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.

2012 Fairthorpe Gathering August 5th.

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.

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.

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:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fairthorpe-Electron-Minor-/260938989745?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3cc12d00b1

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:-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150752287824&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

Grease your nipples!

Bob Balding has been in contact to inform me of a discovery he has made whilst working on his MK1 EM. Bob`s car (see the `Frank the Fairthorpe` post) has some damage to the lower wishbone and trunnion on one side, this seems to indicate a previous vertical link failure. The suspension on the front is modified Standard 10 and like the later Triumph Herald/Spitfire units they require periodical lubrication, either with grease or EP oil depending on who you speak to. If this is not carried out the vertical link could wear badly or seize causing it to fracture where it meets the top of the trunnion. The result is a suspension collapse, i have had this happen to me on my first car which was a Herald.

As you can see from Bob`s pictures the collapse has ground the lower wishbone and the bottom of the trunnion which is missing it`s base and grease nipple. What is surprising is that it passed an MOT with this damage late last year! Bob is fitting a new trunnion but is looking for a replacement lower wishbone, either from a MK1 Electron Minor or a Standard 10 which could then be modified to suit. If you can help please contact me and i will put you in touch with him.

American racer located..

Following on from my recent post regarding the yellow racer in America which was pictured with blood shot eyes and a tongue hanging out i had an email from Rich Campbell to tell me he had tracked the car down. He placed an ad with the pictures in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car magazine and was contacted by Larry Newberry who is the current owner of the car along with two other Fairthorpes. Rich is hoping to visit Larry at some point in the future, hopefully i can post some more pictures and information if Larry is agreeable. A fair number of Fairthorpes were exported to America and several have followed in recent years, if you have any information/pictures past or present let me know and i will pass the information on to Rich who is researching the all things Fairthorpe in America.

Fairthorpes in print

In this months Classic & Sports car magazine Adrian Mancha`s Fairthorpe EM is featured in the `Lost & found` section on page 28. An email from Adrian this week has given an update on his progress since he bought the car to last years Fairthorpe Gathering. He says the radiator is built, mounted and piped as is oil cooler, all brake lines / master cylinders mounted, carbs rebuilt and fitted, exhaust flange cut out on water jet and he hopes to have the manifold built by the end of the week and the shocks are ordered. For more details on the car you can find a lot more information on previous pages of this blog.

4346MV more history but still in hiding!

Over the Christmas period i had an email from Glynn Hobbs regarding my plea for any information on the current whereabouts of 4346MV a mk2 Electron Minor which was fitted with a 1600 Fiat Twin cam engine and 5 speed box. Glynn says he owned the car many years ago having swapped a Land Rover series 1 with Chris Harré-Young to get the car and he used it in Hill climbs and sprints, obviously having a lot of fun with it. It is still on the DVLA website although not licenced since 1986 so the car remains on the missing list! More information and pictures of the car in it`s previous colour when owned by Chris can be found on the previous page (click `older posts` at the base of this page).