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1/2002
I purchased this car from the
estate of Bob Dawry, of Calnevari, Nevada in 1997. Bob had vintage
raced the car since 1987 when he purchased it from Robert O.
Ritchie of Rosemead in Southern California. At the time of purchase,
it was a 1970s Chrysler Red which had been done by Mr. Ritchie
following a restoration in the mid 70's. I have a copy of a 10/75
letter from Mr. Ritchie to Lotus Cars at Cheshunt inquiring about
the fitting of a 1275 to SB 1092. When purchased by me from Bob
Dawry, the car had the 1275 as well as Spitfire disc brakes and
a modified-to-fit Sprite rear axle housing.
I raced the car three races in
1997 until the front frame box literally broke apart at an event
in October. At that time we began a "restoration" (really
a clean up and frame strengthening exercise) which, because of
other events in my life, went on until mid 1999. During the cleanup,
we realized that this car has been pieces of two cars since at
least the 1975 time when it was painted Chrysler red. The layers
of paint uncovered on the body skins were Chrysler red and then
Lotus red as well as some thin layers of bondo. There are two
skin patches around the front of the chassis. The front and rear
wings were a yellow gelcoat, a yellow similar to a faded yellow
on a spare scuttle and bonnet that came with the package. The
rear wings had been split in the middle and widened to 9 inches.
They have Sprite or MGA Lucas taillights. Some original headlights
came with the car as spares, but I have left the smaller, lighter
Lucas driving lights in place as they offer a bit less drag.
The laminiplate cockpit panels were so worn, scuzzy and rusted
along the lower edge that I stripped and painted them. While
this was most likely a mistake, it is not irreparable. As seen
in the photos, the car came to me with a 40 DCOE Weber carburetor
and corresponding hole cut in the bonnet for a K&N air cleaner.
The wheels on the car now are American Racing Wheel "Silverstone"
magnesium wheels. I have owned and used these wheels since 1966
on another car.
To vintage race with my local
association, I have fitted a 948 motor to the car as well as
fabricating a dual braking system based upon the suggestion of
Chris at Sevens & Elans. A sealed battery and Halon fire
system are located in the passenger compartment as well as some
an oil temp and fuel pressure gauge. The stock fuel tank has
been fitted with Fuel Safe fuel cell. The two aluminum cans on
the firewall act as a swirl pot and overflow tank.
This winter (2001-2002) I am
finally returning the car to a 1967 SCCA Production Car "F
Production" specification. This will entail replacing the
Weber with 2 1" SUs, the bonnet without the hole and fitting
some 6 " rear wings. New pictures will follow as the project
progresses.
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