Posts missing

It has just come to my attention that a large number of posts have disappeared from the blog. I can find no explanation for this, other than it being a technical issue with Blogger and I'm working to resolve it.

Some of the missing posts relate to the very topic I set this blog up to document - the restoration of 789 ERO, and include the fantastic day when it passed it's MOT and its subsequent appearance at Silverstone and Dad driving it round the circuit.

At one point in 2011 four months of posts have simply vanished.

I will keep you updated on my progress retrieving them, but if they have been lost for good I will be looking to move the blog to a more stable blogging platform in the future.

TX Tripper project for sale on ebay

There is currently a TX Tripper project on ebay, it has had a lot of money spent on it in recent years and was featured in Motor magazine in 1971, starting price is £1800.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-BASED-GT6-Vitesse-Herald-TX-TRIPPER-KIT-CAR-/151060782606?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item232bec9e0e

Fairthorpe Pathfinder project for sale on ebay.

There is currently a Pathfinder V8 project for sale on ebay, it is complete except for the engine and gearbox which have been sold, it is going at a giveaway price. This car was very nicely built from the kit but now needs a good home, here is a link to the auction:-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251281673101

I`m pleased to say the car has now found a sympathetic new owner who has previously owned a V6 engined Pathfinder and that he has joined the Fairthorpe Sports Car Club.

Picture of the week, Fairthorpe makes flying visit to Duxford.

This picture was kindly sent to me by Paul Wells the owner of the pictured Fairthorpe. Paul was at the Air museum at Duxford on business and took the Fairthorpe to give it a run. The photo opportunity was too much to resist and as Paul says I`m sure the AVM would have approved. You can read more about Paul`s car in an earlier post on the blog or see the car for yourself on August 4th at this years Fairthorpe Gathering at the Museum of Berkshire Aviation. Details of the Gathering are in an earlier blog but updates will be posted nearer to the event.

Fairthorpe Electron Minor For Sale.

 Selling due to my other EM 789 ERO finally receiving it`s long awaited coat of paint and trim,  here is your chance to buy a nice useable 1960 Fairthorpe Electron Minor Mk1. It comes with 11 months MOT and runs very nicely, it is fitted with a 1300 Triumph engine and gearbox.

The car has previously been raced at Silverstone and taken part in the odd speed event, it has a nice roll bar, tow points and an ignition cut off switch. The paintwork is nice and bright although it does have some crazing in places, it is a very smart looking Fairthorpe which picked up the best Marque car award at the recent Fairthorpe Sports Car Club AGM. There is also a tonneu cover to keep the inside dry when it is parked outside.

Asking price is £5200 ono which includes a years membership of  the Fairthorpe Sports Car Club, i can be contacted on 07952 930042 or by email at kartman.nascar24@btinternet.com

Picture of the week, Fairthorpe independant rear suspension.

I thought I would post these pictures of the independent rear suspension set up as used on Electron Minors. This was offered as an option to the live axle from 1960 on Mk2 EM`s onwards, it uses the Herald diff/ driveshafts and hubs with Fairthorpe designed arms and coil over shock absorbers instead of the Triumph transverse leaf spring. The Fairthorpe arms were connected to the chassis with Triumph trackrod ends to allow for the movement of the arms as the suspension went up and down. The independent rear end gave a more comfortable ride over uneven roads but suffered from the dreaded wheel tuck under on hard cornering, it was an improvement on the Triumph set up but if you were going racing the live axle was the way to go. The second picture shows a lot of negative camber on the wheels as it had been on a jack, one it had the weight of the body and engine/gearbox in it and it was rolled forwards they moved into a near vertical position. This chassis was from an EM i rebuilt many years ago, i converted it to a live axle set up as i was going racing with it.

SOLD Fairthorpe Electron Minor bonnet for sale. SOLD

I have a Mk2 Electron Minor bonnet for sale, it has been widened by 4" and would need this piece removing and the two halves re glassing together. A bit of work but it would make a cheap replacement bonnet for someone with the time to do it. It comes complete with it`s nose frame, price is £25, contact me at kartman.nascar24@btinternet.com  if you are interested.

Fairthorpe Electron Minor wiring colours.

I have had a request for a clearer copy of the wiring colours for the loom on Electron Minors, the copy I put up on the blog a while back was a scan from an original supplied with a kit so is a few years old now and a bit faded. This one has been re typed at some time so is a bit more legible.
If you have any requests for information on anything to do with Fairthorpes drop me a line and I will see what I can do.

 

 

 

 

Three Fairthorpes out to play at kit car show.

I spent a pleasant day today at the Stonleigh kit car show in Warwickshire, it was the first time I had been there in over 20 years. My father Frank and I had exhibited at the show over a period of 4 years when we were rebuilding Fairthorpes and producing the Fairthorpe Pathfinder kit cars. It bought back memories of happy times spent working with Frank bringing Fairthorpes back to life and developing the Pathfinder.

 I travelled up in one of my Electron Minors, following fellow FSCC member Rob James in his yellow EM nicknamed `May`. My EM was purchased in September last year needing some work as it had been off the road for nine years. It had the usual problems suffered by a vehicle that has been laid up, requiring brake and clutch cylinder work, new front brake shoes and wheel cylinders etc. The Stromberg carb required a strip and service and a non standard handbrake cable arrangement had been fitted which simply didn`t work, this has been replaced with the correct set up. As usual with Fairthorpes the first thing to go chassis wise are the rear box section outriggers, i had new sections folded up and I cut the repair sections from these and welded them on.

Having wandered round the halls and purchased a few parts Rob had to head for home, he had only been gone 5 minuets when another Fairthorpe arrived to take his vacant parking spot. The new arrival was Richard Holden with  his immaculate Mk1 EM, his car is a credit to the marque inside and out.

 

789 ERO my other EM is hopefully having the bodywork finished off in the next month or so in readiness for a nice new paint job, once that has been completed it will be back on the road again.

Mike Hahn, fun with Fairthorpes Part 2.

 

9854 PO on the cover of the FSCC magazine having been rebuilt by it`s new owner Wolfgang Buchta from Austria.

Here is the concluding part to Mike Hahn`s reminiscences of his ownership of Fairthorpes.

`The second I can remember very little about except that I bought it in Filton, Bristol and that it had a bent chassis which caused it to "corkscrew" its way along straight roads. I painted it in the Sprite Alpine caravan colour of Silver Sage because when Dad wanted to respray his caravan he ordered the quantity of paint it would have required if using cellulose....but it was coach finish and needed only about 20% of the amount Dad bought - hence quite a few things, especially Land Rovers! turned Silver Sage see some of the pictures and note that when spraying my Fairthorpe I was using my Mum's vacuum cleaner but by the time I was spraying my Dad's Land Rovers, caravan and my motor caravan I had progressed to a small compressor albeit still using an internal mix gun..

The third was a blue one bought from somewhere in South London that Brian Cocks had raced with a Ford engine fitted. I couldn't believe how the engine had been fitted - to give clearance for the larger Ford bell housing flange pieces of chassis were just cut out each side and gaping holes left!! I sold this one to Roger Goss who was an ITV cameraman at the time.

The "half" was a bodyshell bought from Berkeley in Gloucestershire which was intended to re-body the blue one. When I realised how ropey the blue one's chassis was this body ended up being burnt.

The fourth was 9854PO bought from Portishead for a serious crack at National Autotesting - I even fitted a Ford axle with a Salisbury LSD. Whilst this one had a 1296cc Herald engine it had a very early Herald gearbox with a very low 1st gear hence every forward move needed an upchange to 2nd followed by a crunch back into 1st and every reverse move was limited by valve bounce. Instead of fixing the problem I realised National Autotesting is a serious business and sold this one to Wolfgang Buchta from Vienna.

                                              PBW 889 soon after it`s arrival

 

The fifth was PBW889 which I bought from Guildford. I changed the colour to red and rebuilt the chassis using Herald from suspension and the same rubber bushes in the rear radius rods. I think it already had a rack and pinion but I re-positioned it to remove bump steer. I also fitted Hillman Imp shock absorbers and springs from and back.

                                                                 Chassis rebuilt

 

The engine was a 1585cc Fiat Twin Cam which was a brilliant engine and a perfect fit for a Fairthorpe. Initially I used a Fiat gearbox which was fine on the road but baulked at selecting reverse when stopped astride an A/T line. First cure was to rebuild a box with only 1st 2nd and reverse and no interlocks. This precluded road use so the second cure was to werld a Fiat bell housing to a Nissan Bluebird gearbox (the Migatronic rep who sold the TIG welder I used recommended a month's practice before starting any serious aluminium welding but I already knew I was leaving in a month so I practiced for one day and started on the gearbox on the second day!

                                          Rolls Royce Bristol Autotest in the wet

 

I fitted another Salisbury LSD but, whilst these are fine for spin turns going forward the cause the car to shot off at a tangent if the throttle is pressed in reverse. I had the idea of a separate brake servo for each back wheel controlled by wheelspin sensors and solenoids to apply the brake to the spinning wheel. The clever bit would have been to inhibit the system in reverse. In the event the pair of BMW 2002 servos I used weren't powerful enough and I was fast running out of enthusiasm so I sold this one to a chap who wanted to race it.`

 

                                                            Mike`s Active LSD system

                           Nissan Bluebird 5 speed box mated to the Fiat bell housing.

 

This car has since been converted back to a Triumph engine/gearbox, less entertaining to drive i`m sure..............

Mike Hahn, Fun with Farthorpes part 1

                             
                                                                60 Motor club Autotest

                        
                                                                    RAF Locking


I recently had a convesation with ex Fairthorpe owner Mike Hahn, over the years he has owned 5 1/2 Firthorpes, this is the first in a short series about Mikes Fairthorpes in his own words.

`The first was 3321HX which I bought in 1966 from a Kodak employee in Ruislip for £75. I ran it with a Standard 10 engine, then a Herald 1200 engine and finally a Triumph 2000 engine. The Herald 1200 with twin 1.5 SUs, raised compression and an SAH26 camshaft was the most successful of the three. I fitted rack and pinion steering, first 4.5J wheels then 5.5J Marcos wheels obtained during one of Marcos' fairly frequent post bankruptcy sales. After the 4.55 diff broke I fitted a Herald 4.11 diff.

 

                                                    

                                                         Great Auclum Hillclimb

 

In 1976 this one was sold to a chap who worked for Smedleys in East Anglia and bought back again in 1986 from a chap in Birmingham. I got it going again and then took it apart for the comprehensive restoration that never happened.

 

                                                         1986 as bought back

 

I eventually sold it via eBay at Christmas 2007 to a chap in Belgium. He chose a very windy day to collect it - the ferry took four and a half hours to get from Calais to Dover and he and his mate arrived looking very green!`

 

 

 

Motorville Denham Fairthorpe meeting 1989

 

Picture of the week, Fairthorpe TX1

 

This picture was kindly sent to me by ex Fairthorpe owner Mike Hahn, it was taken in the late 60`s at Blackbushe aerodrome and shows Torix Bennet`s prototype TX1, this was the forerunner of his TX series of cars.
Mike himself owned several Fairthorpes over the years, his last one was modified to take a Fiat Twin cam engine and Nissan 5 speed gearbox and used to good effect in Autotests. There will be more information and pictures of Mike`s cars posted here in the next couple of days.

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!