History of Lotus Cortina GJJ 338C

T

tommy

New member
I have tried in the past to trace the history of my July 65 built A frame airflow car reg GJJ 338C but got nowhere trying to contact the previous keepers. I bought this car here in Northern Ireland in June 1996 from a Asian gentleman called Mo Baig who had brought it with him when he moved here from the Liecester area. All I know is he bought the car in a dismantled, but complete state in about 1994 and he paid a considerable sum to a MG specialist (WHY?) to reassemble it (BADLY). In the paperwork that came with the car the old mot certs stop in 1982 so I believe it was off the road between 1982 and 1995. An old 1982 tax disc also came with the car and it was in a tax disc holder from Mark Pritchard Motors in Derby so I assume it was in the Derby area at this time.
If anyone out there knows any of my cars history I would be grateful if you would get in touch.
Tommy :)
 
Yes Steve, I paid my £5 to the dvla and got a copy of all they had on it
in their records. I wrote to all the addresses in the faint hope a previous owner would still be at one of them but all came back as not known at this address. The first owner was in Hainault Road, London E11 and owned it until about 1975 (I have mislaid the dvla info at the moment and only have original logbook, my memory and old mot certs to go by). Would be nice to know what dealer supplied it, why it was taken off the road in early 80s and what caused the accident damage at the front we found during its big expensive restoration which put right all that the M G specialists messed up. Basically any light shed on its past would be nice.
Tommy
 
How do you get copies of the old log books from the DVLA, do you just write to them? Or is there a form you fill out from their web site?

My car was last on the road in 1988, I bought it in 2004, but I have no history on it at all
 
You do of course have to be the registered keeper of the car that you are requesting the registration details of. Other than that its a simple process.
Tommy
 
Is there any way of knowing if my car (GJJ 338C)had a racing career in its past. I ask because during its resto I found all the bolts in the front suspension, brakes, engine and gearbox mounts had been drilled for lockwiring . I cannot see a reason other than competition for doing this. As its both an A frame car and the underbody was not beaten up it could not have been a rally car. I do not think it could have been used for anything big time, maybe just an amatuer doing sprints or hillclimbs but it must have been a long time ago if at all as there was no sign of a roll cage or even a simple rollover hoop ever being fitted . Another curious fitment is a laminated heated rear window (as fitted to contemporary Jaguar saloons) marked fomoco and dated 1965. There is no mention of this part in the Ford parts list, so whats its story. The rear window apature
is drilled and fitted with grommets for the rear window wiring to go into the boot. :?: :?: :?:
Tommy
 
Hi Tommy,
Sounds like it could well of been used of for competition, If it's amatuer stuff, the only way I can think of is doing search's though old entry lists.
Any pics of that rear screen, sounds interesting..
Cheers
Louis
 
Just managed to trace the original owner to find he died in Sept 2006.
RATS!!! :( Found he was a crazy old bird who was a captain in the Indian army ordnance corps in the far east in WW2. In 2002 he decided to leave his wife and clear off to India where he had spent his childhood and just got into his 23 year old Toyota Crown and drove it there at the age of 82. He was only stopped driving it when the Indian customs took it off him at Bombay.
Mr Norman Kells sounds like a real old character and I wish I could have talked with him. May you rest in piece Norman.
Tommy
 
My Mark 1 SE also has a FoMoCo heated rear screen! The car was built in December 1995. I have not heard of or seen such a screen fitted to any other LC - until now!! Mine too has the base of the screen aperture drilled and fitted with grommets for the element tails and the switch is mounted under the dash next to the dash light switch. The original owner of my car does not recall specifying the heated rear screen, but due to the perished state of the original rear screen rubber, it is most likely to have been an original fitment! I'll try to post a pic as soon as I can although the embedded element is so fine, it probably won't show.
 
Yes I tried to take a picture of my rear screen but you could not really see the element in it even whe I put something behind it to give a contrast. The only bit that shows is this horizontal silver line which connects the vertical elements together and to the connecting tails.
I do not know what the original switches and wiring was like as the so called MG specialist stripped it all out and binned it. Dont know why they did this but the previous owner gave me bills which included stripping out this wiring. :? :?
I have wired it up and tested it out and it works just as it should.
Another strange fitment on my car was the steering wheel which was like the correct wood rim wheel with the deep dish but with a black plastic rim and colin chapman engraved in one of the spokes. It was also slightly smaller in diameter. I hope this wheel was not something exceptional as I sold it to pay for an original woodrim which I currently have fitted. Could this have been a wheel for competition use as the woodrim would have been too flexible? :?: :?:
Tommy
 
This is a pic of NARs rear screen--you can just make out the element.
IMGP0348.jpg
[/img]
 
No thats not the wheel Graham ,the elan wheel is pretty flat and this wheel was dished the same as a late lotus cortina wheel and the holes in the spokes and boss were the also the same as a late woodrim. Only ever saw another the same on a 65 lotus cortina at Coombe Abbey about 7 years back. It was owned by a register member but I cannot remember the reg. All I rember was it had a period photo of itself as a written off racing car in the window.
Tommy
 
Was able to zoom in on the old photo of LC it on its roof that that was under the bonnet of the LC with the same steering wheel. Its reg is FPO 190C.
Tommy
 
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