The project started in 2010 with the purchase of a 1750 Alfa twincam engine and gearbox for £500. This engine would require a chassis and Philip Walker who owns and races a 15 kindly offered us a visit to view his historic Lotus collection. Many photographs and measurements of his 15 were taken and this data was used to fabricate a chassis, which was adjusted to fit the Alfa engine.
A fibreglass nose and tail was manufactured from a mould taken from the bodywork of the Buick 15, whose owner kindly loaned his car for the moulds to be made.
Once the final adjustments were made Mike Brotherwood provided me with a powder-coated chassis with the all the alloy panels temporarily fixed with self-tapping screws. The next job was to rivet all of these panels to the space-frame. The chassis was suspended from the garage roof to allow access underneath. Over 350 stainless rivets were used to fit all the panels, which took some time!
By mid 2012 the panelled chassis was complete and I began to source parts for the front and rear suspension, including an Elite differential with inboard discs. The alloy dash was cut and drilled with all the instruments sourced either through eBay or Beaulieu Auto jumble. A wiring loom was drawn then prepared, fitted and tested on the car. A Bosch regulator is used for compatibility with the dynamo fitted to the Alfa engine.
By March 2013 the radiator was fitted to the chassis with cooling fan. Front hubs were assembled with alloy front calipers. The differential was built and mounted on the chassis.
In July and August 2013 the wiring loom was prepared and fitted. A dry sump oil tank was sketched and fabricated by Ian Drowne. By mid 2014 a rolling chassis was complete.
From Jan to May 2015 the dry sump system was plumbed-in with the oil tank installed in the tail. The cooling system was installed. By the end of 2015 the fuel tank prepared by Andy Wiltshire of Axminster Panels was fitted using stainless straps immediately behind the diff. A header tank for the cooling system was positioned above the dry sump tank to minimise air locks. The header tank neatly fits inside the head fairing.
The Alfa twincam was rebuilt by Bob Dove Motorsport to standard specification and should deliver 100bhp at the wheels.
It was decided to replace the fibreglass nose with alloy as used on the original cars.
October 2017
With the help of a specialist an alloy nose is being prepared.
December 2018
Alloy nose supplied and fitted. The car is now back at home with the last six months spent on polishing the bodywork. A perspex windscreen and sidescreens were moulded by a company in Salisbury who specialise in motorbike fairings. These were manufactured slightly oversize and when the heated perspex is formed over the template there is some distortion at the template edge, which needs to be trimmed. A junior hacksaw was used to ensure the perspex would not fracture. Matching the sides-screen profile to the windscreen required the use of a heat gun to soften and mould the material.
June 2019
The car will return return to Geoff Moss for the fabricated rear tail to be fitted to the car. expected completion date is the end of July.
August 2019
Fabricated rear tail now complete and fitted to the car. Now some road miles needed to shake down the car!
Well the car is on the road, having made its first short trip of 3 miles along the village lane. On return a full check for leaks, hot bearings, brakes etc but all looks OK.
October 2019
Tried to start the car but issues with the starter motor jamming, which will have to be removed and checked.
December 2019
The starter motor was removed and inspected. The starter copper slip ring was very corroded so the copper surface was degreased and cleaned with abrasive paper. Starter motor now works fine and hopefully the problem is fixed.
Radiator ducting – need to prepare a former in wood to be used for fabrication of the alloy duct.
Jan 2019
Problem with the ignition switch being intermittent so a new one was ordered from Stafford Vehicle components. The replacement switch does not have a separate switched output for the headlamps so a relay was wired in to provide remote switching of the headlamps.
Fabricated a duct for the radiator using a plywood buck. The duct forces cool air through the radiator and diverts the air underneath the car. Add picture.
robblotus 