LC as our family transport! We kept it in the family for about 2 decades until rust got the better of it and we sold it for not a lot in 1985. If only...

[Elanintheforest]

Thanks for your comments, Malcolm.

What a shame the old Cortina was sold after being kept for 20 years. Do you know if it's still around? If you let me know the registration number I can see if it's on the register.

I have a load of stuff still to put on the site, with probably 2 years work at my current rate! I get a few bits and pieces just about every month to add in, and in the last couple of weeks have talked with a chap who raced them in the 60s in the BTCC, and another who worked for Lotus as a mechanic on the Team Lotus cars.

Great fun, and I feel very privileged to be able to talk with these guys, get a few photos and hopefully get something recorded for posterity.

Setting up the site was a 2 year project 4 years ago, and there's at least another 5 years to go! I'm really optimistic when I estimate Elan restorations as well!

Will took the ex-Jim Clark Cortina to Castle Combe for the Club Lotus bash a couple of weeks ago, and Brian Buckland took the ex-Jim Clark Elan...great to see them together. It took 3 days to clean and dry out the Cortina after that weekend!

Mark Kempson

[rgh0]

Looks like the normal English summer

cheers
Rohan

[gjz30075]

Is that driver's side window down?

Greg

[englishmaninwales]

Thanks for your comments, Malcolm.

What a shame the old Cortina was sold after being kept for 20 years. Do you know if it's still around? If you let me know the registration number I can see if it's on the register.

I have a load of stuff still to put on the site, with probably 2 years work at my current rate! I get a few bits and pieces just about every month to add in, and in the last couple of weeks have talked with a chap who raced them in the 60s in the BTCC, and another who worked for Lotus as a mechanic on the Team Lotus cars.

Great fun, and I feel very privileged to be able to talk with these guys, get a few photos and hopefully get something recorded for posterity.

Setting up the site was a 2 year project 4 years ago, and there's at least another 5 years to go! I'm really optimistic when I estimate Elan restorations as well!

Will took the ex-Jim Clark Cortina to Castle Combe for the Club Lotus bash a couple of weeks ago, and Brian Buckland took the ex-Jim Clark Elan...great to see them together. It took 3 days to clean and dry out the Cortina after that weekend!

Mark Kempson

Mark
I have made enquires with the LCR, and it was last known to the LCR in the mid 80's and that was when I registered it with them. I had a thread running on the LCR site and no result other than it was probably exported to Japan or Australia. The UK registration was KKX 717C and according to DVLA this is still allocated to it ( or at least a white Ford with a capacity of 1558cc) but last taxed in 1984, just before we sold it. It went to a garage owner in Merstham Surrey, but the trail ends there.

It was interesting from the point that it was a '65 car, an early Aeroflow facelift with all steel panels but originally an A frame suspension along with the strengthening struts in the boot, Lotus doing their usual bit of using up what they had in stock! My father got really fed up with broken axle casings, I remember the welding on the axle casing and spare casings in the garage!! After a couple of years he converted it to GT cortina leaf spring setup, and apart from restoring the correct rear ride height, stayed on the car for the rest of the time in our ownership.

It did about 120k miles by the time we sold it, engine rebuilds at 50 and 100k ( latter due to an accidental over rev on a fluffed gear change!). My mother used it mainly as a shopping car around our home town of Reigate. For a long period it had my fathers company cars for stable mates, firstly an S2 Elan then a Sprint followed by a Mk1 3.0l Capri.

I had the pleasure of learning to drive and passing my test in it. The examiner had no idea about it and I remember him saying that it sounded good!

Rust was the biggest problem, all the usual suspect areas.

Prehaps you know people in the LCR register in Oz or Japan?

Keep up the good work on the your excellent site.

Malcolm

[pharriso]

.... and Brian Buckland took the ex-Jim Clark Elan...

Mark Kempson

Mark, does Brian own the ex-Clark car then?

[Elanintheforest]

I've found the car on the LCR register, and it was made in June '65, registered on 1st July '65, which makes it quite a late 'A' Frame car. The 'A' Frame carried on until early August '65, so quite a few Aeroflow cars were made with that suspensio (from Sep '64 to Aug '65). But most were converted to leafspring before the end of the 1960s, especially once the leafspring Lotus Cortina was announced, as they were so unreliable as everyday cars.

Folks are converting them back now, which is fine as many cars are only used as 'show' cars and potter around for less than 1000 miles a year. Not the right way to treat a Lotus Cortina though!

I have a register of Australian Lotus Cortinas, and it's not on there, so chances are it went to Japan, if indeed it was exported. So many Elans, Lotus Cortinas and Mini Coopers went East in the mid 80s, as the pound was so weak and the Yen very strong. I do know a chap in Japan who is totally obsessed with Lotus Cortinas...if it's there he will know, so I'll ask him.

It doesn't seem likely that it's in the UK as the DVLA shows it last being heard of in 1984, although you never know....there are still many tucked away waiting to be discovered.

We'll see!

Rohan, it was the wettest Castle Combe I can remember, and not the best environment to exhibit. It took Will, the owner, 3 days to clean and dry the car out after that!!!

Brian doesn't own the ex-Jim Clark Elan, Phil, but looks after it for the owner. Brian has an S3 Coupe Elan, which he bought with 75,000 miles on the clock....it's now done 820,000 miles, which must be a record for an Elan !!!

Mark Kempson