Todays post is about the Fairthorpe Electron Climax owned by Rob Cobden, the car spent most of it`s life on the Isle of Wight eventually being taken off the road and languishing in a Garden with bushes not just growing round it but in it as well!
After he bought it Rob spent 18 months stripping, repairing and rebuilding the car which has Triumph TR3 running gear and a 1220cc Coventry Climax engine. The engine had been left with the spark plugs out while the car was open to the elements and was so seized that the pistons would only come out of the engine by removing the cylinder liners as well. Rob says he was lucky the crankshaft was in a position where he could undo the conrod bolts otherwise he may have had to have cut the rods to get the engine stripped. Following a complete rebuild to race spec the engine now produces around 110bhp at the flywheel and he is hoping to get the car to Goodwood in the near future to give the it some testing.
The original bonnet and tail section have been replaced with newly moulded items as the old ones were too far gone to be repaired properly and a very nice looking roll bar produced which can be removed by undoing a few bolts. Rob is currently waiting for the F.I.A papers and once the car has done a few test miles on the track he will be looking at doing some racing in it later this year, when he has some dates penned in i will post them on the blog. I`m sure you will agree he`s made a very nice job of the car and it was voted the best Fairthorpe at last years Fairthorpe Gathering in August by those present.
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