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Have You Seen Any Interesting Cars On The Road Lately?

The only car I actually had a "race" with on a Track Day (at Goodwood).

Must say, I didn't see much evidence of the legendary Chapman suspension superiority (and I was in a reliant Scimitar!) so I eventually overtook, but like most track days, you've no idea if the driver has a clue....

It didn't break down though, which surprised me.
 
Thing I remember about the Elan was its its Chapman strut rear suspension where in search for lightness the rear strut and drive shaft had two functions. Instead of just functioning as a suspension element it also located the rear hub.
A-CHAPMAN-STRUT-SUSPENSION-SYSTEM.png


A consequence of this arrangement was a tendancy to knock out its rear wheel hub bearings from sidethrust loading. I had a mate who changed his rear hub bearings every 6 months as preventative maintenance! This required access to a large hydraulic press but since his day job was looking after the nations nuclear sub fleet propulsion plant this presented no problem!

Chapman strut - Wikipedia
 
Much as I admire the Chapman philosophy, (and my dad knew him), it was typical of his designs that the excessive axial loading of the bearings was not taken into account.

To his mind-set, the car "only needed to get to the end of the race" (in this case the end of the guarantee period).

And don't get me started on that ridiculously delicate slant-4 engine..... if it wasn't for Jensen sorting out all the production engineering/materials problems, it would have sent Lotus into bankruptcy far quicker than it did (and that wasn't long). Of course, it did the same for Jensen.

That being said, I'd love just about any Lotus (except the more modern, ugly ones). I just couldn't afford to keep fixing them...
 
grober said:
Thing I remember about the Elan was its its Chapman strut rear suspension where in search for lightness the rear strut and drive shaft had two functions. Instead of just functioning as a suspension element it also located the rear hub.
a
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The mildest of corrections. Chapman hated splined shafts as the materials and lubricants of the day weren't up to stopping them locking up under drive torque which 'locked' the suspension, hence his preference for fixed length shafts.
Using a drive shaft as an upper link was quite a common occurrence back then - witness an E-Type (or XJ) rear suspension.

kid-jensen said:
And don't get me started on that ridiculously delicate slant-4 engine..... if it wasn't for Jensen sorting out all the production engineering/materials problems, it would have sent Lotus into bankruptcy far quicker than it did (and that wasn't long). Of course, it did the same for Jensen.
.
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A Chapman wheeze - getting Jensen to do the initial 'testing'. Nothing if not a shrewd operator.
 
I was behind a Ferrari gtc4 on the way home tonight. Nice looking car; first I've seen on the road
 
People possibly don't realise what a design departure the post WW2 Morris Minor was from its predecessors and contemporaries . It was the brainchild of Alex ISSIGONIS [ of BMC Mini fame] Heavily influenced by Citroen designs it had a wheel at each corner which aided the Issigonis signature of lots of passenger space and good weight distribution for its size. The story goes that when he was presented with the first full size mock up he insisted it was cut in half and the two halves were moved appart till the car "looked right" He must have got it right because the basic shape lasted unchanged from 1948 till 1972!
Morris Minor - Wikipedia
 
grober said:
People possibly don't realise what a design departure the post WW2 Morris Minor was from its predecessors and contemporaries . It was the brainchild of Alex ISSIGONIS [ of BMC Mini fame] Heavily influenced by Citroen designs it had a wheel at each corner which aided the Issigonis signature of lots of passenger space and good weight distribution for its size. The story goes that when he was presented with the first full size mock up he insisted it was cut in half and the two halves were moved appart till the car "looked right" He must have got it right because the basic shape lasted unchanged from 1948 till 1972!
Morris Minor - Wikipedia
Click to expand...

That was a great car with so much development potential. So what did British Leyland do with it? Turned it into the Morris Marina turdo-rust bucket.
 
And right to the end of Minor production, there was underbonnet evidence of the flat-four aircooled engine that it was originally designed to have.

Killed by the bean-counters, no doubt.
 
grober said:
People possibly don't realise what a design departure the post WW2 Morris Minor was from its predecessors and contemporaries . It was the brainchild of Alex ISSIGONIS [ of BMC Mini fame] Heavily influenced by Citroen designs it had a wheel at each corner which aided the Issigonis signature of lots of passenger space and good weight distribution for its size. The story goes that when he was presented with the first full size mock up he insisted it was cut in half and the two halves were moved appart till the car "looked right" He must have got it right because the basic shape lasted unchanged from 1948 till 1972!
Morris Minor - Wikipedia
Click to expand...

Supposedly the reason for the (circa) 2'' feature running the length of the bonnet.
 
kid-jensen said:
And right to the end of Minor production, there was underbonnet evidence of the flat-four aircooled engine that it was originally designed to have.

Killed by the bean-counters, no doubt.
Click to expand...

Issigonis was prepared to experiment with drivetrains. At one point he had a Mini running that had no gears - or no choice of gear selection for the driver, more accurately.
A large(ish) engine with a high stall ratio torque converter was all it had. Drove well and was as economic with fuel as the standard Mini despite the carb fitted being woefully ill suited to its application. As ever, he was forced back to the venerable A-Series - to be built with the original tooling of the 1930s.
 
Saw this today, can't remember the last time I saw one on the road! I thought they'd all rotted away years ago. In really good nick, as well, someone's obviously looked after it..



Cheers,

Gaz
 
gaz_l said:
Saw this today, can't remember the last time I saw one on the road! I thought they'd all rotted away years ago. In really good nick, as well, someone's obviously looked after it..



Cheers,

Gaz
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They’re looking better with age.
 
I always preferred the Kadett with its flat front. The car I took my test in, in fact!

Cheers,

Gaz
 
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gaz_l said:
Saw this today, can't remember the last time I saw one on the road! I thought they'd all rotted away years ago. In really good nick, as well, someone's obviously looked after it..



Cheers,

Gaz
Click to expand...
I thought that was the older Viva there at first glance.
 
After getting the W140 MOT'd and back on the road the other day , then today sorting out a fuel leak which I strongly suspect the MOT morons caused , I went down to the local garage not 3 miles from home .On the way there , I encountered not one , but two Bentley Bentagays ( excuse if I spelt it wrong , I'm not sure ) . To encounter two af what I presume to be a fairly rare car ( but not as rare as a W140 , since I haven't seen another in years ) seems worth remarking on .
 
gaz_l said:
I always preferred the Kadett with its flat front. The car I took my test in, in fact!

Cheers,

Gaz
Click to expand...
I remember my dad having a Rekord , briefly , sometime in the 70's ( I think ) , he passed away in '83 , so certainly before then .

Quick Google , think it was this shape

Opel_Rekord_D_1975.jpg
 
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