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THE ‘FUTURA’ (SADLY) WASN’T BRIGHT
Nov 3rd
Jem Developments (they became Jem Cars in 1970) was a division of Robin Statham’s Fellpoint Ltd as he was producing the Mini Jem at the time had taken over the project from Jeremy Delmar-Morgan.
The (over) ambitious Futura was the car that sent Fellpoint Ltd to the wall. They introduced the Mini Jem Mk2, developed it and launched it at the Racing Car Show of 1969. It was going well for the ex-Tornado Cars employee, and by the time he unveiled the space-age Futura at the Racing Car Show in January 1971, he’d sold 180 Mini Jem kits, which was going More >
LOTUS’ JUNIOR SQUAD – RON HARRIS RACING DIVISION TEAM LOTUS
Oct 27th
LOTUS’ JUNIOR SQUAD – RON HARRIS TEAM LOTUS – by STEVE HOLE
During the sixties, one of the characters involved in Britain’s motorsport scene was a chap called Ron Harris, running his own teams and also on behalf of Lotus and Lola in Formula Junior, Formula 3 and Formula 2. A total of 84 races with seven victories. STEVE HOLE charts the racing history of one of the paddock’s best-turned-out teams.
Peter Revson racing for the Ron Harris team in an F2 race in a Lotus Type 32
There have been a few famous Ron Harris’ over the years. There was Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris More >
BACK IN THE SADDLE
Oct 20th
Saddle clamps are an interesting and very useful product and are ideal for securing items such as brake lines.
Car Builder Solutions unsurprisingly offer a range of them including the one pictured here.
Heavy duty, made from 2mm thick stainless-steel it has a 5.2mm mounting hole and is supplied with an M5 x 12mm stainless steel button-head screw.
The overall size 23mm x 13mm and these 3/16in stainless-steel saddle clamp packs come in packs of 12 and wear part number #SAD316 with more information from www.carbuilder.com or by calling 01580 891 309 ENDS.
THE STORY OF ALEXIS CARS AND THE ALEXIS GT THAT DIDN’T OFFICIALLY EXIST!
Oct 20th
THE STORY OF THE ALEXIS GT
I spotted this stunning little GT car in archives recently but initially couldn’t find the notes that I knew should have been with it. It was called the Alexis GT and for a few weeks that was all I knew because I couldn’t find that pesky missing information.
I also looked at my book of words on Alexis Cars but that just confused me more as they only produced trials car and single-seaters for Formula Junior, F100 (single-seater formula for cars powered by Kent Crossflow 1300 engines), FF1600, F3 and F2 between 1959-1976.
They never built a More >
A THREE WHEELER CALLED ‘DEREK, ROBERT & KEITH’ – AKA THE D.R.K
Oct 13th
D.R.K THREE-WHEELER by STEVE HOLE Pix from TKC MAG Archive
What a great little car the D.R.K was, originally intended as a fun one-off but met with such critical acclaim that it went into series built-to-order production.
Its origins date back to the mid-eighties when friends, Derek Callister and Keith Hamer from Ellesmere Port, decided that after many years of messing around with cars it would be a real hoot to build their own.
They discussed ideas and came up with a short-list of requirements that the car needed to have such as front wheel drive, air-cooled four-cylinder engine, two-seater sports and aluminium More >
IT’S A HEATER BUT NOT A RADIATOR
Oct 6th
The Clarke IT1500 is an easy-to-use portable induction heater kit suitable for use in garages and workshop environments.
This tool kit offers an energy-efficient design providing a safer and more economical alternative to brazing torches or similar heating methods. This product is supplied with a convenient carry case and an assortment of coils.
20mm, 26mm and 32mm Tubular Heating Coils: For heating nuts, fasteners, bolts, 02 sensors etc.
55mm Flat Heating Coil: For removing stickers, graphics, emblems, body mouldings etc.
295mm U-Shaped Coil: For performing the work of other coils but can be customised to remove and repair dents.
1000mm Flexible Coil: For clearing race More >
UNSUNG HEROES – JACK KNIGHT DEVELOPMENTS
Oct 6th
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 >
THE STORY OF THE ELAN-BRM AND THE SPENCE SPECIFICATION CARS
Sep 29th
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 >
GREAT FOR ALCANTARA-TYPE FABRICS
Sep 22nd
These two products were new to me until recently having been recommended to me by a couple of readers.
One picked up on my comments about the filthy Alcantara steering wheel in the Caterham Seven 420R in the last issue and reckoned this product was a surefire way of bringing it back to health.
While he also praised the Nano Fabric Protector, too and he wondered whether it would help keep Alcantara-type products from getting dirty in the first place. Good shout.
My VW Golf came with seats with Alcantara centre panels and although nice and comfy I know that these suede-style fabrics More >
UNDERPINNINGS – ARCH MOTOR & MANUFACTURING
Sep 22nd
THEY MAKE STUFF – ARCH MOTOR & MANUFACTURING CO LTD by CAROL HARDY
For over sixty years, Arch Motor has been the go-to company if you want a chassis for your racecar or specialist road car. They have been making Caterham and Lotus Seven chassis for over sixty years and during the sixties every F1 team bar Honda and Ferrari used their services. The great news is, this story isn’t a retrospective per se as Arch Motor still exists and although times have changed greatly, they are still very busy, as STEVE HOLE reports. By the way, I haven’t missed an More >
