Lotus race cars

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by Alphonse

That 51 belongs to one of the gents in CVAR and is a damn fast car and a beautifully maintained example.
At Hallet this past October, at the last CVAR event a new track record for Group 6, (open wheel FF), was set by another gentleman in another type 51.
He also beat out every other FF car in his class which included Lotus type 61's, Merlin MK.11, Titan Mk. 6's and a few other types.
"More competitive"?
If I could fit in that car and the price was right I would jump on it. Unfortunately I am one of those fuller-figured types whose large butt and wide shoulders just does not fit.
If the car is indeed for sale and you are interested, let me know and I will pass along the gentlemans name and where you can get a hold of him. The car is in Texas.

Al

al
its a different car in wisconsin.
i guess they all look the same.
I disagree with what you are saying about the 51. my research has show it to be a beauty, but not the most competitve chassis design.
the owner of the car for sale i showed had clearly said its not going to run up front of the pack, and none of the 51's will.
most of the other car mentioned are based on the 51s' design, but then improvements are made to them(the 51 being the first FF car produced)
i guess it does come down to the driver, and who is willing to push their vintage car to its limits.
the titan has the longest wheelbase, and a bit wider than others of its era, so it is the most stable up at high speeds.
just my opinion, and the research i have done as a buyer with cash in hand. you are the first to say the lotus is the top notch design for speed. it is no doubt a beautiful car though(maybe the nicest there is), I have been speaking with guys who race prep the vintage cars for a living.........

[Alphonse]

Originally Posted by fishguy

al
its a different car in wisconsin.
i guess they all look the same.
I disagree with what you are saying about the 51. my research has show it to be a beauty, but not the most competitve chassis design.
the owner of the car for sale i showed had clearly said its not going to run up front of the pack, and none of the 51's will.
most of the other car mentioned are based on the 51s' design, but then improvements are made to them(the 51 being the first FF car produced)
i guess it does come down to the driver, and who is willing to push their vintage car to its limits.
the titan has the longest wheelbase, and a bit wider than others of its era, so it is the most stable up at high speeds.
just my opinion, and the research i have done as a buyer with cash in hand. you are the first to say the lotus is the top notch design for speed. it is no doubt a beautiful car though(maybe the nicest there is), I have been speaking with guys who race prep the vintage cars for a living.........

Fishy, (sorry for the abbreviation, no offense meant),

No I do not claim that the 51 is the "top notch" by a long shot. All I'm saying is that in the right hands it can be competitive. By the specs your are correct that other cars can or should be faster. Also, since it is one of the earlier FF designs it is dated, no argument there.
Also, yep you are correct again, that is not the Texas car, my bad. The one photo looks identical to one taken of the car I spoke of at Hallett. Old age is a bitch!
My observations come from running with these guys on the course. I am no expert and am still a rookie but I have seen first hand how the 51's do.
If someone wants to run in vintage there are definitely other cars that are faster and newer. But if someone does pick up a 51 they will be havin a heck of a good time. At least that's what the smiles of the three 51 drivers at Hallet indicated to me.

[JMA]

I ran a 51 for 12 years with VARA (So. Calif). I don't know about all the 51s, but most had a Renault gearbox, so therefore you could not change gears like the Hewland. As the 51 was the first Formula Ford, everything else is an updated FF, and usually faster. I might have been slower, but no one had more fun than I did. My avatar is at the Lotus tribute at the Monterey Historics in 1995. Even got a blurry picture of me in Road & Track. FF is much cheaper than Formula Juniors, so it is a great way to get started, and nothing looks better on the track, than a 51 Lotus IMO.

[khamai]

Originally Posted by JMA

I ran a 51 for 12 years with VARA (So. Calif).

Hi Jack!
Great to see you on ETalk!!!

'95 at the Historics was awefully fun! My version of your avatar in the same race! I was still leading at the time...

Cheers,
Kiyoshi

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by Alphonse

Fishy, (sorry for the abbreviation, no offense meant),

No I do not claim that the 51 is the "top notch" by a long shot. All I'm saying is that in the right hands it can be competitive. By the specs your are correct that other cars can or should be faster. Also, since it is one of the earlier FF designs it is dated, no argument there.
Also, yep you are correct again, that is not the Texas car, my bad. The one photo looks identical to one taken of the car I spoke of at Hallett. Old age is a bitch!
My observations come from running with these guys on the course. I am no expert and am still a rookie but I have seen first hand how the 51's do.
If someone wants to run in vintage there are definitely other cars that are faster and newer. But if someone does pick up a 51 they will be havin a heck of a good time. At least that's what the smiles of the three 51 drivers at Hallet indicated to me.

Yes Al,
I am with you on all of this.
I hear in the vintage racing they say "the cars are the stars" with that said, i would buy a lotus 51 or a lola T-202. they are some of the most beautiful cars around IMO.
unfortunately for me, I cannot run with the idea of going 7/10s on the track and just driving a car, i usually push 10/10's and am competitive, but always being safe about my decisions. for vintage i would likely run 9/10's of what the car can do, unless there was a good battle going on.
The Titan just looks rugged, and sturdy(see attached picture), and from what i hear, is the car to have in the class. i want that car so that when i loose, i know its me, who is loosing, not my car loosing the race.
I also agree al, any car will run well in the right hands.
i figure vintage will be a nice compliment to running the DB-1 in my local group here in AZ.
vintage should likely get guys who dont think they have a racing carrer ahead of them, and will do things to win to spotlight themselves in a potential sponsors eyes.
i just want to go run for fun, and come home with my car the same way it showed up at the track.
You have more experience with the vintage stuff than i do Al, as i have yet to hit the track in that group yet. any help you can offer would be appreciated; perhaps we can meet up sometime at an event? your located in colorado, I am in AZ. not to far when it comes to racing........
Fishguy