Gene_Carter@avid.com wrote:
>
> I have a friend in Houston who races his Lotus Seven in CVAR with me. He's
>also
> bought a vintage Hawk formula ford and would like to see me get a car.
> Naturally, I want to consider a Lotus 51 or 61. I would like to hear thoughts
> on these cars. Good points and bad, reliability issues. What are they like
>to
> drive.
They will both be brilliant to drive, even compared to that "racing car for the
road" the Seven. *Any* single seater would be. But you do have to consider
that at the time there was a legislated maximum price for a F.Ford, and also
that by that time Lotus had had lots of practice in making cheap racing cars.
The 61 in particular is their ultimate demonstration of the art. You also need
to consider that you are buying a 30+ year-old car that was designed for an
active
life of about a year.
> I've certainly heard negative things about the Renault gearbox in the
> early 51's.
Stay away, get a Hewland. They may not be cheap but they are pretty
bullet-proof.
> The styling on the 61 is of course a subjective issue, but its
> lower cost may push me in that direction.
Styling? Styling???? Winning races is what matters! Oh well,
better admit now that I bought an F3 GRD because I had alawys thought
they looked so good, like a mini Lotus 72. Turned out to be a
lovely car to drive, and to work on too ;-)
And I sold a Lotus 61 to buy it, which was one of my better trades....
Mike
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