New subject from Gene !!!
>>>I have a friend in Houston who races his Lotus Seven in CVAR with me.
He's also bought a vintage Hawk formula ford and would like to see me get a
car.
Naturally, I want to consider a Lotus 51 or 61. I would like to hear
thoughts on these cars.
Glad to help, ol' buddy! ;-)
>Good points and bad, reliability issues.
Good? Simple, easy to service, all parts available, the Lotus "cachet", an
active "register" with vast information & the 51 is often called the most
beautiful formula Ford.
Bad? They're not the fastest FF but on a given day . . . .
Reliability? stock Ford engine you can service yourself, VW/Hewland
transaxle, off-the -shelf components.
> What are they like to drive.
Like a Super Seven but to the second power! The central seat, wheel
visibility even tighter suspension/steering response all contribute.
> I've certainly heard negative things about the Renault gearbox in the
early 51's.
There are purists that use them and that's fine. I have one for posterity
but there's a Hewland installed for practicality . . . with lots of extra
gear-pairs.
>The styling on the 61 is of course a subjective issue, but its lower cost
may push me in that direction.
You'll have to sort that out but . . . ugh! ;->
> Also, a risky side note: Mr. Brightman wants to get a 51 for himself.
This would be great. He would have
> some less controversial topics for conversation !
Just my luck! I have a fresh pro-built "Mike Sauce" 51, only needs a
cell, belts, header and some body and paint work . . I want to sell it!
So what do I do??? P--- off two possible buyers, of course.
:-)
Tony
(others?)
|