Five Fairthorpes for Franks farewell.

My father Franks funeral took place on the 26th September and four other owners were kind enough to bring their Fairthorpes along to join the funeral procession to the crematorium, i drove 789 ERO in tribute dad. As if by magic the rain stopped for the day and the sun shone.
I would like to thank Bob Balding, Rob James, Richard Holden and Andy and Pauline Winston for coming along with their Fairthorpes and all those from the FSCC that came along to say farewell to Frank. Also to all those that sent cards and messages to myself and the rest of the family, it has meant a lot to us at this sad time.
Here are a few pictures taken on the 26th.

Frank Collins, Fairthorpe works team driver R.I.P

I apologise for the absence but my father Frank Collins was admitted to hospital on September 7th with breathing problems associated with his lung Fibrosis. He sadly passed away on 26th  and his funeral takes place tomorrow the 16th October.
This blog was started to catalogue the rebuild of the Fairthorpe that dad built in 1958 and as a tribute i am just posting a few pictures of him and the car he loved so much.
                                                          Rest in Peace Dad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad taking his final drive in the car he built 54 years ago

 

Fairthorpe Gathering 2012 report.

The week leading up to this years Gathering was spent anxiously watching the weather reports for Sunday 5th, heavy showers being the final report for the day. A number of those who had said they were coming added the caveat that if it looked like heavy rain they would unfortunately be a non arrival as they had no weather gear. I am pleased to say that during the event apart from one small shower the rain stayed away although a number of the retreating cars were treated to thunder and heavy showers, a large golf brolly is the preferred cover according to Rob James!  After a slow start suddenly Fairthorpes started appearing with increasing frequency, the final number this year being twelve cars plus parts from Brian Waters rare Atom Major.
I was pleased that we had quite a good spread of Fairthorpe models this year with nine Electron Minors, one each of Electron, Zeta and Pathfinder, four of the cars attending had not been seen at a Gathering before, hopefully the owners can be persuaded to bring them again next year.
Here are a selection of pictures from the event starting with the Electron Minors :-

                    Chris Goss admiring the paintwork on his EM1 with Brian Waters looking on.

                                                      Richard Holdens immaculate EM1

Bob Baldings EM1 (Frank the Fairthorpe)

                                                                                                                            

Rob James`s Triumph powered EM2                                                  

The Ford Crossflow powered EM2 of Steve Colling in a very eye catching colour

Brian Gents recently purchased EM2

Brian Jacksons quick Dolomite powered EM2

Adrian Manchas EM with 1340 pre crossflow Ford

Barry Stock won the furthest travelled award for the second year running by travelling 220 miles to get there in his EM5, the Tornado Tempest of Dave Malins parked alongside was a welcome addition to the attending Fairthorpes.

Adding variety was Andy Winstons Coventry Climax engined Electron which had just returned from a trip to the Le Mans Classic.

The Zeta which has a 6 cylinder Zephyr engine with Raymond Mays head flanked by a pair of nice EM1`s. 777PPD was voted the best Fairthorpe by those present which was a pleasant surprise as there were some very well presented cars there. I`m sure some of the cars are better now than they were when freshly built back in the 50/60s.

It was very nice surprise to see the first Pathfinder V8 to attend a Gathering, the car is fitted with a 3.5 litre Rover V8 engine and was driven to the event from Southend by Martin Souster (centre) who is pictured in discussion with Honor Gibbs and Bob Balding.

Last but not least Brian Waters bought along some parts from the Atom Major which he has started restoring, a very interesting project which i look forward to seeing back on the road in due course.

I would like to give special thanks to my wife Sarah for all the effort she put into preparing the rolls and cakes which helped keep everyone fed, also to our club president Barry Gibbs for presenting the trophies and to the staff of the Stondon Motor Museum for making us so welcome.

Thanks also to Marian Townsend, Bob Balding and Lauren for some of the pictures used and to all those that attended from the various parts of the country, hope to see you all next year!

Sarah is currently putting together a video which will  be uploaded to YouTube and posted on this site.

Fairthorpe Electron Minor for sale. NOW SOLD.

David Kennedy is selling his 1959 Fairthorpe Electron Minor. Specifications - Rally Speed tuned 1296 Spitfire Engine, Spitfire Gearbox, Armstrong Racing Dampers, Dolomite Rear Axle. Fully restored and professionally repainted. Hillclimb and Sprint pedigree. Featured in Fairthorpe Owners Club Photo Gallery (page 58) and Classic Auto magazines. Price £6,500.00 or best offer.
Contact: Tel: 01524 422790  or email: jamjar64@btinternet.com. For a brief history of the car see his blog page :-
http://willows-home.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/fairthorpe-electron-minor.html

Fairthorpe Gathering 2012 taster........

The Fairthorpe Gathering on Sunday saw an excellent turnout of 12 Fairthorpes plus parts from the Atom Major which is undergoing restoration and the Tornado Tempest of Dave Malins. There will be a full report in the next few days but here are a couple of pictures as a taster.

Last call for this years Fairthorpe Gathering

Just a quick reminder that this years Fairthorpe Gathering is now upon us with the event taking place this Sunday (August 5th) at the Stondon Motor Museum in Lower Stondon, Bedfordshire postcode SG16 6JN. The museum website which has directions on it can be found at http://www.motor-museum.co.uk/contact.php hopefully we will have up to 15 Fairthorpes attending with awards for the furthest travelled and the best Fairthorpe as voted by those present, anyone with an interest in Fairthorpes is welcome. Entry to the event is free with a discounted price of £5 for those wishing to enter the excellent museum. Light refreshments will be provided and the museum has a large canteen for those wanting something a bit more substantial.
The gates will be open from 9.45 and we will be on site from then, full report with plenty of pictures will be posted here next week.

Fairthorpe Zeta blog now online.

As you may have read a couple of posts below i have been very busy over the past seven months rebuilding 777 PPD the Fairthorpe Zeta built in 1960 by Bob Linwood, i have now started another blog to run alongside this one which is aimed at everything Zeta including an insight into how this exciting car came to be reborn. You can find the blog at www.fairthorpezeta.blogspot.com

Fairthorpe EM1 project for sale. NOW SOLD

 

David Martin is reluctantly having to part with the Electron Minor he bought last year due to unforseen personal circumstances so here is your chance to buy a very good project MK1 Electron Minor which is Standard 10 based. The car has been restored to a rolling chassis stage with engine and gearbox done also. The bodyshell etc is all there but needs fitting and the restoration completing, this is comparatively a quick resto job as a lot of the graft and expense has been done. Much money has been spent on among other things a new set of Dampertech adjustable shock absorbers with springs ( cost £460 ), all new braking system and cylinders, ball joints, trunnions etc. The engine is a 948cc Standard 10/ Triumph with twin SU carbs and has had a new water pump and timing chain fitted. The car comes with a period Smiths heater, original Fairthorpe bonnet badge and a good hood. David tells me that the body work is not bad, the car has the electron style nose, the interior trim is all there but only good for patterns now and a new pair of original style Fairthorpe seats but made from fibreglass as the original tin ones have rotted badly. There is no logbook with the car but he has the original chassis plate, number plates and an old tax disc.
You can see pictures now on http://www.photobucket.com/

You can sign in using the word DGBOUCHER and use the word ELECTRON as the password (all upper case). David is looking for £3250 ono which i think is not bad as a car needing full restoration sold at auction recently for £2200 ( see an earlier post).

 He can be contacted on 07764942446 for more info or to view, the car is in Amersham Bucks.

Silverstone surprise...................

You may have noticed a drop off in the blog posts these last couple of months, there is a reason for that as I can now reveal! I have been working flat out on a new project that has been stored for thirty-odd years in the darkest depths of a packed garage, it was pulled from its slumber late last year and transported to the workshop in our back garden for some long-awaited attention.  The car in question was built during the winter of 1959/60 by Bob Linwood which will tell any real Fairthorpe aficionado that i am talking about a very special car - 777 PPD - the best known of the handful of Fairthorpe Zetas that were built by the AVM`s company. The rebuild has been kept a close secret from all but close family and it was Bob himself who provided details such as the paint and trim colours, as well as copies of all his notes on the car. It came as a complete surprise to those club members present when it turned up on the stand at the Silverstone Classic with a car cover over it to disguise its identity.

The Zeta was the top of the range model which used Fairthorpe modified TR3 suspension and axle and mostly the Ford Zephyr straight 6 engine, although one was fitted with the TR3 engine and gearbox. Bob`s Zephyr engine was fitted with the optional Raymond Mays alloy cylinder head and six Amal motorbike carbs, but later had triple Weber 40 DCOEs added in their place. Ok, cut the waffle and show us the pics i hear, so here are a couple to get you going!

I will be starting a new blog to document the rebuild done on the Zeta, which i will link to from here in the next few days so keep checking back. For those wishing to see the car in the flesh it will be at the Fairthorpe Gathering on the 5th August at Stondon Motor museum
 (see below for details).............Martin

Fairthorpe Gathering August 5th 2012.

This years Fairthorpe Gathering is on the 5th August at the Stondon Motor Museum in Lower Stondon , Bedfordshire, post code SG16 6JN.

Entry to the event is FREE as usual, and for those who wish to take a look round the museum we have negotiated a discounted price of £5 which includes a complimentary tea/coffee in the large cafeteria, i have vouchers that will be issued to people attending. We will be supplying some light refreshment and some of Sarah`s Fairythorpe cakes for those with a sweet tooth! There will be a designated Fairthorpe parking area but anyone else wishing to attend will be more than welcome. As usual there will be trophies presented for the best Fairthorpe as voted by those present on the day and also for the furthest travelled Fairthorpe to the event. The museum website can be found at www.motor-museum.co.uk/index.php and it has information and directions to the museum. 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. The museum also has a full size replica of the Captain Cooks HM Barque Endeavour which you can enter and explore .........avast there shipmate!

The turnout for this event usually numbers 14/15 Fairthorpes and several not seen at the event before are attending this year so make sure you come along and join in. Here are the videos made at the last two events:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTnSF6gPLcQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bKuqUTT1Jc

 we will be there from 9.30am onwards. Hope to see you at this years gathering, i can be contacted on 01604 859987 if you want more information.............

Electron Minor project on ebay

Two Fairthorpes on ebay at once, when did that last happen! The second car is a rebuild project which looks like it is wearing Jacobs coat of many colours, it is an Electron Minor mk1, not an Electron despite the mention of a Climax. If you fancy a bid you can find it at
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1959-Fairthorpe-Electron-Minor-Mk-1-/230820373649?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35bdf76491

Fairthorpe Electron Minor for sale (car now sold)

Fairthorpe club member Terry Armson sadly passed away last month, some of you may have met him at last years Fairthorpe Gathering at Donington, he came along in his Fairthorpe EM2.
His car is now being advertised and can be found on ebay at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1961-FAIRTHORPE-MK-2-WHITE-/140789989740?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item20c7bcc16c
The Fairthorpe has a new 12 month MOT is tax free and comes with a good hood and sidescreens, it has been hand painted but it has been done quite well. For those that would rather not get into a bidding war on ebay Terrys son Adrian who is dealing with the sale can be contacted directly on armo85@hotmail.com for more information or a possible outright sale price.

Silverstone Classic 22/23 July is a Fairthorpe fest!

This years Silverstone Classic over the weekend of 22nd/23rd July promises to be a good one for all the Fairthorpe fanciers out there with 7 cars attending over the weekend. So if you are going to the meeting make sure you come and say hello, the club stand is in the area on the left after you have crossed the bridge over the circuit.

Fairthorpe Pathfinder V8 for sale

 Martin Souster is selling his Fairthorpe Pathfinder which is fitted with a Rover V8 engine, this is the yellow and black ex demonstrater and it is fully MOT`d and has wet weather gear. This is a lot of car for the money that he is asking, i consider it a bargain at £3150 and the car has only 6000 miles on it since it was put together. Martin can be contacted  by email on martinsouster@talktalk.net for more information.

Fairthorpe Tripper..........it`s like Greased Lightning!

Some of you may remember the Tripper i had advertised on the blog last year, the car had been off the road for a number of years and needed a rebuild, unfortunately it didn`t find a buyer from the site or through the club web page or magazine. The result of this was that the car was put on ebay as the space/money was needed for the Electrina, the auction bought only the one bid at the price i had it listed at. And so the car was duly picked up and trailered away.

 Unknown to me was the fact that the new `owner` was actually a theatre props company, in fact probably the largest one in the country and the Tripper was going to be the `star of the show`!  The car has had a `pimp my ride` type makeover and will now be appearing at a theatre near you in the musical Grease.

The car has been fitted with a frame underneath it which enables it to be rotated on the stage quickly and one side is presented in primer as the old car which is the turned into the flashy car during the show. The frame then clips onto another frame which is used to rotate the car onto it`s side to wheel it into the props artic trailer which obviously saves a lot of space in the back of the lorry. Whilst i would have preferred to have seen the car put back on the road it is now being seen by a wider `audience` and hopefully may inspire a new generation of potential Tripper followers.................

Fairthorpe EM2 for sale on ebay

There is currently an Electron Minor on ebay,  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1963-FAIRTHORPE-ELECTRON-MINOR-WHITE-/230797548503?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35bc9b1bd7   it has an unusual hardtop fitted but looks complete. The car obviously requires a strip and rebuild but would make a good project. If the car is bought by someone who reads this blog please get in touch as i may be able to help with advice etc.

Robs Rainy race.

Rob Cobden had a good day at Brands Hatch on the 6th May with his Fairthorpe Electron despite the weather doing it`s best to put a dampener on the proceedings. He was competing in the FISCAR  race and qualified 5th on the grid and was the fastest car in his class. Rob admits he made a slow start getting left a bit on the grid but he made up for it with a dive down the inside going into Paddock bend with several cars running wide in the slippery conditions. Following a race long dice with a Lotus Elite Rob was pipped on the line for the class win but gained a very creditable 5th place overall against much more powerful machinery, his best lap was the fastest in his class. The problems with overheating experienced at Donington several weeks earlier have been greatly improved by fitting a replacement radiator and he is looking at entering the car for the next round at Silverstone.
Many thanks to Steve Jones for the picture.

Atom Major restoration begins

A recent phone call from Brian Waters bought the good news that he has started work on the restoration of his Fairthorpe Atomota 782 ERR, though looking at chassis records and his chassis plate i think we are now agreed that it is actually a Fairthorpe Atom Major. The name Atomota i think applies to the identical looking cars which were fitted with BSA motorbike engines, hence Atomota (as in mota bike). Brian is currently removing the rusted screws which hold the bodyshell onto the corroded chassis so he can set about refurbing the chassis. He has sent me a few detail pictures of the car so i have added a couple here for you to look at. The car was last on the road in 1971 according to the remains of the last tax disc, the original owner was John George Eaves who was stationed at RAF Gaydon. His last known address was in  Lemington Spa, if anyone remembers John or the the car drop me a line and i will pass the information on to Brian.

More details on the car can be found in an earlier post on this blog. 

Danish online magazine article

Danish Fairthorpe owner and racer Niels Ablid has had his Electron Minor featured in an online magazine http://www.motorretro.com/2012/05/lob-og-kob-fairthorpe-electron.html
I unfortunately don`t speak the language but there are some very nice pictures of the car which is a credit to Niels. On the front page of the magazine there is also a piece about the TX Tripper that is on ebay.

Fairthorpe Electron racing again this Sunday.

Rob Cobden will be out again in his Fairthorpe Electron at Brands Hatch this Sunday in the FISCAR race. Rob has changed the radiator which will hopefully cure the problem that he had at the last event. If you are attending i`m sure he will be pleased to see you, i will let you know how he got on in an update next week.

Fairthorpe TX-S information sought.

Simon Hodges is looking for any information on the current whereabouts of the  Fairthorpe TX-S that his father and grandfather built, the reg number was LPP207H and it was painted in Pozitano yellow. Simon's father Nigel was living in Steeple Claydon at the time and the kit was ordered on 5.5 69, Chassis number was 14016, engine number was KC57051HE and it was collected on 17.7 69. My records show that the kit cost the princely sum of £1198. The car is still shown on the DVLA database so hopefully it has survived.......... have you seen it? I will pass on any information received.

TX Tripper for sale

There is currently a TX Tripper with a current MOT for sale on ebay, here is a link to the listing:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAIRTHORPE-TX-TRIPPER-1971-TRIUMPH-1-300cc-ENGINE-GT6-CHASSIS-AND-WHEELS-/220992280413?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item33742a975d

The Tripper was a product of Technical Exponents, a firm run by Torix Bennett the son of Air Vice Marshall Don Bennett who ran Fairthorpe Cars. The Tripper kits were produced in the same building as the Fairthorpe kits at Denham, Bucks.

Fairthorpe Electron race report.

I travelled to Donington on the Easter bank holiday weekend to watch Rob Cobden compete in the first round of the new FISCAR series in his Coventry Climax engined Fairthorpe Electron. As you can read in earlier posts Rob has transformed the car from a wreck that had a tree growing up through it to an immaculate race car. He has not had a chance to do much running on track in the car but it was tested for an article in Autosport Magazine and it was suggested that softer springs may improve the handling. The rear springs were changed and Rob was very pleased with the improvement in cornering following practice but had a couple of niggling problems, the car was blowing quite a bit of oil from the filler cap and was also pushing water out into the overflow tank after 5 laps. Despite the problems and completing only half of the practice session he had done enough to put the car in the middle of the grid and 3rd in class. The oil issue was given a cure after a chat with another driver who was competing in a Lotus Elite with a Climax engine, his engine had a screw on cap which did not provide breathing for the engine, the engines have a couple of breathers elsewhere that do the job sufficiently. So with that information a temperary cure was afforded by putting gaffer tape over the oil filler tube..........voila instant fix!

Rob has an idea that the water problem could be the water being pressurized by not flowing through the rad quick enough causing back pressure and he knew the problem would recur during the race but decided to use it as a test session until he had to retire.

At the start the car got passed by several others but by the end of the first lap Rob had moved up to a very creditable 8th place and second in class and was dicing with much larger engined cars, as predicted he had to pull into the pits at the end of lap 5 and was still holding down 8th when he came in. The car has shown a lot of potential despite so little running and Rob is convinced there is more to come once he has got used to the car which is a very different animal from the Pre war Riley he usually campaigns. The centre picture was taken by Jon Gross and the other two pictures were taken by John Turner, they have kindly allowed me to use them. John is the chairman of FISCAR and would be interested to hear from any other Fairthorpe owners who would like to take part in the series, their website can be found at http://www.fiscar.org/

Newly rebuilt racing Fairthorpe EM for sale

Chris Dady is reluctantly parting with his freshly rebuilt racing Electron Minor, this car has a lot of competition history having formerly been owned by Brian Weaver. Chris has spent vast amounts on the car so this is your chance to get out on the track at a great saving over what it would cost to have a car built to this spec.
This is Chris`s description of the car:-

133HX chassis no. 10413 was purchased as a component car in September 1959, and was built and registered for the road in March 1960.

Over the past four years the car has been undergoing a complete rebuild, and whilst not yet complete the final assembly stage has been reached with the engine and gearbox trial fitted. The car has a racing history.

Some £15000 has been expended in parts and labour, the car being built to a very high historic specification for racing, albeit it would also make a fast road car.

Race series are plentiful - Equipe GTS, Classic Sports Car Club, HSCC, even Goodwood? The car has the potential to be very class competitive.

The asking price for the car as is £6750, follow the link below to the see the pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76136222@N08/sets/72157629702505871/

What do you get for the money?

Large complete history file and period photographs of the car, and scrutineering tags and race programme from 1981, handbook and brochure with copy of build instructions
Fully rebuilt Jigsaw 1147cc engine, gearbox and limited slip rear axle
Six Spitfire LeMans alloy wheels, four with used Dunlop 4.50M13 historic race tyres
Four steel wheels with used Avon CR6ZZ tyres
Set of five new CR6ZZ tyres
Original seats plus a Kirkey race seat
New steering wheel, and many parts such as a hi-torq starter, alloy hubs, weber with manifold and linkage, exhaust system, instruments, battery that came with the car, alloy radiator with kenlow, facet fuel pump, fabricage FIA roll bar etc. etc.
With the car is also the original hood frame, side screens and original windscreen with frame.
Various copy bills, original 1960 log book, V5 (the car is on SORN), old MOT’s etc.
Spare engine and gearbox
New respray in Jaguar racing green with an old english white stripe

You can see the rebuild documented from 2007 - 2010 via this link

http://www.nearthecoast.com/plasticcars/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=304

What needs to be done?

The car is pretty much complete.
Doors, boot lid and bonnet to be finally fitted with catches as desired
Finishing strengthening fibreglass around the roll bar fitting
Parts required include hoses, nuts and bolts, and you will need to decide whether to run a dynamo, you will need a race seat belt (fittings are on the car), catch tank, fire extinguisher and cut off.
The wiring needs reattaching, and some new rear lights and rear fog light purchased and fitted (rear light lenses are with the car, the lights themselves are Morgan / Frogeye / etc. and readily available)
Brake pipes fitted, system refilled and bled
Fuel tank, pump fitted
Engine ancillaries to be fitted
The engine needs the engine mount from the spare engine to be fitted, filled with oil (as does the gearbox) and fired up (full instruction sheet with the car)
Complete check over and nut and bolt tightening
Seat fixing to owners position.
Final bodywork and polish
Run in, and set up.

*******

Chris has now sold the Fairthorpe so you have missed your chance!

If you re looking for a car or have a Fairthorpe you wish to sell drop me a line, i will list on here for free...............Martin

Rob racing at Donington

Rob Cobden will be out in his Fairthorpe Electron at Donington on Sunday April 8th in the FISCAR (Fifties Sportscar series) race. If you wish to come along and cheer him on i`m sure he will be glad of the support. I will be going so i will post a report here the week after the race so remember to check back.

Fairthorpe Electron in Autosport.

In this weeks issue (March 15th) there is a preview of the new Fifties Sports Racing Car Club series and six of the cars entered were tested and reviewed at Donington race track. One of the cars is Rob Cobden`s yellow Electron which is pictured above, there are a couple of nice pictures of the car on track and in the pits as well as the testers thoughts on the car. This weeks issue is due out tomorrow (Thursday) so you will have to be quick to get a copy, they are probably available on back issue. Sorry for the late heads up but i only spotted it whilst browsing the magazine during a shopping trip today.

VOU 7 do you know this Fairthorpe?

An email has been passed on to me from Terence Williams who built this Electron Minor over the winter of 1958. In 1959 he competed at several race meetings, the photos were taken at the Sept BARC Club meeting at Goodwood and the programme shows the Fairthorpe Electron Minor entry no. 66.

He says `I managed a third (my best result) at the Maidstone motor club sprint at Brands Hatch behind a Sprite and Reg Falconer's Turner - whom I knew from the 58 season when we both raced Standard Tens. The engine/gearbox I used in the Fairthorpe was from the Standard Ten, and I remember well, bartering with "Pathfinder" Bennett to have the Kit less engine and gearbox. I remember also buying on that day, a "works" 4 branch exhaust manifold as I had mentioned my intention to race the Faithorpe`.

The reg number is not on my records of surviving cars and the DVLA website holds no current records for that number. I have been through the chassis records and matched his name to chassis number 9933 which also shows as having been supplied minus engine and gearbox in red gel coat finish, the kit was supplied on 1/11/1958.

Does anyone have any further history to add to this Fairthorpe, i`m sure Terence would be very pleased to hear from anyone regarding his car.