UNSUNG HEROES – JACK KNIGHT DEVELOPMENTS

A company that often gets forgotten these days, back in the fifties, sixties and seventies, Jack Knight Developments was one of the key companies supplying a variety of parts for Formula One teams downwards. STEVE HOLE looks at the company’s history who was Jack Knight for a start?

Jack Knight was a toolmaker by trade with a keen interest in speedway and motorcycle racing. He and his friend, motorcycle racer, Charlie Smith produced a variety of parts for other races and built up a good reputation for rebuilding big-end assemblies.

This led to them building their own Formula 500cc car, which it More >

ONE MAKE MK CUP 200 SERIES FOR 2023

The latest kitcar manufacturer to be given its own race series is MK SPORTSCARS.

With the first few examples already racing in Sports 1000 this season, MK Cup 200 cars feature a sealed Suzuki Hayabusa race engine (via bike engine specialists RLM Racing) to ensure equal performance and managed costs, built alongside MK’s cost-effective Lotus Seven-inspired chassis.

Along with 750MC’s evergreen Locost Championship and the popular Ma7da Championship, these sequential gearbox-equipped machines complete a trio of formulae in the club inspired by the original Lotus that made such an impact in 750MC’s formative years; and now offer a ladder of Seven-inspired performance within the same paddock.

Interested? Why not More >

BOBBING ALONG

Facelifted Dutton Surf model unveiled at Southampton Boat Show 2022, recently

Minor PR successfully launched facelifted Surf at Southampton Boat Show 2022 recently with the image showing external changes – side vents, colour co-ordinated bonnet vent and black headlamps plus other items including sound deadening and additional heatproofing of the engine bay.

The second image was taken by a Dutton enthusiast on holiday recently when he spotted these two chaps enjoying a Dutton Mariner S2 on the River Danube, no less.

As Tim Dutton told me this week: “It really does show that if a Dutton is looked after they do last!”

Spotted on the More >

SOFTLY, SOFTLY

Nylon C-Washers are essential fitments to your dampers. They’ll stop your chassis from hitting the deck! As the name and shape suggest, these washers are made from 3mm thick nylon and are cut into a ‘C’ shape.

They’re designed to slot onto the push-rod of the damper above the rubber bump stop to prevent the chassis from grounding out. Read more about – HOW THE NYLON C-WASHERS WORK.

These handy little washers come in standardised sizes.

Go to – C-WASHERS, PACK OF 10, 5 SIZES AVAILABLE or call 01249 782 101 ENDS.

NEAT NUMBERPLATE LIGHT

That guru of vehicle lighting, Gil Keane of Better Car Lighting has been in touch with news of yet another great product.

How often have you been annoyed that one small detail is letting down the kit or classic car that you have lovingly built, cared for and polished? Sometimes fixing that annoying detail can be difficult, because the part needed may not be available, or may require you to replace a complete assembly, just to get the one small part that you need.

Now, Better Car Lighting has two additions to their range which will help some people with this problem. More >

SHRINK TO FIT

Heatshrink tubing is a professional way to insulate wires and connectors but usually needs a mains-powered heat gun, which can be inconvenient sometimes, especially if working under the dash of a customer’s car out in the car park. This handy little butane-powered, hot-air blower from Laser Tools (part number 6848) is just the job – it’s small, fits in a pocket and gives instant heat just when you need it.

Easy to use, a thumb press on/off switch provides comfortable handheld use. Adjusted by a slide regulator, you can adjust the temperature to deliver the right level of heat for the More >

MODULAR CONSTRUCTION

Create your ideal workshop from the wide range of storage systems available from Sealey Tools.

The modular design means their systems are truly customisable; while the choice of units available provides you with the perfect storage solution, no matter what size or style you are after. Each range allows you to purchase a simple base unit or create a complete storage system.

Using the handy new design tool, developed by Sealey, you can bring your workspace to life by creating the perfect combination of drawers, cabinets and back panels. The Superline Pro® and Premier™ ranges can be customised further by adding your More >

ROLL ON ANTI-PERSPIRANT? NO! THIS IS A ROLL-ON GLASS COMPOUND

New in at Slim’s Detailing is the Soft 99 range of car care products. We’ve just sampled one of them.

Glaco Glass Compound Roll On which is the perfect preparation before applying a coating to your vehicle’s glass.

This convenient, handheld glass polish tool uses two types of abrasive to easily remove stains, traffic film and even old Glaco Ultra glass sealant. This all-in-one tool and compound features a felt pad, meaning there is no need for extra applicators or cloths to apply it.

Quite simple to apply to apply you just need to ensure that the glass is clean and dry. Then give the product a More >

THE STORY OF THE ELAN-BRM AND THE SPENCE SPECIFICATION CARS

ELAN-BRM by Steve Hole Photos by Carol Hardy

There have been a large number of special variants of the Lotus Elan over the years including the IWR Elan, Willment Elan, Shapecraft Elan, Starley Sprite (the second was Elan-based) and a pre-knighted Sir Stirling Moss’s S.M.A.R.T Elan.

However, my favourite of them all is the Elan-BRM. At first glance, it might appear strange that Lotus and BRM, rivals in F1 back in the day, would collaborate on anything but collaborate they did.

In any case, BRM had already supplied tuned engines for the competition Elan, the 26R and also for Type 47 Europa.

The men More >

NEW FOURTEEN, ER, I MEAN TWO NEW SEVENS FROM CATERHAM CARS

Caterham® has reintroduced its heritage range following the launch of two new models: Super Seven 600 and Super Seven 2000.

Ahead of the brand’s 50th anniversary next year, the latest editions take inspiration from Caterham’s early ‘Super Sevens’ introduced in the 1970s and popularised through the 1980s; a classic, British, lightweight, two-seater sports car with the perfect blend of style and performance, yet re-imagined for the 21st century.

While these models may look similar, they offer two very different driving experiences.

Super Seven 2000.

Super Seven 600

Super Seven 600 is an accessible, pure, simple, driving experience but at a lower speed. It is a car for those More >

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