I am now pleased to announce the venue for the 2012 Fairthorpe Gathering, we have had to have a rethink on the area of the country that it would be in due to the small matter of the Olympic games! It will be held on Sunday August the 5th at the Stondon Motor museum in Lower Stondon, Bedfordshire (post code SG16 6JN). This incredibly diverse collection of vehicles is housed across eight halls. The vehicles cover motor transport across the 20th Century (1900 to 1990's). Examples Include: Ford Pilots; police vehicles; AA and RAC Motorcycles; 6 Rolls Royces, including the owners favourite Cornishe; buses: fire engines; military vehicles and a huge collection of Motorbikes - Scott, Vincent, Greeves, ABC, Triumph's, BSA's etc plus a couple of small aircraft. Outside they have a full size replica of Captain Cook`s ship HMS Bark Endeavour which is open for the public to explore. Entry to the car park is free and they will be roping off an area for Fairthorpes, for those wishing to enter the museum we have been given a discounted price of £5 which includes a complimentary cup of tea or coffee in their large cafeteria. The museum opens at 10am and we will probably be meeting up a little earlier for a convoy into the museum for those that wish to do so. The museum website can be found at http://www.motor-museum.co.uk/index.php
I am hoping to get Fifteen Fairthorpes attending so if you have one and can make we would be very happy to see you. Keep checking back to the blog for updated information.
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Ex owner looking for Missing Minor!
I have had an email in about a MK1 Electron Minor which was built in 1960 by a mr Paul Hewitt, the car was light blue and had the reg number 395 HBH, it was fitted with a pair of spotlights in the bonnet mouth. Mr Hewitt apparently competed in a lot of events with the car with a fair amount of success, gaining a number of trophies which he still has. His son sent me a couple of pictures taken of the car including the one above of it leaving the start line of a hillclimb. Mr Hewitt and his son now live in Australia, Paul is now elderly and living in a nursing home, both he and his son Lance would like to know if the car survives, unfortunately i have no current knowledge of the car and a check on the DVLA website brings no information on the number. Does anyone remember Paul Hewitt or know of his car either now or in the past? Any information will gladly be passed on.Sadly since i published this post a couple of weeks ago i have heard from Lance to say his father Paul has passed away. Lance would still like to hear from anyone that has more news of the car or knew his father.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Picture of the week.
This picture was sent to me recently of a Fairthorpe Atom convertible, it was probably taken in the mid to late 50`s. In it`s day it must have been a rare beastie and sadly now is on the extinct list unless one turns up out of the blue. Atoms were fitted with motorcycle engines, mostly B.S.A and were chain driven, the chain failing at regular intervals when cornering hard i`m led to believe. This probably accounts for their disappearance, though being so small I'm hoping there might be one tucked away in the corner of some dark garage or barn somewhere.
Fairthorpes for sale
There are currently two Fairthorpes for sale on ebay, one being a `Bitza` Electron Minor and the other being a Technical Exponents Tripper needing a rebuild.
The EM has been offered by several owners over the last two years at an ever increasing price, at least the current seller has given a fair description of the car. It is a mk1 Electron Minor bodyshell fitted to a Triumph Herald chassis and running gear. The body is probably 1959/60 whilst the rest is 1970, according to the reg checker it is registered as a Herald 1200! The seller has a price of £1500 here is a link to the ebay listing:-
The Tripper looks as though it would need a complete rebuild, though you would probably be hard pushed to find an easier car to rebuild, it has a one piece body (plus bonnet) that just bolts to the chassis. It will probably sell very cheaply though there is no log book, the car is listed as a Fairthorpe on the DVLA website and although it now has a 1300cc Triumph engine fitted it is registered as having a 2498cc straight 6 Triumph. Here is the link to the auction:-
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