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Published by the Golden Gate Lotus Club www.gglotus.org August 2005
The Chapman Report
Friday, August 19th
Host: Jim McClure
Directions:
August Meeting
Wine Country Classic? Editor
OK, I’m complaining again. Ientered the Wine Country Classic andit’s been many years since I had doneso. It was always one of my favorites,as my whole family used to come upand stay, making it a nice event in manyways.
But it was strange coming back,hard to get a pit area though eachparticipant had a ‘preassigned space’.Very cramped........then I saw thereason, all of the participants werelimited to the lower end of the pit area.Everything from the beginning of thebleachers on up to turn two was ropedoff for the Jaguar slalom course; drivea jag around at 29 mph and get a freehat. This was a loss of at least half ofthe normal pit area.
What suffered was the number andvariety of cars we’re used to seeing atthis event. While there were actuallymany Lotuses, mostly Elevens, therewere no Alfa TZ’s or SZ’s, and manyothers.
The ‘Peyote Special’ was therethough; I don’t know why. For thosewho have seen this car at a vintageevent, you know what I mean. It must
A trio of Elevens, but one was destined tothrow a rod through the side of its Climax!
have a unique history, but it is still themost b** ugly car there, a Triumph TRwith a ‘hand-built’ aluminum body.‘Hand-built’as in someone who hadabsolutely no talent for sticking twopieces of metal together or creating asmooth eye-pleasing curved panel.
After seeing the very limited field,I have no clue why my ‘59 Seven wasinvited. It was not the experience that Iremember and won’t go again.
page 2
Calendar
August 19th GGLC Meeting Host: Jim McClureCupertino
August 19-21 Monterey Historics Laguna Secaand Lotus Corral
August 20 Pebble Beach Concourse
August 27 Practice Autocross Marina Airport
September 10 Practice Autocross Marina Airport
September 10-11 All British Car Meet Palo AltoSaturday is a swap meet!
September 13 Track Day Thunderhill
September 16 GGLC Meeting Host: John Zender
September 23-25 CSRG Race Laguna Seca
Independent LOTUS Parts & Servicewww.jaeparts.com
Tel: 805-967-5767 Fax: 805-967-6183
Factory parts for the latest Esprits and M100 Elans toVintage racing and restoration parts for the classic Lotus.
Also, pain-free next-day drop shipservice for parts we may not have.
CALL NOCALL NOCALL NOCALL NOCALL NOW FOR COMPETITIVE PRICESW FOR COMPETITIVE PRICESW FOR COMPETITIVE PRICESW FOR COMPETITIVE PRICESW FOR COMPETITIVE PRICES,,,,,EXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCE AND SERAND SERAND SERAND SERAND SERVICE.VICE.VICE.VICE.VICE.
Mike’s editor
Great! Color sanding and polish-ing techniques...I’ve done some of this butI learned alot more here. Also, I got someneat stuff at our little swapmeet. You cansee Mike Ostrov, in the photo to the left,starting the demonstration on an Elitebonnet, with the usual suspects looking on(I know, I should have taken their namesand written them down. But then, someoneelse was supposed to write this article andsend it!)
Also a note on an observation at theWine Country Classic: Many of the vintageracing groups have been warning driversthat their cars would be checked for enginesize and see if they were telling the truth ontheir entry forms, especially the group thatruns the Wine Country and Historics. Somany have had new engines installed lately.Also, many are now listing their cars withthe true engine displacement. Trouble is,many of these cars didn’t come withengines of the listed size. A winning AlfaGTA was 1750cc? A Bugeye with 1100cc?These cars, and many others never hadthese displacements. So, who’s going to tellSteve Earle that many of his picks arecheater cars? OOps, shouldn’t say that,right!
Parts and Service for Lotus CarsSpecializing in Lotus Elans and EuropasQuality and Considerate ServiceTotal Ground Up Restorations toRoutine Maintenance
Huge Inventory of New and Used PartsMany Hard to Find Pieces
KAMPENA MOTORS
WWW.KAMPENA.COM
Infineon Raceway28935 Arnold Drive F-10
Sonoma, CA 95476 Phone # 707-933-8039
page 3
ALMS, Portland Style
Draw a line through the proper line of the PIR chicane. Now identify which Porsche Cup cars are on that line, andactually pointed in the correct direction. The first place car is apexing too early, but would have had to because he had beenforced to take a careful and defensive line through turn one. The dark Porsche has had to go wide to avoid the mess but hasno way around and ends up losing ground. The Porsche, just leaving turn one is hard on the brakes and doesn’t takeadvantage of the mess. The three white Porsches end up finishing in approximately their current position.
I don’t know why every one gripes about this chicane. Looks simple to me, just drive right over the Pi painted in thecenter. Shortest distance, right? Well, that used to be a gravel trap when first installed, and turn two was further out, to thatdull line just passed the first car. That initial design was someone’s sick joke, I assume. ed.
Is This The New Europa? Date: July 18, 2005Spy shots and AutoCar magazine report new Europa in the making!Spy photos have shown up on the web along with a report in AutoCar magazine (July 12, 2005) on a New Europa that is
to introduced in less than a year’s time. Reports have emerged of sighting of test mules running at Hethel and around the UKand in Malaysia. While the details are sketchy the mules have been spotted with EcoTec derived power, an engine Lotus isvery familiar with having done most of the design and development of the engine for GM and fitting it in the VauxhallVXR220 (2.0L Turbo) which Lotus designed, developed and produced for Vauxhall (GM). The new Europa is derived froman the Elise chassis and set to be more of a GT car. Entry is improved with lowered sills and taller cabin. The rear is enlargedto accomodate a larger boot.
page 4
“I would like to invite you andyour club members to participate in theConcorso Italiano 20th Anniversaryevent in Monterey Bay, California onAugust 19th. As you may know, whilemaintaining a strong presence in theworld of auto-enthusiasm as the largestItalian car show on earth, we alsoretain an impressive internationalcollection of sports cars in ournon-Italian corral, and we would lovefor Lotus to have a largerepresentation there this year. TheConcorso Corral is a famously fun andlively portion of the event, and in theinterest of perpetuating thistradition, we would like to invite you tojoin us in celebrating ouranniversary. I would like to send somenon-Italian corral applications toyour organization for distributionamong your members. Please let meknow where I can send them, and I willget them to you immediately- or betteryet, direct your club members to visitour website to apply directly onlineso that we can get hangtag packets outto them as soon as possible.
Thank you so much for your time.”
Ashley LauberEvent CoordinatorConcorso Italiano Inc.
Web site: http://www.concorso.com
Go to the website to check forprices, times, etc. Unfortunately, thecost is double to park in the corral atthis late of a date. ed
Concorso Corral
Car Guarnteed to have beenblessed in the town where the currentPope was born! PS: the car is still inGermany but being sold through EBayUSA, and with many bids. Theyprobably don’t realize that this car isgoing to be Very hard to bring here.LOL bidders!!
“1. The Car (Vauxhall/Opel —Speedster/VXR) 2. The Original LittleBottle from the Holy baptized Waterfrom the Church 3. All this is con-firmed with a document, and overwrit-ten on the buyer. 4. All OriginalPhotos to CD.”
Also, a Seven clone with miatarunning gear almost sold when bid upto $16K. The owner should have takenthe money and run. That’s gettingclose to the price of some much betterused cars, even a used Caterham, whichactually goes fast and handles !
EBay Watch:editor
Lotus Bytes:editor, et al
News Release from Rich Hairston:“The Jim Russell Racing School (http://www.jimrussellusa.com/) will host thefinish of the grand 3,400-mile USA2005 Sevens Tour (http://www.badgerum.com/se7enstour/usa/index.html) at Infineon Raceway, on
next column
Tuesday, October 4, 2005. Britishracing champion Jim Russell foundedthe racing school industry in 1957, and,after training many champions in theintervening years, the Russell Schoolhas now generously agreed to donateits facilities and services to provideTour participants with a memorabledriving experience on the “ultimate”US road circuit.
At midday on October 4th, at least55 cars, from 10 countries acrossEurope and the Middle East, as well asthe United States, will take to the trackand drive the serpentine, undulating2.52 mile, 12-turn Infineon circuit towind up their 22-day, 3,400-mile USATour. After leaving Infineon the Tourparticipants will head out in convoy forthe Golden Gate Bridge to San Fran-cisco for their final evening in theUSA.
Mark your calendar and watch herefor more details. This promises to bethe largest gathering of Sevens ever inthe United States, with at least 55 Tourcars, plus the cars of US owners whocome for the day. Plan to attend anunprecedented Sevens experience withJim Russell Racing and the USA 2005Sevens Tour.”
The Chapman Report is published monthly by the Golden Gate Lotus Club, POBox 117303, Burlingame, CA 94011. The GGLC is a non-profit incorporated car cluband is not affiliated with Group Lotus, Team Lotus or Lotus Cars USA. The GGLC’sannual membership dues are $25.00.
Opinions expressed in the Chapman Report are those of the authors and do notrepresent those of the GGLC or its officers.
Submissions to the Chapman Report are accepted and encouraged. Please emailthem to [email protected] in MS Word, rtf or ASCII text. Submissions mayalso be mailed to Jim McClure, 11238 Bubb Road, Cupertino, CA 95014.
2003 GGLC Officers are: President: Faisal Khan, Vice President:Pete Richen,Treasurer: Laura Hamai, Event Coordinator: John Zender, Membership Chairman:David Anderson, Secretary: Jon Rosner
Chapma Report Staff: Editor: Jim McClure, Circulation Manager: Tom Carney,Advertising Manager: Mel Boss.
page 5
KARDEN AUTOMOTIVE1400 CENTRAL RD. #6, WALNUT CREEK, CA 94596
LYN BARBERAuto Technician
(925) [email protected]
$
Lotus Bytes: editor, et al
News Release: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —Shares of Malaysian national car maker Proton jumpedas much as 8 percent Friday on speculation thatGermany’s Volkswagen AG will take control of thestruggling automaker. Khazanah Nasional Bhd., thegovernment’s investment arm that owns 42.7 percent ofProton, is in talks with the Wolfsburg, Germany-basedautomaker to sell up to 30 percent of the Malaysiancompany, according to a person familiar with the talks.The deal could come with management control ofProton, the person said. Khazanah confirmed thatdiscussions were being held on Proton’s “proposedalliance with Volkswagen” but said it “does not have anyplans at this point to divest all or part of its existingstake in Proton.” However, it said it is seeking ways toenhance shareholder value. The possible equity salefollowed Monday’s removal of embattled chief execu-tive Mahaleel Ariff, who has been at odds for monthswith Proton’s board of directors over strategic issuessuch as the prospect of giving up majority control to amultinational manufacturer to counter foreign competi-tion.
Yes this would possibly mean VW having control-ling interest in Lotus, and maybe not such a bad thing.They have some great engines, while Lotus has thechassis, suspensions and bodies. ed
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Microsoft analyst haswon an annual contest celebrating bad writing bycomparing fixing carburetors to fondling a woman’sbreasts. “As he stared at her ample bosom, he day-dreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintageTriumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasinglyformed, perched prominently on top of the intakemanifold, aching for experienced hands, the smallknurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to beinspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven ofthe shop manual,” went Dan McKay’s winning entry inthe Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.
Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi show theirline threw the Corkscrew. /
page 6
Classifieds(non-comercial ads are free to GGLC members and will run
for three issues before requiring renewal)
First Class Mail
For Sale: 1971 S2 Europa$1500 or best offer. 64k miles onengine. New water pump, battery, andhoses. Ran last month but then thestarter died. Has some body damageto rear. Almost all original. This is agood project car or a great parts car.Please call Cody at 925-356-6965.
For sale: four minilite (genuine)wheels,bolt on 31/4x4 ,13x5 withmounted set of avon 5:00x13’sincludes lug nuts( 7/16&1/2).bothwheel and tires brand new,neverrun.correct offset for lotus elan andspitfire.for info call Joel Mauser 209477 4198 or email [email protected](8/05)
WANTED: Lotus Europa S2. Projector non-runner ok. Frame should bestraight. Call Ed at 510-849-2833(3/05)
For Sale: Lotus 7 and Formulaitems Gearbox, heads, bell housing,konis & springs, 11" rearwings,rebuilt starter, quick lift, 6 sets 2.25"I.D. springs, race mirrors.
Call Don at (650) 347-0572 oremail [email protected]
RICHARD L. KAMP
Authorized Dealer of Caterham Cars
Designed for Racing Built for Livingwww.goldengatesevens.com
G GOLDEN ATE EVENSSInfineon Raceway
28935 Arnold Drive F-10Sonoma, CA 95476
Phone # 707-933-8039
The Golden Gate Lotus ClubPO Box 117303, Burlingame, CA 94011
For Sale: 1969 Lotus Elan +2vintage race project car comes withSpyder chassis, Cosmics, limited slipdif, Koni’s, steel brake lines. Extra setof widened steel wheels. Have Weberhead to be installed with mildcams. $4800.00 George at831-648-9064 (3/05)
For Sale: Cobra (1) sport seat.Adaptor bracket fits M100. Mediumgrey cloth. Like new. $200 OBO. Mel925-831-8834 [email protected].
FOR SALE: 1. Elan Series Onebody only. Needs some glass fibreremodeling and attention to the rear lamppanel. No title. 2. Elan FHC Series 4.Almost complete. missing a few me-chanical bits: ie engine tranny, backbonechassis, suspension, diff. Greatproject or starter car. Title available.3. Elan knock off (4), bolt on steelwheels (4) and one set (4) Europafactory alloy wheels. Sensible offersconsidered. All items FOB El Sobrante,CA. Mike Ostrov (5l0) 232-7764 [email protected]
