Post by David Lawson on Jul 29, 2013 3:29:43 GMT -5
The Lotus 49 is such a well known grand prix car I won't go into its history here but it was the car of the 1967 season and but for some engine unreliability and some weak design in the gearbox and suspension areas it would have been yet another championship for Clark and Chapman.
My memories of that season are still so vivid having endured watching Clark struggle throughout 1966 with uncompetitive cars I was thrilled when the 49 was announced and when it won at Zandvoort on its race debut I thought this was going to be one of those great Jim Clark years.
The car dominated when it held together winning four grands prix and a non-championship F1 race and it goes without saying it was a stunning looking car in its beautifully neat engineering and the traditional green and yellow Team Lotus colour scheme used in its final season.
Jim Clark in his pomp at Silverstone winning the 1967 British Grand Prix.
The "Classic" fibreglass bodyshell which I've had in my "to do" box for about 15 years. All I have done so far is to clean it up with some caustic soda and given it a light rub down with wet & dry.
I've built Lotus 49s before using the Charlie Fitzpatrick shell and I always struggled in getting the windscreen to fit. As I find it a pain I decided to shape the cockpit surround and trim the screen before I did anything else so I don't have to worry about it anymore! After getting the fit right I gave the screen a couple of coats of Humbrol clear yellow.
Obviously there's still lots more to do in detailing the shell.
David
My memories of that season are still so vivid having endured watching Clark struggle throughout 1966 with uncompetitive cars I was thrilled when the 49 was announced and when it won at Zandvoort on its race debut I thought this was going to be one of those great Jim Clark years.
The car dominated when it held together winning four grands prix and a non-championship F1 race and it goes without saying it was a stunning looking car in its beautifully neat engineering and the traditional green and yellow Team Lotus colour scheme used in its final season.
Jim Clark in his pomp at Silverstone winning the 1967 British Grand Prix.
The "Classic" fibreglass bodyshell which I've had in my "to do" box for about 15 years. All I have done so far is to clean it up with some caustic soda and given it a light rub down with wet & dry.
I've built Lotus 49s before using the Charlie Fitzpatrick shell and I always struggled in getting the windscreen to fit. As I find it a pain I decided to shape the cockpit surround and trim the screen before I did anything else so I don't have to worry about it anymore! After getting the fit right I gave the screen a couple of coats of Humbrol clear yellow.
Obviously there's still lots more to do in detailing the shell.
David