Fairthorpe Sports Car Club online magazine article.

The Fairthorpe Sports Car Club has been featured in a new online Classic car magazine called Classic Sports Car and Special. At the moment it is only available to view on Ipads, it is hoped to make it viewable in windows format for PC`s in the future. Below is the link for the magazine, You can get to it on an Ipad by going to the website at  www.ClassicSportsCarandSpecial.com    
It is well worth a look and keep an eye out for something interesting in next months issue as well..........

Alan`s EM makes progress.

 FSCC member Alan Green has recently sent me some pictures of the EM mk1 that he is currently restoring. Alan has owned the car from new but it has been off the road for many years, the pictures show it during the strip down and more recently with the repaired chassis coming back together. Alan's is one of a number of Fairthorpes that should see the road or track again over the next couple of years, hopefully i can bring you updates on some of the others in due course. If you are working on one at the moment and would like to share some pictures with others drop me a line.

Fairthorpe EM at Goodwood - pictures of the week.

The picture of the week was taken at Goodwood in August 1981 at a track day attended by a number of Fairthorpes including my Zeta, then owned by Keith Mapley. The pictures here show former Fairthorpe registrar Dave Davies in his Electron Minor Mk1 negotiating the chicane which makes an interesting comparison with how the track looks now that it has been put back to way it looked in it`s heyday back in the 60`s. Dave`s EM was fitted with a Mk2 bonnet (those with a keen eye may have spotted that!)
In the morning the club cars including Turners, Rochdales and a Tornado took part in an Autotest, the Zeta won this with a time 3 seconds quicker than the next car, Fairthorpes filled the first 6 places. Dave won the up to 1300cc class in his EM, all class winners received a gallon of oil for their efforts.

2013 Fairthorpe Gathering details.

                    General view of some of the Fairthorpes at the 2012 Gathering

The venue has now been sorted for this years Fairthorpe Gathering and it will be held on August 4th at the Museum of Berkshire Aviation. Here is a link to the museum website :-
http://home.comcast.net/~aero51/html/
The gates will be open from 10am, the museum has a cafeteria and those attending the Gathering will be entitled to a complimentary tea or coffee.
Sarah will be supplying the usual selection of cakes/rolls and soft drinks so make sure you make a note on your calender to come along.
More details nearer the event or drop me an email on kartman.nascar24@btinternet.com
The museum address is:-
Museum of Berkshire Aviation
Mohawk Way
(off The Bader Way)
Woodley
Nr. Reading
Berkshire
RG5 4UE, U.K.

Fairthorpe beginings........The Atom.

This weeks picture is of AVM Don Bennett with one of the early Fairthorpe Atom`s, the body shells were later changed to a more pleasing shape (in my opinion!) The picture was probably taken around 1954. No Atom`s are thought to survive, the chain drive from the motorcycle engines was a weak point as were the drive shafts.

Here is a link to a British Pathe` film of the early Atom being assembled and in action.........

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/new-atom-lightweight-car/query/fairthorpe

Where are they now:- 97 NNU Electron Minor mk1

This edition of where are they now is dedicated to mk1 Fairthorpe Electron Minor, 97 NNU which was fitted with an 1147cc Triumph engine last time i saw it back in the late 80`s.  The DVLA website says it was last licensed in 1992...............Where is it now?
My father Frank and i purchased the car from a chap in Leeds, i wanted to drive the car back but dad insisted that we took the trailer and loaded it to bring it back, as usual dad was right as you will see......
A couple of days after purchase i decided to take the EM to go and pick my then girlfriend up, she lived 15 minuets away, unfortunately whilst negotiating a large roundabout i was overtaken by one of the rear wheels!  The car was now stranded on 3 wheels on a busy roundabout, a closer inspection revealed that all the wheel nuts had come off and that all the other wheel nuts were loose, moral of the story is always check the wheel nuts when you buy a car..........
Luckily for me a couple of other motorists stopped and between us lifted the rear of the Fairthorpe and put the wheel back on and with an adjustable spanner used 1 nut from each of the other wheels to put 3 on to get me to my destination as the others were deposited somewhere down the road. By the time i got to my girlfriends place she was on the verge of calling the police as she had called my parents to be told i had left over an hour ago and was convinced i had ended up in a ditch somewhere!
The car was nicely trimmed, had Spitfire seats fitted and a black hartop which had perspex windows cut into the roof to let more light in, the rear wings had been shortened slightly and 3 separate lights fitted rather than the usual EM setup. NNU was painted metallic blue and was fitted with Dolomite Sprint wheels, if anyone knows it`s whereabouts or fate i would be interested to hear from you.

Restored Fairthorpe EM up for auction.

The former Charles Armstrong-Wilson EM is being auctioned by Coys at their March 12th sale. The car was completely restored a couple of years ago and is on the button, full details and plenty of pictures can be found by clicking on this link.
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page/193324/

Fairthorpe Rockette (sorry only 2 headlamps on this one!)

Following an email from a Fairthorpe enthusiast on the other side of the world asking about Fairthorpe Rockettes here is a picture of one my father and i rebuilt for John Bonnett. The car had been fitted with a road/race spec 1600 Ford engine on twin Webers. When John decided it was time to part with the car we bought it and put it back to a 6 cylinder Vitesse engine and overdrive gearbox before selling it on. It was a very potent machine with the Ford engine but it was smooth and had plenty of torque with the Triumph engine, ideal for covering long distances at pace (it sounded good too!) This picture was taken in the late 80`s at a Sandown Park kit car show and yes that is me with a bit more hair!

Australian EM in savage attack.

 

 

 Fairthorpe owner Les Whelan has been in touch from Australia with some bad news regarding his EM. In late November he was entered in a Sprint Meeting at a small country track. He ended the season with a great trophy for Second in Class but his Fairthorpe was severely damaged when another car with supposed brake failure collided with him.

The impact (at 108 kmh according to the others cars 'computer') buckled the front driver's side wheel, thrust the engine across to knock the top off the coil and back to squash the air cleaner, it took the fibreglass off behind the wheel, with cracks in the dash and the floor. He suspects the chassis/outrigger may be bent but hasn't yet investigated. The bonnet was only slightly damaged but with the damage to the wheel the steering rack may also be a problem. They kept him in the ambulance for about 30 minutes afterwards but fortunately in his words ` I don't seem to have suffered any 'damage'. We all wish your car a speedy recovery Les, keep us informed on how the rebuild is progressing.

Pictures of the week.

Here are a couple of pictures which have been sent to me by Ken Coad, the first is of the Electron Minor which Ken owned in late 50s-early 60`s. A lot of effort was put into making his car one of the nicest looking Fairthorpes on the road. This car survives but with a different registration as Ken kept the number when he sold the car.
The second one is of John Greens EM, John was the Fairthorpe works manager at the time and had fitted his car with a Ford engine and an Ashley style bonnet, the car was very successful in club races in the UK.

Fairthorpe EM for sale.

There is currently a 1963 Electron Minor on ebay, this one was advertised on there last year, not sure why it is for sale again but looks to be a good project car from the pictures.
Here is the link:-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FAIRTHORPE-ELECTRON-MINOR-WHITE-/230915797554?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

Happy Christmas!

                                                   Electrina in the snow winter 2011

I`d like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and my best wishes for a good New Year.
If you own a Fairthorpe i hope your car brings you plenty of enjoyment in the coming 12 months and if you feel so inclined send me some details/pictures of your car for the blog.
All the best..........,Martin

Testing times for a Fairthorpe!

Here are a few more pictures that have been sent to me by Graham Butcher of his Electron Minor Mk1 which was registered 9 AXU, these show what a busy life the car led during his ownership. The pictures were taken of the Fairthorpe competing in Autotests and Autcross events in the mid to late 60`s.

Movie star gets a make over.......

Many of you may have seen the `Wheels ` Fairthorpe movie on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkI65UZSbek this was made by John Hincks and his friend who filmed the construction of the car back in 1961. The car is an Electron Minor Mk2 with independent rear suspension and 948cc engine, it`s reg number is 867 UTJ. Eventually the car was laid up and fell into a state of disrepair and became a plaything for his children. John reluctantly parted with the car a few years ago, and it has recently been purchased by Marcus Bradbury who has started putting the by now dismantled car back together again. He has had the original engine running and even driven the car, it can be seen here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Deyb45PGXnA, i love the `Wellie it comment`!
Marcus has now decided to fit a 1500 Spitfire engine and has painted and refurbed one to be put in the car which will certainly make it a bit more exciting to drive. He is taking his time with the restoration to make sure that John will be pleased with the final result, i am sure he is looking forward to taking a ride in the car he built 51 years ago. Hopefully Marcus will keep me updated with pictures and i will post them on here for you to see how he is getting on.

 

Nice Orange TX Tripper with 2.5 Triumph engine for sale.

There is currently a nice TX Tripper on ebay, it is fitted with a Tuned 2.5 Triumph engine, overdrive gearbox and alloy wheels. It has a hood and will be sold with a new MOT, asking price is £2995 or best offer, here is the link:-  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TX-Tripper-2-5-Triumph-running-gear-orange-1971-/271108758772?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3f1f575cf4

A Fairthorpe club regular returns.

Paul Wells has recently joined the Fairthorpe Sports Car club, his Fairthorpe is one with a long history within the club having been owned by former registrar Willie Simpson since new. The car was originally supplied to Willie as an Electrina, this was Fairthorpes 2+2 sports saloon with a roof, he used the car as daily transport during the week and at car events at weekends as can be seen in the pictures below, it was also taken abroad on the family holiday.

 





 



The car was registered 920 GMJ and after several years use Willie decided he would prefer to have the car as a convertible so purchased another Fairthorpe and fitted the Electron Minor body shell on to his Electrina chassis and disposed of the original Electrina body.  Willie then continued to enjoy his car now with open top motoring and was a regular at most FSCC meetings over several decades. The car was finally laid up when Willies health started to fail, he sadly passed away in December 09.

His family retained the Fairthorpe until Paul purchased the car in July this year, the reg number has been retained by Willies son and the car has been re registered as 127 XUY, here is a picture taken when he collected the car.

 





 

Paul has done some rewiring and replaced the radiator and carburetor, the car now has a fresh MOT and has cleaned up well, he intends to use the car next year and says it is great fun to drive (all Fairthorpe owners will be nodding their heads at this point). We look forward to seeing the car again at club meetings Paul and use it as much as you can just as Willie did.

Fairthorpe in Motoring Classics magazine

There is an article about Fairthorpes in the Winter 2012 Motoring Classics magazine, it has been written by Gordon Bruce.
 MC-12 will be in the bookstall issues of Octane and subscriber issues of Classic & Sports Car around the end of November. It will also be available from the App Store and as a pdf from the Motoring Classics website – www.motoringclassics.co.uk.

Fairthorpe Zeta on show.......

This weekend the FSCC has had a stand at the Classic Car Show at the NEC in Birmingham, my Fairthorpe Zeta 777 PPD is accompanied by a Rochdale Olympic an Ashley a Turner and a Rochdale bodied Elva. If you are attending the show drop by and say hello. Here are a couple of pictures taken at the show today.

Race prepared Fairthorpe EM for sale.

There is a race prepped Fairthorpe Electron Minor on Ebay, the car has a good competition history but needs some work to finish the restoration off. There are a number of Historic race championships the car could run in and all the expensive work has been done.
 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAIRTHORPE-OTHER-/230827765179?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35be682dbb

Get me to the church on time!

Congratulations to FSCC members Steve and Lauren Colling who tied the knot on the 24th September, here are some pictures from the wedding with their trusty steed which Steve has owned for many years. More info on the car can be found further back on the blog under `Phoenix from the ashes`.