A recent contact from America has provided pictures of a VERY early Fairthorpe Electron Minor, the car in question is in fact the very first LHD EM produced by the company and it has the original bonnet which was developed from the Atomota front end. This is the first bonnet of this type I have seen apart from the aluminium prototype as fitted to Noreen Bennett`s car which was Electron Minor number one. Noreen`s car survives but lost it`s original Aluminium body a long time ago and has a later fibreglass bonnet on it now. That makes this a very significant `find` as unless someone has another one tucked away it is the only survivor of this original bonnet shape, perhaps only a few were made as my EM 789 ERO was produced 8 months later and does not have the protruding headlamps.
Checking the production records i have told me how significant this car was and also that it was supplied in green gelcoat. Dave tells me it still in green to this day, he purchased the car for the princely sum of $50 in 1980 at a garage sale and that the engine/gearbox were in bits and rusty so were disposed of. He is now about to embark on restoring the Fairthorpe and is thinking of putting a Standard 10 engine back in the car rather than a late model motor now he has become aware of the car`s significance.
I look forward to watching this EM take shape and seeing some more pictures.
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