New member: 1965 LC at Summit Point, WV: Comments/opinions?

[mfc6932]

Hello everyone,

I just joined the forum and wanted to share some video of our 1965 Lotus Cortina. We built the car up from a bare (rust-free!) shell three years ago, and have been slowly working to get the car running and handling properly since. I'll post some pictures of the process in the appropriate section, but here are three videos from this past Thanksgiving weekend. I've only gotten 5 or 6 chances to drive over the past three years, so I'm still pretty new to racing. I really want to improve, so please let me know what you think!

Here's how the car looks:

Saturday race
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXiyYYLGm1k
Relay race leg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD7XFtW73GY
Sunday race
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKYqGYtqNSA

 

[L. Brown]

replica?

 

[mfc6932]

No, it's an actual Lotus. When we got the car, the previous owner told us it was a Lotus but did not have a number plate for the car anymore. The car had last been raced in SCCA and had things like flared wheel arches and revised suspension. We cut the fenders out and welded in originals, and while I was cleaning the metal around the front fenders, I found the original Sherwood Green flash underneath. We took note of that and continued working, still unsure of the actual identity of the car. We also found out that the left rear had been hit and replaced with a regular Cortina fender, which contained the different emblem holes. The Lotus holes were on the right rear fender, however. We also had a local Cortina expert, Gary Anderson from Massachusetts, look at the car at a race event. He said there were enough small details on the car (things like the two piece driveshaft mount in the floor, the bump in the rear to clear the differential, and some other details that slip my mind at the moment) that convinced him the car was genuine.

 

[L. Brown]

You should post some pictures here. Do you have a photbucket or such? I have a Oct 65 car here in California. Locorts in the states are rare these days. Smurf@com-pair.net

 

[mfc6932]

I'm just getting around to that! Which section would be most appropriate?

EDIT: Pictures are now posted in the Gallery!

 

[andy spain]

You might be able to trace some history of your car via its vin tags?or below the passenger side shock tower there should be the a number stamped there.
Andy.

 

[mfc6932]

Anyone have any tips about my driving? As a side note, the rear of the car was too soft, which was causing the inside rear wheel to "hop," especially in slower corners. That said, I felt that I had a couple line issues and might have been too aggressive with my corrections. Any thoughts? A guy who drives a 2002 with an M3 motor and wide sticky tires was telling me it looked slow, but I figured this would be the best source for direct comparisons :wink:

 

[Lashman]

Hi Mike,
I've just watched the Saturday clip so far, looking very good. I don't know the track so can't comment on your lines but I thought your mid-corner corrections were very neat and not too aggressive at all. What is the race weight of the car and what tyres do you run?
Cheers
Louis

 

[mfc6932]

Thanks Lashman, I think I got a bit more consistent by Sunday but was pretty pleased overall. The car weighs 1770lbs and we are running 6x13 Avons at all four corners.

 

[Lashman]

Just watched the other 2 video's. Looks like you had a good race on Sunday. The car looked quick and your driving was very neat. What is the minimum weight in your section?

 

[mfc6932]

Our club does not have a strict minimum weight requirement; the members are more held to an honor system in that regard. :? That said, the only part of the car I know is too heavy is the roll cage. The PO installed it, and the sidewall is gigantic. I cut out the bar across the driver's door to allow easier access, and that one member weighed 10-15lbs. If we had it in the budget, a chromoly roll cage would probably save about 50lbs.

 

[mfc6932]

Small update and another question: using my very unscientific timing method (stopwatch with the video playing), it looks like all my clean laps were within a second of each other (~1:32) and I got down into the 1:31's on Sunday. My question is this: If I'm looking inconsistent but the times aren't all that far off, that must mean that I improve in one part of the track and get worse in another, right? I had expected a larger spread so it got me wondering.